Incredible Deal: Buy British Avios Points for only 0.69 cents per mile!

For a limited time, the British Airways Avios program is running a double your points shopping portal promotion until March 5th.

Normally, these kind of shopping portal offers are nothing too special to write about, but there are two incredible offers that are worth mentioning for US residents.

With the double bonus factored in, British Airways is rewarding 150 Avios per dollar spent on Match.com and 130 Avios per dollar spent on eHarmony.com.

The process is pretty simple. First click here and log in to shopping portal. You should see an offer similar to the screenshot below:

Edit: Seems like British Airways has pulled Match.com early, eHarmony is still working.

Click on the offer and you’ll be redirected to Match.com.

After briefly filling out your profile, hit the subscribe button, and pick the plan you would like to purchase.

Since we are trying to maximize this promotion, I’d suggest selecting a 12 Month Basic Plan and then add on a bunch of extras to boost your total purchase price.

Ultimately, I was able to purchase a twelve month membership plus all the extras for $548, enough to receive 82,200 Avios points.

For eHarmony the process was a bit more complicated as you had to answer a bunch of questions before being allowed to make a subscription.

The highest plan for 12 months ended up costing $215, netting me another 27,950 Avios.

In total I was able to purchase 110,150 Avios for the grand total of $763, or a price of around 0.69 cents per Avios point.

That is an incredible deal as I feel British Avios are worth at least 1.25 cents per point at a minimum.

Remember that British Airways uses a distance based award chart, which bases the amount of miles on the flight distance of each segment flown.

US domestic flights on British Airways’ partner, American Airlines & Alaska Airlines, start at 7500 Avios, which means if you fully maximize both promos you’d be able to take up to seven round trip domestic flights.

For short haul flights in economy outside of the US, flights start at a mere 4500 Avios each way. Getting twelve round trip tickets in economy for around $763 is an incredible deal!

Fancy a trip to Hawaii? A round ticket from the west coast to Hawaii will only cost 25,000 Avios, meaning you could potentially take a family of four to Hawaii for only $763!

Do note that British Airways does pass on fuel surcharges, which sometimes can be quite substantial, so you’ll want to stick with airlines that don’t pass on a significant amount of their fuel surcharges, such as American Airlines.

For my brief recap on the British Avios program, click here.

Important Caveat:

These shopping portal bonuses usually take at least a month if not longer to post into your account. Sometimes airlines will try to weasel their way out of paying out the promised amount of points.

That’s why I highly recommend taking a screenshot of the offer, along with your purchase, in case you need to contact British Airways later on.

I’ve participated in a few of these shopping bonus deals before and have always received the promised amount of points in the end.

Singapore Airlines Award Chart Devaluation – Awards in Suites increasing by at least 25%

Singapore Airlines just announced a few changes to its Krisflyer program, with its first updated award chart since 2012. At first glance mileage increases for award travel seems quite mild, with prices for most non-premium travel staying the same.

However, Singapore Airlines is also discontinuing its online booking discount, which means you’ll have to pay 15% more, whether you’re booking online or via the phone.

Assuming you are looking to an award ticket in Singapore Suites, a one way saver redemption from New York to Frankfurt is going from 57,375 miles to 76,000 miles, around a 32% increase.

If you’re planning on flying to Sydney, an award redemption in first class now starts at 152,000 Krisflyer miles, an increase of over 30,000 miles!

A post shared by Sam Huang (@intotheplane) on Jan 4, 2017 at 6:46am PST

Getting to Sydney will cost you a bit extra

The updated award chart can be found here.

On the flip side, Singapore Airlines has eliminated all fuel surcharges for award flights on Singapore Airlines.

This represents a savings of around $100-400 each way, depending on the exact route and which cabin class you’re flying in.

These changes apply for travel solely on Singapore Airlines, partner award redemptions are unaffected.

Overall, while an increased amount of miles for award redemption is never pleasant, the elimination of fuel surcharges makes the sting a little better.

For those booking tickets in premium economy or lower, these changes will actually be a net positive as fuel charges have made redeeming Krisflyer miles for awards in economy a poor value, especially when Singapore Airlines runs its occasional 50% off sale.

These changes go into effect March 23^rd and I’d highly recommending booking any award travel you may have planned before then. 

Awards redemptions must be ticketed before March 23^rd, waitlisted awards will reprice if ticketed after the deadline. 

If you must wait, don’t despair. 76,000 miles for first class from the US to Europe is still a relatively reasonable amount of miles, and compares favorably to other frequent flyer programs.

Drinking a glass of #johnnyblue in the world famous double bed suite on #singaporeairlines #singaporesuites #firstclass #travel #topmiles #picoftheday #traveltuesday

A post shared by Sam Huang (@intotheplane) on Nov 22, 2016 at 8:44am PST

Well worth the miles

For a full rundown of the Krisflyer program on how to redeem your miles for Singapore Suites, click here.

How many countries can you visit using just your frequent flier miles?

As you may have recently read, a female traveler named Cassie De Pecol recently went viral after claiming to be the fastest traveler to visit all the countries in the world in a span of merely 18 months.

While visiting over 190 countries is no small task, what really stuck out to me was cost her around the world trip, which was $198,000.

Being the miles addict that I am, this got me thinking whether it was possible to replicate such a journey solely using frequent flier miles.

I decided to dive into my airline route database, and extracted a list of airports that could be reached via one of the three major alliances (OneWorld, Skyteam, and Star Alliance). Each alliance has a US partner: American Airlines, Delta, and United whose miles can be redeemed on a partner airline.

It turns out that the three major airline alliances fly to over 90% of the countries recognized by the UN.

Only 12 of the 193 countries lacked air service from one of the three major alliances.

Five of them are micro-states that have no commercial airports: Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican City.

A post shared by Sam Huang (@intotheplane) on Feb 20, 2017 at 6:30am PST

A rare uncrowded moment at the Vatican

The rest are mostly small island countries such as Dominica, Solomon Islands, St. Vincent & Grenadines, and Nauru.

The final three countries all have unique situations that prevent any major airline from flying in:

The Kingdom of Bhutan has long kept its tourism numbers in check, with a mandatory steep “tourist tax”, and a near monopoly of air traffic coming out of Paro Airport.

East Timor is a small country that won its independence from independence from Indonesia in 1999. There is a codeshare service with Silk Air, which is owned by Singapore Airlines, but it is unclear if you can use your miles to book a ticket.

The final country is Syria, which lost all air service with most major airlines when the civil war began in earnest in 2012.

Surprisingly, you could theoretically use your miles to fly to North Korea, as Air China (Star Alliance) has weekly service from Beijing to Pyongyang.

Even Turkish Airlines flies to Somalia, one of the world’s most violent cities to serve the Somali diaspora.

The World is Flat

In conclusion, my quick analysis reminded of an old book I use to read while in college, The World is Flat.

With rapid globalization, the fact that it’s now possible to use your frequent flyer miles to fly to over 90% of the countries in the world is pretty amazing.

Of course would probably need a few million miles to fly to every country, but for those who are expert churners or small business owners who run through six figures in expenses each month, this would be quite attainable.

You’ll have to also account for hotels and airport taxes & fees, but I’d imagine the world penetration of the major hotel chains would be something similar.

To start traveling the world using miles & points, start here.

Drink Milk? Earn $45 in Just One Minute! (Select States Only)

This is completely unrelated to miles, but since many of us are also penny pinchers, I’d figured this would be relevant.

A few months ago, the milk industry in the United States settled a price fixing class action lawsuit, with $52 million made available for “recovery”.

If you bought any milk / diary product since 2003 until the present while residing in any of the following states, you’re eligible to receive a payout between $45-70.

States Eligible:

Arizona, California, the District of Columbia, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia, or Wisconsin.

A proof of purchase is NOT required. All you need to do is submit your email and they will contact you for more details after the claim period is over. Remember, you don’t need to be a current resident of the mentioned states, just make a milk purchase in the past 14 years while being a resident of that state.

This will literally take one minute, and can easily net your family over $100, provided that you’re eligible.

Having participated in a few class action claims, these settlements are a nice way to earn some extra cash if one’s eligible for payout.

Click here to send a claim

*Ending Tomorrow* – 62.5% Transfer Bonus from Starwood to Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan program is by far my favorite airline loyalty domestically, with the ability to use miles on various partners for luxury travel including Cathay Pacific, Qantas, and Emirates.

However, miles are relatively hard to earn, since there are only a handful of credit card & transfer partners. One of Alaska’s main transfer partners is Starwood, which typically converts at a 1:1 ratio, with a bonus of 5000 miles for every 20,000 points transferred.

However, from now until January 6^th, there is rather unique arbitrage opportunity that’ll give you a 62.5% bonus when converting Starpoints into Alaska miles.

Here’s the rundown:

When Alaska Airlines finalized its acquisition of Virgin America in December, it was announced that starting on January 9^th, each Virgin America point will converted into Alaska Mileage Plan miles with an additional 30% bonus.

Starpoints also convert to Virgin American points at a 1:1 ratio, with a bonus of 5000 miles for every 20,000 points transferred. Starpoint transfers to Virgin America need to be initiated by January 6^th as Virgin America will cease to be a partner of SPG after that date. 

On January 9^th you’ll be able to convert your Virgin America points into Alaska Miles a 30% bonus, meaning for each 20,000 SPG points you’ll end up with 32,500 Alaska miles, making 1 Starpoint worth 1.625 Alaska miles, which is an incredible deal!

Should you do it?

I love Alaska’s relatively cheap award chart for certain first class redemption. With the limited transfer bonus, a one way ticket from the United States to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific’s first class would cost only 43,076 Starwood points, which is a bargain!

With a 62.5% bonus, I’d easily recommend transferring a few Starwood points to Alaska Airlines for future travel.

A photo posted by Sam Huang (@intotheplane) on Nov 25, 2015 at 7:09am PST

Note: You are limited to three transfers of 20,000 Starwood points daily to receive the transfer bonus in full. 

Act Now: Chase Sapphire Reserve Bonus Ending Soon

Last year, Chase launched the Chase Sapphire Reserve, which caught the miles world by storm with its 100,000 sign up bonus and slew of benefits including:

• Annual $300 Travel Credit that deducts eligible purchases automatically
• Complimentary Priority Pass Lounge Membership
• 3x points on Travel & Dining

See also: Why the Chase Sapphire Reserve is the world’s best travel credit card

Unfortunately, all good things come to end. Effective January 12^th, the sign up bonus on the Chase Sapphire Reserve will decrease 50%, making it equal to the current sign up bonus of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.

This is equivalent of having a sign up bonus worth $750 less, since Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders can redeem their points for travel expenses at 1.5 cents each. 

I highly recommend applying for this card before the sign up bonus decreases, as it’s unlikely we’ll ever see such a high bonus ever again. 

View Travel Reward Cards Here

Trip Report: New Years Eve Fireworks At The Old Holiday Inn Sydney

Upon arrival, I was warmly greeted by the check in agent and was told my room was ready, even though we were a bit early.  I also received a goodie bag filled with various snacks and a bottle of Australian sparkling wine, which was a nice touch from the staff. It was unclear if the bag was being given to all guests or just platinum members.

My standard King Room was quite basic but functional, and what you’d except at typical Holiday Inn. After checking in, we went up to the rooftop to get our first look at the Sydney skyline. It was a gorgeous day, with not a cloud in sight, and I knew we would be in for a treat later in the evening.

Success! How I booked my 90% off first class ticket using GarudaMiles!

Last week, Garuda Indonesia launched an incredible 90% off flash shale for all its mileage tickets.

As I was able to get in on the deal relatively early, I was able to put on hold two separate awards. Not surprisingly, after a surge of interest, Garuda ended its promo early. What came afterwards was a week of speculation on whether Garuda would honor the tickets put on hold, and how to actually ticket these elusive awards.

I’ve finally come back from Hong Kong after a long day trip, and in my hand two ticketed reservations in Garuda First!

I know some of you guys who were lucky have put reservations on hold, so let’s break it down step by step on your options on getting your reservation ticketed.

Before you can begin the ticketing process, you’ll need to have enough miles to redeem your award. Citi is the only US bank that has points that can be converted to GarudaMiles. I initiated my transfer on the 12/22 via Citi and promptly received my points two days later.

Once you have enough miles, it’s time to ticket your award.

Option One: The Phone Roulette

Not wanting to go through to the hassle of flying to the nearest sales office, I first tried Garuda’s first class hotline (+62 212 965 5777). While the agent was able to confirm my reservation and mileage amount, when I tried paying for the tickets with any of my US cards, the payment failed to go through. I tried to enlist my Taiwanese friend’s help and use his Taiwanese card which also failed.

Garuda’s payment system is frustrating to say the least, and I probably called the first class phone line at least 10 separate times, each time resulting in failed transaction.

Verdict: Unless you have a Indonesian credit card, it is unlikely you’ll be able to pay for the ticket over the phone.

Option Two: Indonesian Friend

Since I was unable to use any foreign credit cards, the agent suggested that I ask a local contact in Indonesia to make a bank payment on my behalf. The process itself is simple, you are given a payment reference number and you simply go to your local bank’s ATM, enter the reference number and directly transfer the money instantaneously.

In practice, finding a local contact to willing to do this was a PITA, and I wasn’t able to find anyone to complete the transaction

Last Resort: Fly to a Sales Office (Hong Kong)

Having exhausted my other otpions, I finally decided to physically go to the Garuda Hong Kong office. Normally, last minute tickets are quite pricey at over $240 round trip, but thanks to British Avios, I was able to book a business class flight leaving Taipei in the morning, and a return on the same evening for only 13,500 British Avios.

Note: Cathay Pacific has recently started blocking all award space less than 6 days out for British Avios bookings

After my morning flight, I made my way to the Garuda Sales office located a couple minutes walking from Causeway Bay MTR station.

The actual sales office is a bit small, although it’s located in a rather posh building. I was greeted by the agent, Mr. Low, who proceeded to confirm the flight details.

<!––>1.       <!––>Amsterdam to Jakarta in First class, along with a tag on flight in business class to Hong Kong for 23,500 miles.

<!––>2.       <!––>Jakarta to Tokyo in First Class, along with a tag on flight from Hong Kong in business class for 13,500 miles.

The total cost of my two trips was a mere 37,000 GarudaMiles + $290 in fees, which was one of the best mileage deals I’ve ever redeemed.

Contrary to the previous rumors, you actually don’t need a physical GarudaMiles card to book your trip. A passport matching the reservation name is all that is required.

After filling out a bit of paperwork, including an award reservation form confirming the 90% miles off, he swiped my US visa card to pay the $295 in taxes & fees, which went through without a hitch.

To finalize the ticket, the agent created a printed out of the ticketed flight, amazingly using a dot matrix printer.

Overall, the process was quite seamless and I booked my award in less than an hour.

Alternative Way?

If the nearest sales office it on another continent, there seems to be a small workaround loophole.

There are reports on FlyerTalk that the Garuda Amsterdam office is able to issue mileage redemption tickets through a credit card authorization form, which means you don’t have to actually physically go to an office. This seems like the only sales office that processes tickets , so it is extremely YMMV, but if you can’t make it to an actual sales office, this may be your only option.

90% off award tickets on Garuda Indonesia (with a ton of caveats)

For a limited time, Garuda Indonesia has discounted its mileage award by 90% off for flights between 2/1 – 5/31. There is limited award space, and the award must be ticketed by 12/31 at your local sales office.

In theory, this sounds like an amazing deal, but comes with a TON of caveats, which pretty much puts this award out of reach for anyone currently residing in the US. So before you start transferring your Citi points, make sure to read my experience on trying to book one of these promo awards.

How to Redeem

You’ll need to first call the Garuda hotline at +62 212 351 999. Follow the prompts and you’ll be placed into phone roulette. If you’re lucky you’ll be connected to an agent after 2 minutes. If not, they will tell you to call again.

You may find yourself calling the hotline repeatedly as you can imagine the phone lines are jammed. After connecting with an agent, ask to find award space for the flights you desire. Garuda Indonesia’s route map can be found here.

Since this story broke last night, reports are that almost all first class award space is now booked.

If an agent tells you need to call another hotline to book first class award space, hang up and call the hotline again. Depending on the agent you get, you’ll either find it a breeze to put an award on hold, or vice versa.

I managed after three calls to get a first class redemption on hold from Amsterdam to Jakarta, along with a tag on flight to another Asian city.

The total price quoted by the agent was remarkably low 23,500 miles.

To calculate the amount of miles needed, use the one way chart below and multiple by 0.1. Alternatively, you can use Garuda’s cumbersome miles calculator.

I also put a few other awards on hold. You should receive an email similar to the one below.

However, sometimes the agent forgets to send an actual email, so make sure to write the reservation code that they provide over the phone.

The agent told me I would have to ticket my award by 12/31 at a local Garuda travel office.

It’s important to note that Garuda only has travel offices in cities which they actually fly to, which means there are no offices in the US that can actually ticket your award.  Thankfully, I am currently based in Asia, so getting to a travel office is just a slight burden.

After putting my awards on hold, I immediately transferred my Citi Thank You Points, which is a transfer partner of Garuda Airlines. The expected transfer time is around 2 days.

The process is extremely complicated and very YMMV, which why I’d advise to sit this one out if you are based in the US. Now if you are located in or near Amsterdam, London, or in any of cities that Garuda has an actual sales office, this could be of interest. Be sure to call your local office to make sure they can book mileage tickets.

Is this risky? Yes, but part of the fun is sometimes taking a gamble and seeing where it takes you. Good luck everyone!

Trip Report: Star Alliance First Class & Business Class Lounge – LAX

The lounge attendant warmly welcomed me and handed me a lunch menu to look over while I got settled in. The first class lounge is a relatively small cozy room separated into two areas: a small white tablecloth dining area and lounging area with different types of leather ottomans and sofas.

Curiously, there appeared to separate hidden door near the entrance of the lounge. I later learned this was the VVIP area where celebrities and those with security needs stayed. It was rumored that Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snapchat, was schedule to drop by. Alas, I never saw him, so I assumed he was quickly whisked into the VVIP area. It seemed like even flying in a $10,000 seat won’t get you access to the Hollywood A listers.