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!
Miles and points still allow for otherwise unattainable travel. Love it!
Miles and points have introduced me to some of the nicest, most like-minded people I’ve ever met!
Miles bought me several upgrades to business class!
I’ve been inspired to go to places I otherwise wouldn’t think of
Miles brings you status ;^)
Still happy that I can fly business class to Europe with my partner for free!
Miles let me take my wife to Hawaii in first class.
The companion pass from the Alaska credit card helped us go to Hawaii for a very reasonable price!
Using miles it was possible to have my honeymoon in SE Asia
points and miles let me take my family and extended family to Hawaii for way less than it would have cost out of pocket.
Diamond benefit at Andaz Maui…all positive
Miles & Points blogs, websites, and strategies have been a great way to distract me from work. I think that’s a positive. I count it as such, at least 😀
Miles and points have allowed me more time with family and friends
There is always something new to learn on forums.
Co-workers and friends are amazed at the stories I tell them about accumulating miles and points – I’ve brought a couple of them into the fun, but most of them just shake their heads and say it’s too much to understand…I’m still trying to teach them though!
hyatt gave us cash + points option starting this year and that’s great!
the thrill of getting a great deal is still out there!
All travel blogs are super! Especially mine. 😉
Miles and points have opened doors – I’ve made some valuable business connections through volunteering strategy on miles & points!
I love that I am able to help my family travel for free!
Like your blog. Keep up the good work!!!
Traveling from SYD-SFO in first!
Like my first comment, it all comes back to being able to enjoy moments with others. I am single, never married, so I don’t often fly with someone. However, I had a companion pass from a DL Amex. When a friend was going through some stuff I told her to choose any place in the Lower 48 and we’d go there, and she could use my companion pass. We had a great time in Colorado.
I learn about which credit cards to apply for and which to avoid by reading these blogs.
Hyatt’s points+cash was a true enhancement!
Credit cards allow the acquisition of miles reasonably quickly and at low cost.
At the end of the day, you get an opportunity to travel relatively inexpensively (even with taxes and fees) — and if you plan well, you can manage some amazing trips. It’s all about strategy.
Flying to LAX-LHR in Sept. so we can see Kate Bush perform her first concerts since 1979. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience that would have been inconceivable without our stash of AA miles and Carlson points. Miles/Points allowed us invite a friend to come along which will add to the fun, AND it freed up enough money to buy tickets for a second concert.
Thanks for doing what you do, Gary.
A lot of learning experience for me from these blogs.
Without blogs and FT, I wouldn’t have been able to see the world.
Miles and points have saved me thousands and allowed me to see so much more of the world than I would have otherwise!
Some of the most arbitrary TSA regulations are getting rolled back and the deadlier backscatter scanners seem to have gotten less common.
For short notice trips, family emergencies. This is where non-US currencies are good as they rarely have close in booking fees.
From newbie to mid tier expert I was able to book 2 different awards for my family (5 adults) which would have been almost impossible without these blogs info
I still fly for free and never hesitate to go.
The sign-up bonuses keep increasing and the number of cards that offer them as well. If you keep up with the game, you can easily stay ahead of the devaluations!
miles & points have literally enabled me to travel the world for the past few years, visiting all 7 continents, and getting a real taste of what makes the world so great.
I used to book business to Asia using US Airways miles. With the devaluation, now I’m flying First Class instead for only 10k more than a business class seat.
I just drank a glass of a great wine! (La Rochelle Pinot Noir 2009)
Can’t devalue the fun of travel
Without miles, I’d never be able to fly C before I was 30!
I’ve been able to stay at several Holiday Inn & Crowne Plaza hotels for next to nothing (5K points) thanks to Point Breaks specials.
Glad there is a community of people who think about travel in a similar way I do
Travel is….and always will be… a wonderful experience. To share it with others makes it all the more memorable. Miles and points help to make it all possible.
One way awards are great for connecting cruise itineraries
Although I have learned a lot from yours and others blogs but I still feel I need to do a better job with mistake fares. I have yet to capitalize on this oppourtunity
There will always be an angle to take advantage of
I redeemed a Southwest Standard Award for Thanksgiving travel on 2 days’ notice last year for travel on the two busiest travel days of the year: Wednesday and Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend. Talk about a holiday gift!
We can still travel the world in premium style with very little effort and very little cost.
Discovering new airline partners and unlikely routings