It’s been a tough 18 months in the frequent flyer world. It’s easier than ever to earn points, but the cost of awards has gone up, up, up.
Miles and points have been very good to me, and I do my best to give back where I can. I don’t make a public show of my charity, but I do my best to give the best advice I can and to offer giveaways when things are offered to me. And when I have gift cards, I can either turn them into money orders or do various frequent flyer experiments, or I can give them away.
So here, I thought I would give away $400. And what better way to give them away than to my readers who comment on this post?
Goodness knows it’s been a tough 15 months or so for frequent flyers.
- United devalued its award chart, especially premium cabin awards and especially partner awards in first class.
- Delta devalued its award chart, and then decided they didn’t want to wait for changes to go into effect so they imposed an interim devaluation. Then they finally decided to go revenue-based.
- Southwest devalued its points, underscoring just how arbitrary such changes can be — there’s no fundamental reason to devalue a revenue-based frequent flyer program, higher ticket prices automatically make an award cost more already. Here they just decided to make their points worth less.
- American eliminated international gateway stopovers and distance-based awards and US Airways eliminated the 90,000 mile business class award.
- Hilton devalued the most among hotels, such that I am no longer inclined to stay with them when I can avoid it. I didn’t re-up my Diamond status (or accept free Gold status).
- Others devalued as well – Marriott with big award category shifts, Hyatt with a new more expensive award category 7 and other changes.
And that’s just a small sampling.
So I would like to focus on something positive for a change, and I’m looking to you for help to do so!
Here are the prizes:
- (4) $100 gift cards
So here’s how you enter.
- Leave a comment on this blog post. Say something positive above miles and points, blogs, forums, or your fellow travelers.
- Enter by Noon Eastern, Friday May 30. That’s 4 days from this writing, and there are four prizes.
- Enter no more than 4 times. Four prizes, four days to enter, you can enter by commenting up to four times. (It doesn’t have to be one per day, the only limitation is that you cannot enter twice in a row you have to at least wait for someone else to enter before you enter again each time.)
- Four prize winners will be drawn at random. As in past, I will use random.org for the drawing.
- Fine print. Void where prohibited by law. All of my decisions are final and unappealable, I want to make giveaways as easy as possible and with the fewest headaches possible.
So, what do you like about miles and points, blogs, forums, or your fellow travelers?
- You can join the 40,000+ people who see these deals and analysis every day — sign up to receive posts by email (just one e-mail per day) or subscribe to the RSS feed. It’s free. You can also follow me on Twitter for the latest deals. Don’t miss out!
Lots of good credit card signup a still available!
I learn a lot about hotel/airline travel. I get to stack points which has made me Hilton gold much faster 🙂 love these blog posts – constant learning
I think it’s great that there is so much information available to take advantage of in planning travel in a smarter way.
Glenn J
I have followed your best advice, to use miles as I earn them, cause the devaluing down the line will make them less valuable.
I am so happy I found this website. I have been trying on my own to make the most of my miles for travel, and following your advice is giving me so much needed information. I’ve noticed the devaluations, but we’ll figure out ways to still fly for free, right?!
The addition of SIngapore Airlines as a transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards is great news!
Look on husband’s face when I told him our FC tickets on Qantas LAX-SYD were 145,000 miles and less than $60. He just kept repeating “$60?”. Priceless!
Despite the devaluations there are still some great opportunities to earn and use points and miles.
It has allowed me to travel in ways I would never be able to otherwise…
Great tips from all your travel-wise readers. Please continue with your contributions. I’m learning a lot.
Positive that I will reach BA Gold again this year!
Collecting miles and points has enabled us to see parts of the world we would never have been able to afford otherwise!
Great variety of ways to earn lots of miles and points.
I like learning how to achieve Gold status so I can stay on the Executive floor of Hilton Hotels AND get free internet.
I’m positive that I will go from being a “saver” to a “spender” of my miles and points now that I know how to replenish them.
Treat it like a game and have fun with it.
(Even games can be frustrating at times….)
Everyone on FT has always been extremely helpful and willing to answer questions!
Devaluations (as much as we dread and sometimes don’t understand the rationale behind them) are, in the final analysis, a first world problem. Flying internationally for free in business or first class on a mile redemption, even if it “costs” more is pretty darn sweet!
I love the friendly agents manning the desk at the Miami Admirals Club near D30. The club is pretty nice too!
Great that there are still some good value awards out there
We’ve been able to travel and have amazing experiences thanks to the advice and tips we get from folks like you! I’d have never realized it without your help- you’re enabling us to enjoy meaningful travel opportunities!
Being able to fly J or F
the thrill of finally having acquired enough mile to fly in the front of the plane instead of Economy Coach
I love the daily newsletters from you and other bloggers. They’re super helpful in keeping up-to-date with everything every day!
Devaluations can be good if they motivate you to work the system harder and use your points sooner!
Its great opportunities to earn points abound with credit card sign ups and spending.
The increased quality of your blog and a few select others.
One positive is that even with all the devaluations, earning miles and points has become easier through the help of bloggers and bigger sign-up/promo bonuses!
Being able to take vacations we wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford is a definite positive!
Great to be able to earn miles across so many different partners (both airlines and non-airlines)
Thanks to various mistake fares I got to see 3 new countries (India, Dubai/UAE, Italy) this year for under $1K total!
I just earned my Southwest Companion Pass thanks to this blog, so travel will be half price for the next 2 years! Thanks Gary!
Credit card bonuses are better than ever these days, so if you play the game smartly, you can save a ton of money on travel.
It’s good to see the premium cabins of international airlines improving the offering, both in business and first class
Miles and Points, Points and Miles. Where so we go next?
There are still some sweet spots in the devalued charts. Thank you for all your advice!
It’s great to see other programs like Avianca Miles & Smiles opening up other options
Miles and Points gave me a beautiful trip abroad.
I rreceived a nice birthday surprise from Marriott – an extra night’s stay towards elite status. Unexpected and appreciated!
Thanks, Gary.
thanks to reading this blog for the last few years, Ive learned how easy it is to accumulate points and enjoy the rewards. Its sad to think how many years I missed out.
Thanks to blogs like yours and some newer ones that are right up my alley, my skill at miles and points has increased faster than the devaluations. It also happens that most of my travel doesn’t have to fall into the hardest hit categories. This is still a fun game!
Positive? Hmmm… OK. A hefty miles balance still promotes dreamy fantasies even if they cost a whole lot more nowadays to ‘make real’!
Traveling to places I would of never go to (and loving it!)
a. Avios still a great deal for short US trips.
b. MS still makes me smile every time I go to Walmart!
I love the camaraderie the blogging community has produced!
Hello, I’ve been able to make several trips to France lately because of cheap (30,000) one-way tickets to Europe in coach on United. Points help democratize travel and culture more generally.
Through miles/points, I love that I can make use of my hectic work travel to my personal benefit and to be able to experience luxurious vacations which I couldn’t have imagined otherwise.
The ability to even cover *part* of the cost of a trip by paying with a combination of points + money is helpful to someone who is on a budget!
The Club Carlson credit card is still a great deal (if you can pass their credit check)!