Articles in the Airline Miles Category
Airline Miles, Airline Miles, Elite Status »
All about Airline Upgrades:
Editorial Note: This is my first article as a blog hosted on BoardingArea.com. I would like to personally thank Randy Petersen for the invite to move over and to the excellent staff of BoardingArea.com who made this a smooth transition both for me and my readers. I consider it an honor to join all the travel Bloggers who are already a part of the BoardingArea.com community.
If you fly much, especially on long flights, you probably savor the idea of getting an upgrade. Be it for the flat …
Airline Miles, Economics of Airline Miles, Elite Status »
The Economics of Airline Miles: Part V – Is it all really worth it?
The ‘Economics of Airline Miles’ started off as a single article I was writing on the topic of the ‘Value of Airline Miles’ to us, the travelers. It grew and evolved and took on a life of its own. It is now a five part series, with this being its fifth and concluding installment. I would like to thank all my readers for the interest and the feedback that helped set the direction of this series …
Airline Credit Cards, Airline Miles, Credit Cards, Elite Status »
Here we go again – Starting a New Year of earning Miles and Status:
If you are like me, you logged in to your primary mileage account, the one you have Elite Status on, on Jan. 1st and saw a big fat Zero in your Status Miles (EQM) total. For almost every airline in the world, that was the case. There are a few exceptions – some airlines like BMI have a rolling 12-month window over which they award and reset their status miles. This gives every passenger his or her …
Airline Miles, Credit Cards »
Why do I have to pay for my ‘Free’ Award Ticket?
One unique feature about the Free awards airlines give is that they are not really ‘Free’. While Hotels give absolutely free stays when they give awards, airlines charge you when redeeming Airline Miles.
The cost of redeeming miles should be taken into consideration when one is planning to redeem miles for free awards.
Here are a few:
Taxes:
Yes, Uncle Sam and all the other uncles, aunts and second cousins twice removed, who represent governments all around the world; want their cut when you …
Airline Miles, Economics of Airline Miles »
In the first three parts of this series on the Economics of Airline Miles I discussed: The Value of Airline Miles (Part I), The Value of Elite Status (Part II) and How to Maximize Airline Miles Earnings (Part III). In this fourth part of this ongoing series, I will go into the topic of how to effectively redeem your airline miles. Once you have earned all the miles by focussing your earnings, the eventual goal is to redeem these miles for rewards and awards from the airlines.
Remember, at the end …
Airline Miles, Airlines »
Southwest, AirTran, JetBlue, Ryan Air (Europe), IndiGo (India) – these are all low cost airlines that are focussed on giving cheap airfares with no frills. One of the frills they do not offer is a decent Frequent Flyer program. In some cases there is no program at all. I hence do not fly them. As I mentioned in my article on Maximizing Airline Mile earnings (Part 3 in my series on Economics of Airline Miles), if you have a goal to maximize the airline miles you earn, you should only …
Airline Credit Cards, Airline Miles »
How to get Airline Miles for Free?
I have written multiple articles that deal with earning miles by flying. These include – How to Maximize Airline Miles and How to Maximize Status Miles. If I look at all the miles I have earned over the years, more miles actually come from non-flying activities than I have earned by putting myself on a plane. Here are some ways to get miles without flying or without spending any money other than what you were going to spend anyway:
Get a Credit Card:
Probably the easiest …
Airline Credit Cards, Airline Miles, Elite Status »
How to Maximize Elite Status Miles
In my last article I talked about How to Maximize your Airline Miles. But as I discussed in my article on the Value of Elite status, while earning award miles is great, earning status miles and hence qualifying for different Elite levels is where all the real returns begin. I also talked about the how and what of Elite status in detail in another article. In this article I shall cover some tips and techniques that can help you maximize your Elite Status Miles and …
Airline Credit Cards, Airline Miles, Economics of Airline Miles »
How to Maximize Airline Mile Earnings
In my previous articles in the series ‘Economics of Airline Miles’ I covered the Value of Airline Miles in part 1 and the Value of Elite Status in part 2. Continuing in the series, in this article I will discuss practical tips on how to maximize the airline miles you earn. As I mentioned in part 1 of this series, your airline miles are an asset. Treat your collection of airline mile accounts like a portfolio. To borrow a quote from the greatest portfolio owner …
Airline Miles, Airlines »
Today Continental Airlines officially joined Star Alliance. They defected over from SkyTeam. Their coming over to Star Alliance makes Star Alliance the predominant airline alliance there is, especially in North America. Continental has become the fourth North America based Major Carrier in the alliance. The other three being United (a founding member of Star Alliance), USAirways and Air Canada. Overseas too they have massive presence with a total of 25 members worldwide. The list of airlines which will be joining them soon includes Air India. Rumored future members may be …
