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!
Thanks for the free education and giveaway too
Positive as the cost of miles is still less than revenue tickets.
Collecting miles and points are still fun and serves as a recreation.
Diversification is the key to miles and points success.
I never imagined I would be able to travel around the world as often and affordably as I can now with miles
It may cost more, but I have been able to go on some great family vacations with points and miles. Hawaii last year and St Thomas this year.
Blogs like yours have let me figure out how to travel and afford it, a life-long dream! I’ve been to about 30 countries in the last year and a half (while a full-time med student) and looking forward to an indefinitely long trip post-graduation. Thanks!
I love reading the whining of the over-entitled frequent fliers. Reading these blogs prepare me how to behave when I finally get enough miles to fly premium cabin so these snobs will not look down on me.
No matter how much the devaluations hurt, the points & miles game still allows me to go on more and nicer trips that I would otherwise be able to afford.
Just went to England for the long holiday weekend with my wife. What “normal” (i.e. not rich) people can do that without it being cost prohibitive?! But for me, flights & hotels were basically free, so it was worth it.
My husband loves the free flights 🙂
Gee, I love a deal!!
Because of reading this blog on earning miles, I’m able to go to England for my cousin’s wedding. Thanks!
We still have credit card signup bonuses!
Thankful 1/2000 chance of winning this prize is not worse than finding delta saver awards
Even now I know about miles and points, I still feel that first class award is a dream since it takes so many miles to redeem. But reading your stories let me know that it’s still possible!
There is always new info on blogs, above all yours, that I would never have discovered on my own.
Some bloggers give away prizes.
The ability to travel on a $10,000+ plane ticket – unaffordable otherwise.
You are the first to know about the latest and greatest deals online and your writing is straight up and honest.I always like to read about what you have discovered next…And you know many different ways to earn more points that i would never think of.
Keep up the good work.
Getting a “congratulations”message from a credit card application is one of the few genuinely pleasant surprises still available.
Chase bringing back the 50,000 point Rapid Reward signup bonus makes it easier for me to get the coveted Companion Pass.
Paying for the ICH ‘Ambassador’ status using IHG Rewards club points, in my opinion, pays off – even for one hotel visit. While staying at the Intercontinental Hong Kong last year, I was upgraded to the most amazing ‘Executive Suite’ for 5 nights (worth much more than the cost of the IHG Rewards Club points I used to buy the Ambassador status). I had a panoramic view of Hong Kong Harbour and was treated like royalty!
It’s because of blogs like this that have made super-long haul flights something to look forward to!
Like your helpful reviews about hotels and airlines – great tips.
The weight of the Chase Sapphire card still feels as good as it did last year.
Am incredibly excited to have been referred to this site. I’m a frequent flyer rewards newbie and am eager to get the process and game yes game! started
All the free flights and hotel rooms could not have been possible without the helpful blogs like yours that help us navigate the Miles game.
Love the sense of community.
It’s a great hobby that brings people together
Barclaycard travel community provides an easy way to earn more miles.
Travel bloggers have provided some valuable insight and tips for my new travel hobby.
Being very new to the miles and points world, I am continually amazed with the people who write blogs and their willingness to give useful information. That information, such as the newest great credit card deal, helps me to be able to afford to go on more family vacations! How great is that?!!
Learning about prospective devaluation helps me to plan ahead!
Blog long and prosper. Gary, your sneaky trick to get the best out of almost 2,000 of us is a great idea. It is so refreshing to read of the good times people have had using your strategies.
My wife and I will be trekking Patagonia this fall, after a Citibank Aadvantage card promotion pays for our biz class snoozes down and back from DCA! We learned of it here!
Travel is one of the things in life that can be free.
Look on the bright side: the programs still exist and they aren’t so out of reach that the average Joe cannot take advantage of it
Despite the devaluations, the game is still on and we still get nice trips. Flying the family to Europe in business this summer with less cash out of pocket than a single paid coach ticket.
Credit card sign-up bonuses for us Canadians are at historic highs
Planning is fun but actually getting to travel somewhere is a privilege few have. We should all be grateful. Thanks for the travel tips.
Most of the time the game of trying to find the best seats for the least miles at the times I want is fun. I enjoy the hunt, and the reward is great.
I love flying for free!
I enjoy the sharing of all the tips on travel blogs!
I’m going to use miles to visit my fiance in Mongolia during her time in the Peace Corp!
Love last night free on Club Carlson award redemption with their credit card.
While the rules may change, finding small victories in deals from a community of dedicated consumers is still a source of joy 🙂
cheap and convenient travel
Easier elite miles via CC spend is always nice
If it wasn’t for miles & points, I would never have been able to afford the Disney World vacation this fall for my family of 6 + my mother!
Miles are still the only way I can afford to fly business class!!
I love the real world trips like free stars at Starbucks!