Into Flight International

Congratulations on taking your first step towards free worldwide travel. Based on the questionnaire, it seems like you are quite new to the world of miles. Don’t worry, I’m here to guide you every step of the way. First, let’s get you familiarized with some basic terminology.

What are miles?

The airline industry is big business, with over 10 million people flying each day. To attract loyal customers in a competitive environment, airlines have frequent flyer programs that reward passengers for each flight they take.

Just as you earn loyalty points when you buy groceries from your supermarket, you also earn points every time you fly with a specific airline. These points are called miles. And just as you can use your points for discounts in your supermarket, you can also use your miles to get free flights with an airline.

There are two main ways to earn miles:

By flying

and by making purchases

Earning Miles through Flying

Earning miles through flying is pretty straightforward: every time you fly with an airline, they will give you a certain number of miles. The more you fly with them, the more miles you earn. If you fly enough, you’ll achieve elite status, which gives you nice perks such as more luggage allowance, priority boarding, and the occasional upgrade

Top tier elite members get access to exclusive lounges
Each airline has its own miles program, which can be redeemed for travel on itself or its partners.

Earning Miles through Purchases

Miles can also be earned through the use of travel reward credit cards. These are credit cards that give you points every time you make a purchase, which can be converted to airline miles.

Since most of us only fly a couple of times a year, the easiest way to earn miles is by making purchases on your credit card. You’d be surprised how easy it is to earn thousands of miles each year just by paying your monthly bills and necessary expenses using your credit card.

How to Use Miles

Once you earn enough miles, you can then use them to book your free flight.

Most people are put off by frequent flier miles because the process seems complicated. There are a multitude of airline and credit card programs to choose from, each with their own rules and requirements. It’s quite easy to get frustrated.

We’ve created a system that breaks down the booking process into five easy to follow steps:

Pick your Destination

Every journey has a start and a finish. Choose where you want to go and if you want to fly Economy, Business or First Class.

Select the Right Credit Card

We will show you all the credit cards that you can use to earn miles for your chosen airline program. We will compare and suggest the best cards that can help you earn your miles faster.

Book your Award Flight

Our comprehensive guides will teach you how to search and book your next free trip!

What are Air Miles?

Miles can be thought of as a type of currency that you can use to book flights. Flights booked using miles are called award tickets.

Just as each country in the world uses its own currency, each airline uses its own miles program. For example, miles earned from Philippine Airlines are called Mabuhay Miles, whereas miles earned from Etihad are called Guest Miles.

In the Philippines, there are 2 major domestic airlines (Philippine Airlines & Cebu Pacific) and numerous foreign airlines (including Singapore Airlines, ANA, Etihad) each with its own miles program.

No single airline could possibly fly to every city by itself. Thus, many airlines have formed alliances with other airlines. This means that you can earn and use miles even on flights flown by other partner airlines. Let’s say you want to travel abroad. You can use your PAL Mabuhay miles for travel on Etihad & ANA, which are Philippine Airlines’ partner airlines. Singapore Airlines Krisflyer miles, on the other hand, can be used to fly on Eva Air and Thai Airways among numerous others.

Each airline’s miles can be used for travel on specific airlines

Different Airline partners throughout the world

What is important to remember is this: you need miles to book free flights. Thus, you want to earn as many miles as possible.

The number of miles you need to fly from one place to another depends on your destination and the cabin class you choose. Each airline sets its own prices. In many situations, you will have airlines charging different amounts of miles for flying to the exact same destinations. Choosing the right airline program can save you tons of miles.

[VAR 2 International Flights]

For international flights, there are quite a few different frequent flyer programs that Filipinos can earn their miles with.

The two major airline programs that you’ve probably heard of are PAL’s Mabuhay Miles and Cebu Pacific’s GetGo Points.

You can read my detailed guides on both programs, which can be found below:

However, the best and most lucrative miles reward programs are actually those belonging to foreign airlines such as Etihad and Singapore Airlines.

These programs typically offer reward flights at a cheaper rate then PAL / Cebu, and if you have enough points you can experience some of the most luxurious airline products in the world!

[ETIHAD’s APARTMENT]

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Picking the right credit card

Now that we have selected the airline loyalty program you want to use, let’s talk about how you can earn miles for your free trip.

As you remember, there are two primary ways to earn miles: by flying or by using credit cards.

Unless you are a flier who travels a lot, it is very hard to earn enough miles through flying. Since most of us don’t fly that often, the best way to earn those miles would be via a specific type of credit card, the travel rewards credit card, which rewards miles with every purchase you make with the card.

Credit Card companies usually reward 1 point or mile per 40 PHP spent. So the more you spend while using these cards, the more points or miles you earn.

Not only that, many different cards have category bonuses that give additional miles if an item is part of that category. These category bonuses can add quickly build up your miles balance.

Choosing the Right Credit Card
Different airlines are partnered with different credit card companies. This means that each credit card has its own airline partner where you can redeem your miles.

[INTERNATIONAL VERSION VARIABLE #2]

For example a Citi PremierMiles card earns Citi credit card miles, which can be used on different airlines such as Singapore Airlines & Etihad.

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However, a Mabuhay Miles card earns miles that can only be used for trips booked on Philippine Airlines. It can’t be used on any other carrier that has its own partnership with other credit card companies.

You want to make sure that the credit card you apply for can earn miles that can be redeemed for travel on your selected airline loyalty program. Nothing could be worse than earning the miles necessary and then finding you can’t use your newly earned miles for your trip.

[FILIPINO INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS VAR #2]

When it comes to finding the right credit card for international flights, nothing beats the Citi PremierMiles card, which is currently by far the most rewarding credit card miles program.

The main reason on why the card is so valuable is its wide variety of transfer partners.

Not only can you transfer your Citi credit card miles to PAL & Cebu Pacific, Citi has partnered with over seven international airlines, including three of the best airline programs globally: Etihad, Singapore Airlines, and British Airways.

I’ve written a comprehensive guide on each award program, and how you can save a lot of miles flying to exact same destination. I highly recommend reading each one and seeing how you can also take a $23,000 flight for $300.

Here are some of the amazing redemptions you can obtain with PremierMiles Card:
Fly to Japan for only 10,000 British Airways miles each way. If you have the Citi PremierMiles signature card, this means you’ll have to merely spend around 45,000 PHP a month to get a round trip ticket to Tokyo from Manila!

Sleep in comfort aboard Singapore Airlines’ world famous suites product. Flights from Singapore to Hong Kong start at only 32,000 Krisflyer Miles one way (Citi Partner)

Experience the world’s most luxurious first class product, the Etihad First Class Apartment, for around 120,000 Etihad Guest Miles (Citi Partner).

These kind of redemptions are simply not possible with any other travel rewards card currently in the Philippines! To learn more about the PremierMiles card, click here.

Or Apply Now!

With a heap of reward credit cards out there, it might be daunting to find out which one is the best for your needs. Luckily, we’ve broken it down to four distinct factors to help you decide which one you should apply for: Card benefits, Sign-up Bonus, Minimum Spend and Annual Fee.

Card Benefits
Most credit cards have category bonuses which give multiple bonus points for purchases within certain categories. Most cards also have benefits that include airport lounge access, car rental insurance, and price protection.

Annual Fee
Cards usually have an annual fee attached to them. However, the benefits of a card often offset this fee. Most credit card companies usually waive the annual fee off the first year, so you can see if the card is right for you.

Picking the right credit card is a challenge. When I first started out, I spent hours researching on benefits for every single card before deciding which card to apply for.