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Points and miles can be a game-changer for travelers, offering incredible cost savings and flexibility when booking flights. If you’re new to the world of award travel, don’t worry—this guide will walk you through the process of booking your first flight using points and miles. We’ll cover everything from understanding the basics to insider tips for maximizing your rewards.
Points and Miles 101: Understanding the Basics
Before diving into the booking process, it’s essential to understand what points and miles are and how they work.
Points and miles are rewards currencies earned through various activities, primarily credit card spending and travel. These rewards can be redeemed for flights, hotel stays and other travel experiences. There are three main types of points and miles programs:
- Airline-specific programs: These are loyalty programs run by individual airlines, such as American Airlines AAdvantage or United MileagePlus. Miles earned in these programs can be used to book flights on that airline and its partners.
- Hotel-specific programs: These are loyalty programs run by individual hotel brands, such as Marriott, Hyatt, IHG and Wyndham. Points earned in these programs can be used to book hotel stays.
- Bank rewards programs: Credit card issuers like Chase, American Express, and Citi offer flexible points programs. These points can often be transferred to multiple airline and hotel partners or used to book travel directly through the bank’s travel portal.
Understanding the difference between and strengths of each of these program types is crucial for maximizing the value of your points and miles.
Earning Points and Miles: Strategies for Success
Now that you understand the basics, let’s explore how to earn points and miles quickly and efficiently.
- Credit card welcome offers: One of the fastest ways to accumulate a large number of points or miles is through credit card welcome offers. Many travel rewards cards offer substantial welcome offers after you meet a minimum spending requirement.
- Everyday spending: Use your rewards credit cards for daily purchases to earn points on everything from groceries to gas. Many cards offer bonus points in specific categories, so strategically using different cards can help you maximize your earnings.
- Dining programs: Many airlines and hotels have dining rewards programs that allow you to earn extra points or miles when you eat at participating restaurants.
- Shopping portals: Online shopping portals offered by airlines, hotels, and credit card issuers can help you earn bonus points on purchases you’re already making.
- Actual travel: Don’t forget that you can earn miles by flying with airlines and staying at hotels, especially if you have elite status.
The key to success is to align your earning strategy with your travel goals and spending habits. This way, you’ll accumulate points and miles faster without overspending.
Before You Book: Brushing Up on the Essentials
Before you start searching for your first award flight, it’s crucial to have a solid understanding of the process. We recommend revisiting our free points and miles course to increase your knowledge of key concepts.
Pay special attention to the sections on award charts, airline alliances and transfer partners. Practice running award searches using the examples provided in the course. This hands-on experience will be invaluable when you’re ready to book your own flight.
Remember, booking your first award flight might seem daunting, but with practice and patience, you’ll soon become proficient at navigating the world of points and miles.
Booking Your First Award Flight: A Step-by-Step Guide
Now that you’ve built a foundation of understanding, let’s walk through the process of booking your first award flight using points and miles.
- Determine your travel goals: Decide on your destination, preferred travel dates and class of service (economy, business or first class).
- Check your points balances: Review your points and miles balances across all your accounts. You can use My10x to keep track of your rewards in one place.
- Research award options: Use the airline’s award chart or sample searches on the airline’s website to estimate how many miles you’ll need for your desired route. Tools like Points Yeah can help you search for availability on more than one airline at once.
- Search for award availability directly with the airline: Start searching for award space on your preferred dates. Remember to check partner airlines as well.
- Compare options: Look at different routing options, airlines and even nearby airports to find the best value for your points.
- Book your flight: Once you’ve found suitable availability, follow the airline’s booking process to reserve your award flight.
- Pay taxes and fees: Be prepared to pay any applicable taxes and fees, which can vary depending on the airline and route.
Maximizing Your Miles: Airline Partnerships and Alliances
Understanding airline partnerships and alliances is essential for maximizing the value of your points and miles. The three major airline alliances are:
- Oneworld (including American Airlines, British Airways, and Cathay Pacific)
- Star Alliance (including United Airlines, Lufthansa, and Air Canada)
- SkyTeam (including Delta Air Lines, Air France, and Korean Air)
These alliances allow you to use miles from one airline’s program to book flights on partner airlines. For example, you could use American Airlines miles to book a flight on British Airways or Japan Airlines.
Additionally, some airlines have individual partnerships outside of their alliance. For instance, American Airlines (Oneworld) partners with Etihad Airlines (no alliance).
When searching for award flights, always check partner airlines for better availability, pricing or routing options. Sometimes, using miles from one program to book a flight on a partner airline can offer significant savings compared to booking directly with the operating airline. You can reference our transfer partner cheat sheet to easily see which airline programs use which type of transferrable credit card points and which airlines are partnered.
Insider Tips for Successful Award Booking
To increase your chances of success when booking award flights, keep these insider tips in mind:
- Be flexible with dates: Award availability can vary greatly from day to day. If possible, have a range of dates in mind for your trip and check award availability regularly.
- Book well in advance: Many airlines release award seats about 11 months before the flight date. For popular routes or peak travel times, booking early can be crucial.
- Consider alternative airports: Sometimes, flying into or out of a nearby airport can offer better award availability or require fewer miles.
- Use Points Yeah, Point.me, Seats.aero, Expert Flyer and other tools: These tools can help you search for award space across multiple airlines and set alerts for when seats become available.
- Watch out for phantom award space: Occasionally, award search tools may show availability that doesn’t actually exist. Always double-check availability before transferring points.
- Know the best time to book a flight: Understanding the best times to book a flight can help you secure better deals and availability.
- Be aware of routing rules: Some airlines have specific routing rules for award tickets. Familiarize yourself with these to avoid issues during booking.
- Check for schedule changes: After booking, periodically check your reservation for any schedule changes that might affect your travel plans.
Beyond Your Destination: Positioning Flights and Other Considerations
Sometimes, the perfect award flight might not be available from your home airport. This is where positioning flights can come in handy. A positioning flight is a separate ticket you book to get to the departure city of your main award flight.
For example, if you find a great award flight from New York to Paris, but you live in Chicago, you might book a separate flight from Chicago to New York. This strategy can open up more award options and potentially save you points.
Other considerations when booking award flights include:
- Taxes and fees: Some airlines charge high fuel surcharges on award tickets. Always factor these costs into your decision-making process.
- Stopover and open-jaw rules: Some airline programs allow you to add free stopovers or open-jaws (a roundtrip itinerary that arrives in one city but departs from another) to your award ticket, potentially allowing you to visit multiple destinations for the price of one.
- Mixed-cabin awards: Sometimes, you might find availability in different classes of service for different legs of your journey. This can be a way to experience premium cabins while saving points.
- TSA PreCheck: Consider getting TSA PreCheck to make your airport experience smoother, especially if you’re planning multiple trips.
Check out the video below to see a how-to guide on how to search for award flight availability. In this video, Lovan breaks down the exact steps you need to follow to make points bookings on your own.
Your Award Travel Toolkit: Essential Resources and Tools
To help you in your award travel journey, here are some essential resources and tools:
- Points Yeah: Useful for searching award availability across multiple airlines and setting alerts.
- AwardWallet: Helps you track your points and miles balances across various programs.
- Airline websites: Always check the airline’s own website for the most up-to-date award availability.
- Google Flights: Useful for researching flight routes and options, even if you’re booking with miles.
- 10xTravel acronym cheat sheet: Familiarize yourself with common points and miles terms and abbreviations.
- 10x Insiders Facebook Group: Join our community for support, advice, and to learn from other travelers’ experiences.
Simplify Your Award Travel Planning With My10x
To streamline your award travel planning process, we recommend using My10x. This tool allows you to:
- Track all your points and miles balances in one place.
- Set travel goals and track your progress toward them.
- Get personalized recommendations for credit cards based on your spending habits and travel goals.
- Access exclusive offers and bonuses.
By using My10x, you can simplify the often complex world of points and miles, making it easier to plan and book your award travel.
Embark on Your Award Travel Adventure
Booking your first flight with points and miles is an exciting step in your travel journey. Remember, practice makes perfect, and each booking will make you more confident in navigating the award travel landscape.
Key takeaways:
- Understand the basics of points and miles programs.
- Develop a strategy for earning points and miles.
- Research thoroughly before booking.
- Utilize airline partnerships and alliances.
- Be flexible and patient in your search for award availability.
- Use tools and resources to simplify the process.
We encourage you to join our 10x Insiders Facebook Group to connect with other travelers, share experiences and get advice as you start your award travel journey.
Remember, the world of points and miles offers incredible opportunities for travel. With the knowledge and tools you’ve gained from this guide, you’re well-equipped to book your first award flight and start exploring the world in ways you never thought possible.
Happy travels!
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Editors Note: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.