THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO TRAVEL HACKING For Beginners & Advanced Travelers By: Matthew Kepnes
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction
4
What Is Travel Hacking?
7
101: How Loyalty Programs Work
11
102: Using Travel Credit Cards
17
103: How to Gain Points
25
104: Advanced Hacking, Part 1: Taxes & Gift Cards
30
105: Advanced Hacking, Part 2: The Mileage & Mattress Run
40
106: Award Types and Point Value
43
107: Redeeming Miles
49
108: The ITA Matrix
54
109: Travel Hacking For Non-Americans
63
Conclusion
66
Resources
68
FAQs
69
Appendix A: Hotels Rewards Chart
71
Appendix B: Flight Rewards Chart
76
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INTRODUCTION
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I make a lot of passing references to travel hacking on social media and my blog. I often mention how I use credit card sign-up bonuses, company loyalty programs, giveaways, prizes, special deals, and more to gain hundreds of thousands of points for hotels or airline membership programs without ever setting foot on an airplane or sleeping in a hotel room. I then use those points for free flights, hotel suites, train travel, cash back, and everything in between. Points are the money that keeps me on the road. By using these loyalty programs to travel hack, I can significantly reduce my travel costs and travel for free most of the time. (And while in some cases there are small fees to be paid on redemption, the rewards I get each year greatly outweigh any fees, which are usually only a few dollars. I’ll talk more about this in a later chapter.) Free is the best way to travel and I’ve never gone into detail about the art of travel hacking. A lot of people want to learn more about it so they can also travel the world for free, but it’s complicated and requires an explanation longer than can be provided in a single blog post (which why there are countless blogs dedicated to just this one subject!). But since travel hacking is an important tool in the budget traveler’s arsenal and saves travelers thousands of dollars each year, I sat down to write this definitive guide so it can do the same for you too. Thus, The Ultimate Guide to Travel Hacking was born. First, a bit of about my history with this: I was late to the travel hacking game, and it cost me dearly. Before I went overseas in 2006, I used the Citi PremierPass credit card (now called Citi ThankYou Premier Rewards) to earn enough points for a free one-way flight to Europe. They offered a meager sign-up bonus (I forget what), and it took the combined spending of both my mother and myself to earn the 50,000 points necessary for the free flight to Europe.
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It wasn’t until after I got home from the first part of my journey that I even began looking into this “travel hacking.” I didn’t even sign up for a frequent flier account until 2008! Amazing, huh? That year, I stumbled across a few travel hackers on the Internet, and, intrigued, devoured all the information I could; since then, I’ve been an ardent points and miles junkie. I’ve written this book as a way to fully explain what travel hacking is and how you can use it to gain hundreds of thousands of loyalty points for airlines and hotels so you can travel for free. Free is, of course, the best way to travel and the techniques I explain in this book have helped me travel cheaper, better, and longer. And often, in first class. That’s the power of travel hacking—it allows people to experience first-class travel without the first-class price. Both beginners and advanced travel hackers will find something in these pages that will help them travel more, fore less. Even if first-class to Asia isn’t your dream and all you want is to get your family to Paris without spending a fortune, travel hacking is still for you. It doesn’t matter if you redeem your points on many little things or one big thing. Get them and use them so you can travel more. My hope is that when you are done with this book, this seemingly complicated subject will unfold as the easy method it really is—once you understand a few rules, everything will fall into place, and you’ll be off to the airport to visit that destination you’ve always dreamed of! Enjoy! Sincerely, “Nomadic” Matt Kepnes
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WHAT IS TRAVEL HACKING?
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You can summarize the idea of travel hacking with the following definition:
“Travel hacking is the technique of legally collecting loyalty points for travel programs and then gaming said programs to get free or severely cheap travel.” When someone says they’re a travel hacker, what they really mean is that they’re a loyaltyobsessed travel fanatic addicted to accumulating as many reward points as possible for the fewest dollars spent. Travel hacking is a relatively new phenomenon; it’s only become popular in the last 5 to 10 years due the proliferation of ways to earn points. As loyalty programs have expanded, companies have begun to offer points for just about anything. (Take a survey? Have some points! Sign up via our link to this bank? Have some more points! Shop through our system? Have triple points!) The rise of large credit card bonuses has also made it easy for consumers to obtain hundreds of thousands of miles each year without ever traveling. Miles (what airline points are called) and points (what non-airline program points are called) are like currency. The more you have, the better. But just like regular money, miles lose value over time through inflation and overprinting. Essentially, the more miles the airlines “print,” the less valuable they become. A mile doesn’t take you as far today as it did yesterday. There are so many miles currently in circulation (more than there is money in the world) that they’ve become too easy to earn and redeem for free travel. To correct this, airlines devalue their miles by increasing the number required for a reward ticket and placing restrictions on when you can use them. This happens every few years, and while it’s never good for the consumer, it’s only to be expected. Airlines are constantly changing their reward programs. For example, once US Airways and American Airlines merge their frequent flier programs in 2015, I expect a big devaluation to occur.
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But that doesn’t mean travel hacking is over—not by a long shot. It just means it’s important to spend your miles when you have them. Hoarding miles is never a good idea because they’re a depreciating asset. Use them as soon as you have enough for the reward ticket you want, because you never know when the programs are going to change. If you think of miles and points as a currency to be accumulated, then you realize that by not going after them, you’re essentially saying “no” to money, even if companies change redemption requirements on you. And who wants to do that? Unlike accumulating dollars or euros, points and miles can be gained with little effort. While everyone has a preference for a certain brand (for hotels, I like Starwood, and for flying, I like American Airlines), it’s also smart to earn points on several other programs so you know you can always get a flight or a room if your preferred brand doesn’t have what you’re looking for. To travel hackers, loyalty is important, but so is ensuring that you always have options. Never put all your eggs in one basket. Always have backups and carry balances in a few programs. I use my favorite companies as often as I can, but I still collect points through a variety of card sign-ups and promotions for other brands in order to have a second- or third-tier backup if my preferred company doesn’t have the best options for when and where I want to go. (That being said, if you have TOO many backups, you’ll find that you have lots of points over too many companies that can’t be redeemed for much of anything, so don’t spread yourself too thin!) That’s pretty much what travel hacking is all about—using the systems these brands have created to ensure you travel well and as close to free as possible. There’s nothing illegal about this. This isn’t a secret, and it’s not some back-alley trade going on. All the companies know what’s happening; some even host travel hackers at corporate events. Although “travel hacking” seems to imply something fishy, it’s perfectly legit.
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Will this stuff exist forever? Who can say! The system is constantly changing. But while it’s there, I’ll certainly use it to pay less for my travel. And so should you. Now, let’s get into how to accumulate and spend points!
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TRAVEL HACKING 101: HOW LOYALTY PROGRAMS WORK
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Consumer loyalty programs are designed to reward consumers for their loyalty by offering them elite status, special discounts, upgrades, points, and sometimes bonuses for every dollar spent, which can then be redeemed for freebies. The idea behind these programs is that if you dedicate your time and money to gaining all these points with one company, you’ll be less likely to switch to another company and start all over again. These programs are designed to benefit companies’ most high-spending and frequent customers. It costs more to gain new customers than to keep existing ones, especially ones who are paying for first-class tickets and penthouse suites. Loyalty programs keep those customers. These programs also entice frequent fliers to stay with their brand instead of switching to another as airlines have cut benefits to non-members (remember when you used to get free peanuts in-flight? Those were the days!). Every major travel company in the world has a loyalty program. Even popular booking sites like Expedia and Hotels.com offer loyalty programs for booking through their websites! These programs are everywhere because competition for customers is so fierce. (In the resource section of this book, you will find links to hotel, airline, and car rental rewards programs.)
HOW HOTEL PROGRAMS WORK Every hotel loyalty program offers its own benefits. Programs are generally divided into various levels—the higher levels see the most benefits. As you gain higher status, you’ll earn point bonuses during hotel stays, free amenities and Wi-Fi, room upgrades, and complimentary breakfast. Unlike airline programs, with hotel loyalty programs you only earn points and status when you book directly through the hotel. For example, if you stay at the Hilton but booked via Expedia or Hotels.com, you won’t earn points from your booking or have that stay count toward elite status. You’ll earn points from money spent on extras such as room service, but not from the room itself. If you are trying to gain points and
You can see the hotel reward program levels in Appendix A.
status on a specific hotel brand, it’s very important you book directly. Not only do hotels
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take better care of customers who book directly with them, but they’re also more likely to award upgrades and perks if they see you are a direct booking. For many years, I shunned hotels in favor of hostels. But when I did finally start staying at some hotels, I made the mistake of booking via Hotels.com. I ended up losing out on a full week of points and status at a hotel in Bangkok because I didn’t book directly with the hotel. Don’t make the same mistake I did. (Unless, of course, the discount through a thirdparty site is so great that you can’t pass it up!) However, the booking websites PointsHound and RocketMiles will let you book rooms through their sites and still earn hotel points, while also earning points for some airline frequent flier programs as well. This is a great way to double dip and earn airline miles quickly through hotel stays. I’ll touch more on redeeming points and weighing benefits later, but for now, know that hotel loyalty programs are pretty straightforward. The more often you book directly and spend money during your stay, the higher your status, and the more benefits you get. You can sign up for loyalty programs on hotel websites. Information on hotel reward benefits and levels is in Appendix A.
AIRLINE PROGRAMS Airline loyalty programs are less straightforward than hotel programs, as there are far more caveats. Initially started in the 1980s through American Airlines, airline loyalty programs work by giving you one frequent flier mile per mile flown (often called “butt-in-seat” miles). For example, if your flight is 3,000 miles, you get 3,000 frequent flier miles in your account. Easy to understand, right? Hold on—it gets more complicated.
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But first, let’s talk about how to gain status. With airline status, only actual miles flown (often known as elite qualifying miles, or EQMs) count towards your elite status. You know, where you get free checked bags, priority boarding, priority screening, lounge membership, upgrades, and more? That status. Unfortunately, while you can get hotel credit cards that bump you up to a mid-level status (for example, the Hilton American Express gets you gold status at Hilton), there is nothing like that with airlines. While some top-level airline credit cards (i.e., the ones with high yearly fees and spending requirements) offer some EQMs if you hit a certain level of spending, if you want elite status with an airline, you have to fly to make it happen. Miles gained through surveys, promotions, and credit card
You can see a comparison of each airline’s program in Appendix B.
bonuses don’t count toward your elite frequent flier status (though when you fly business or first class, you get those perks anyway). But if all you want is a free flight, the regular ol’ run-of-the-mill miles earned through promotions, special offers, and card bonuses will get you there! The higher your elite status, the more bonus miles you earn every time you fly. You can earn 25–100% in bonus miles each flight and, while these don’t count toward “EQMs,” they count toward your total mileage balance, helping you increase it and get free flights faster. And that’s the point at which 3,000 miles flown doesn’t necessarily equal 3,000 frequent flier miles. Depending on your status, it could be a whole lot more, which is why airline loyalty is important. If you fly frequently, loyalty becomes extremely important not only for your ability to have a better flying experience, but also because you can earn additional miles much more quickly. It’s a very good perk. Each airline has its own status system and earning requirements. You can see a comparison of each program in Appendix B.
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Additionally, depending on your status level, you’ll be able to get complimentary upgrades, international lounge access, waived rebooking fees, and much more. It’s important to note that many of the major reward programs in the United States have become revenue-based. You may have noticed the numerous changes to frequent flier programs. Delta has completely revamped their program to a revenue-based model instead of a distance-based one, United has devalued their reward chart and added a revenue requirement, Air Canada devalued their rewards in 2013 (twice), and American Airlines made a number of unannounced changes to their program, including adding two new reward tiers. Many of these changes are “meant” to reward airlines’ best customers—the travelers who pay full fare. Those are airlines’ bread and butter, not the people who fly the most on a cheap ticket. Moving to a revenue-based model serves to reward high-spending travelers….and screw everyone else. If you’re a casual traveler, don’t stretch yourself too widely across various loyalty programs. Having a tiny balance in a lot of programs won’t get you free flights (my friend Travis from Extra Pack of Peanuts calls these “straggler points”). But while it’s important to focus on just a few companies, you also want to have a backup. I have brands I like to use as often as I can, but I still collect points through a variety of card sign-ups and promotions for other companies in order to have a backup if my preferred company doesn’t have the best options for me. By earning points with other brands, I can reduce my out-of-pocket costs with those alternate companies. Unless you’re flying enough to earn mid-tier status on a specific airline, don’t remain loyal to just one company. For example, the vast majority of branded airline credit cards offer essentially the same perks as the lowest-level status—free checked bags, priority access, priority boarding, and discounts on in-flight food and beverage. It’s not until you reach mid-tier status that you actually start to get the good perks (upgrades and international lounge access), so unless you can reach that level, it’s not worth being loyal when you can get beneficial bottom-tier perks through other companies with cheaper deals so many other ways.
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For non-frequent fliers who may only take a handful of flights in a year, go with the cheapest flight and/or travel hack to collect points to travel for free. Stick to the credit card programs I talk about later, such as Chase or American Express. Don’t put all your eggs into one basket—but don’t go buying a dozen baskets, either. Loyalty programs exist to get you hooked on a single brand so you don’t switch to a competitor, but as a travel hacker, you’ll accumulate miles and points with many different loyalty programs to maximize both your elite status (and thus upgrades and other benefits) as well as point balances to redeem for freebies.
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TRAVEL HACKING 102: USING TRAVEL CREDIT CARDS
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Gigantic credit card bonuses are what make travel hacking possible on a grand scale. Since the United States is a credit card-hungry nation, competition for customers is fierce and as a result, card companies partner with major travel brands to offer sign-up bonuses to new customers. Bonuses have been increasing a lot in Canada and United Kingdom too and it’s not uncommon to see sign-up offers of close to 100,000 points! I’ve accumulated probably over a million points through sign-up bonuses alone. Here are just a few of the goodies I’ve earned: • Over 400,000 America Airlines miles • Over 100,000 British Airways miles • Over 50,000 Virgin Atlantic miles • Four free nights at the Marriott • Citibank points for two free flights to Europe and $300 USD cash • Hilton Honors Gold membership and 60,000 Hilton Honors points • Over 120,000 United miles • A free first-class ticket from London to Hong Kong • Dozens of free hotel stays That’s just for signing up. I’ve been travel hacking for so long that the list of things I’ve earned could fill another entire book. All those points and miles have allowed me to travel the world on the cheap. And they can do that for you too, which is why signing up for a travel credit card is so important. It’s your gateway to free travel.
HOW THEY WORKS There are a lot of credit cards out there (see resource page for a list) and they all have various benefits, but when it comes to the bonuses, they typically work like this: In order to get the large bonuses, you must make either a single purchase or meet a minimum spending threshold in a certain time frame. After that, depending on the card, you can earn one to five points per dollar spent.
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For example, the Barclays US Airways World Premier MasterCard comes with 40,000 bonus miles. To get that, you just need to use that card once, whether it’s for a stick of gum, a pair of shoes, or a new computer. On the other hand, the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express gives you 25,000 points—but you get the first 10,000 when you make your first purchase and the other 15,000 are earned only after you meet the minimum spending requirement of $5,000 within six months of initial approval for the card. Typical card bonuses range between 25,000 to 50,000 points, though sometimes they can be as high as 100,000. That’s why cards are so great—you get an instant balance of thousands of points for very little work.
HOW TO LEVERAGE THE CARDS With so many credit cards to choose from, which ones do you pick? Well, the short answer is: all of them. Grab as many as you can. Why put a limit on how many points you can get? But that being said, when you are just beginning to learn this stuff, you should start off with the following question: What is your goal? The important thing to do when you begin travel hacking with credit cards is to come up with a plan. While the most ardent of travel hackers will sign up for anything and everything to gain points, for the casual or new hacker, it’s best to start slow and focus on a few key goals. The first thing you want to ask yourself is what you want: Free flights? Hotel points? Loyalty to one brand? For example, if you’re a loyal flier with American Airlines, the best cards to start off with would be the Citi American AAdvantage card (40,000 point sign-up bonus) and the
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Starwood AmEx card (25,000 sign-up bonus plus 20% transfer bonus that you can use with your AA account). If you just want points to spend wherever you choose, get the Chase or American Express cards because you can use their points with a variety of travel companies (I will discuss this more when I talk about point systems and redemption in later chapters). They each have their own rewards programs (Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards), and points can be transferred to multiple airline or hotel partners and used to book travel directly through their sites. Just want free hotel rooms? Sign up for hotel cards. By first focusing on what you want, you can maximize your short-term goals and get the hang of travel hacking. For example, I tend to avoid hotel cards since I rarely stay in hotels. I dislike Hilton and Marriott and I would rather focus on getting points related to Starwood (I tend to prefer their hotels the most) or miles for flying. So unless there is a good sign-up bonus for a certain card, I concentrate my efforts on what matters most to me: using cards that get me airline miles or that have good transfer bonuses to airline programs. Start with a goal so you can focus on the cards that will help you achieve it. Now, to know if a card is worthwhile, I consider the following criteria: A huge sign-up bonus—A big sign-up bonus (after you meet the minimum spending requirement) is what jump-starts your mileage account and gets you close to a free flight (sometimes these bonuses even get you a few free flights!). Don’t sign up for a card unless it offers a high sign-up bonus. Generally speaking, I look for at least 35,000 miles or more. Added category spending bonus—Most credit cards offer one point for every dollar spent. However, the good credit cards will give you extra points when you shop at specific retailers, or, if it is a branded credit card, with a particular brand. This will help you earn points much more quickly. I don’t want one dollar to equal just one point. I want the ability
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to get two or three points every time I spend a dollar. For example, with the Chase Sapphire card you get 2x points for food and restaurants, the Chase Ink gives you 5x points for office spending, and the American Express Gold Rewards card 3x points on airfare. Low spending minimum—Unfortunately, in order to get the great bonuses these cards offer, there is usually a required spending minimum before you’ll be eligible to receive the bonus. But sometimes the spending requirement is just too high: I love the Starwood American Express card, but you must spend $5,000 USD within 90 days before you get the reward bonus. That’s a lot and not something people can easily manage. While there are ways to fake your spending (which I’ll discuss later), it’s best to be able to get the bonus using normal day-to-day spending. I typically sign up for cards with a minimum spending requirement of $1,000–3,000 USD in a three- to six-month period. While you shouldn’t necessarily avoid high-minimum spending cards as they have great rewards, it is a good idea to start small. Here’s another important point to remember: It’s easy to go crazy and sign up for ten cards in a short amount of time. But then to get the bonus points, you might find yourself stuck with having to spend $10,000 in a very short period of time. Managing your ability to meet the minimum spending requirements is key because if you are spending more money than you usually do just to get these points, the points are no longer free and you’ve lost. Only spend what you normally would and not a penny more. (In the advanced hacking section, I’ll talk about how to artificially meet higher-minimum spending requirements, even if you don’t spend much money.) Before you decide to sign up for several credit cards, properly plan out the required spending limits and how much money you’ll be spending over the next few months to ensure you will be getting the best value possible. I try to time my sign-up bonuses with major purchases such as airline tickets or clothes shopping.
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ANNUAL FEES No one likes paying annual fees for credit cards. Many fees for company-branded credit cards range from $50-$95 per year. For those who travel and fly a lot, it can be worth it to get a card with a fee. Fee-based cards tend to offer a better rewards scheme where you can accumulate points faster, get better access to services and special offers, and obtain better travel protection. With these cards, I’ve saved more money on travel than I’ve spent on fees. That being said, most fee-based cards waive the first year’s fee for new customers, so you get a year free. After that, you can either cancel the card or move to a non-fee card. Whenever I call up to cancel a card, the company, wanting to keep my business, either waives the fee for another year or switches me to a non-fee card (that usually features a less generous rewards program, but by that point I’ve moved on to a better card anyway!).
RISKS Many people worry that signing up for numerous credit cards will hurt their credit score. This is a valid concern, since credit scores play a big role in determining your eligibility for loans as well as the interest rate you’ll pay on those loans. We hear all the time that opening and closing credit cards is bad for your credit score, but it’s important to remember that your score is not impacted when you introduce credit cards to the mix, only when you have too much debt and stop paying your balances. But the truth is, it’s not that bad. Your credit score is determined by several factors, most importantly your debt-to-credit ratio. Having a lot of available credit but very little debt will work in your favor for a good credit score. Every time you open a credit card or take out a loan, a credit check is performed. That credit check does temporarily ding your credit score, but it’s only a momentary blemish and your score bounces back soon. What really matters is your overall history: Do you pay your bills on time? Do you have a good debt-to-credit ratio?
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Yes, opening and closing a lot of cards at once is going to be a red flag, but opening a few is not a big deal. I’ve closed over four cards in a single day and my current credit score is 790. Looking at my credit history, my score has never dropped below 760. I wouldn’t go and open six cards and then immediately apply for a mortgage, but provided you aren’t going to be applying for a car loan or mortgage within a year of opening several cards, I wouldn’t worry about it.
WHAT IF YOU HAVE POOR CREDIT? Many travel rewards cards are only available to those with a high credit score, and if you have a low score (650 or less), you may find yourself being declined often. If you have a low credit score, you need build it up. But there are ways to do that and point-earning cards that can get you there! First, here are six ways to improve your credit: 1. Go to Annualcreditreport.com and get a copy of your credit report. This can give you handle on your credit score and see what areas you need to work on. 2. Start lowering your debt by moving to low-interest-rate credit cards and cutting your spending. 3. Dispute any incorrect information on your credit report with the credit reporting agencies—Experian, Equifax, and Transunion. Don’t let mistakes bring you down. 4. Get a secured credit card. These cards require you to put down a cash deposit. A good secured card will have automatic reporting to the three major credit bureaus. This will help you build good credit history and increase your score. HSBC’s Orchard Bank offers a secured Visa card with a $0 annual fee for the first year and $200 minimum deposit. Check with your local bank to see what they offer. 5. Become an additional cardholder on the card of someone else with good credit— you will inherit their score. It’s like they’re vouching for you. This can almost instantly improve your score. 6. Pay all current bills on time! Don’t get into more debt!
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For those with low credit, there are two cards worth considering: The Chase Freedom card is generally available for people with less-than-great credit. This card has no annual fee, offers cash-back bonuses, 0% APR for the first 15 months, and bonus points for certain spending categories. The other option is the Citi Forward card. Since this card is geared toward young people building their credit, it’s easy for people with a poor credit score to obtain. Travel credit cards are key to gaining lots of points quickly. While we will talk about the various ways to accumulate points without them, the cards are what supercharge a rewards balance. Don’t be afraid of using them; when used wisely, they become an invaluable asset with which to quickly increase your point balances, giving you the ability to go and stay anywhere for free.
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TRAVEL HACKING 103: HOW TO GAIN POINTS
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While signing up for multiple credit cards provides the main boost to your mileage or point balances, there are other ways to gain miles without relying solely on card bonuses. This is especially important when you aren’t from the United States. While these other methods are not usually as lucrative as credit card sign-up bonuses, every little bit helps.
EVERYDAY SPENDING If you already have a credit card with rewards, the first thing you should do is put everything on that card. It’s so simple, but worth it; every dollar spent not using your card is a point lost. I never pay cash unless I have to. If you spend $3,000 each month, that adds up to 36,000 points earned each year without doing anything extra. Additionally, I like to change which card I’m using depending on what the bonus is. For example, the Ink from Chase card gives you five points per dollar spent on office and business expenses. By keeping bills like my cell phone and Internet on that card, I maximize points. I use my American Express Premier Rewards Gold card for all airline purchases, since it offers three points for every dollar spent. Is it the first Friday of the month? I’ll use the Chase Sapphire Preferred card for triple points on food. As Ryan Bingham said in the movie Up in the Air, “I don’t do anything unless it benefits my points balance.” That’s how you should think too. But if you don’t want to always be thinking about which card you should be using when, simply put everything on a single card. Every dollar spent is a point gained. Now, a word of caution: Don’t spread yourself too thin. If you’re using five credit cards, it’s going to take a lot longer to bank enough points for free travel. If you’re using multiple
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cards that tie into the same program (i.e. two Chase cards) that’s OK. Focus on the programs that get you towards your goal.
USE AIRLINE SHOPPING PORTALS All airlines, hotels, and travel brands have preferred merchants. These companies—ranging from clothing retailers to sporting good stores to office supply businesses and everything in between—partner with airlines’ special shopping malls. By ordering online through an airline’s website, you can earn additional points. For example, I once registered for Netflix through American Airlines’ website because it gave me an additional 5,000 miles. I did my shopping for my apartment online with K-Mart via American Airlines’ portal and received nine miles per dollar spent. I went to Target through Chase’s shopping mall and gained three points per dollar spent. You get the same product at no extra cost. It’s a better deal than going into the store and just getting one point or mile per dollar spent. By following the bonuses and seeing who is offering the most for what I need, I get additional miles for my everyday purchases. You can use the Evreward website to discover the best deals across programs. Simply type in the merchant or product you want, and it will compile a list of bonuses the various point programs are offering at that moment so can you maximize the programs to purchase from. Here are some of the major shopping portals: Air Canada
Frontier Airlines
American Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines
Amtrak
Hilton HHonors
British Airways
Marriott Rewards
Chase Shopping Portal
Southwest
Choice Privileges
US Airways
Delta SkyMiles
United Airlines
(Be sure to check your favorite airline to see if they have one too!)
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USE YOUR FAMILY The following examples are ways you can rely on your family to help boost your points balance: 1. My parents might fly once a year. My sister might fly twice. They don’t really need or use their miles, so they give them to me. My parents use my credit card to purchase all their tickets and when they fly, they transfer their miles over to my account. There is a small fee for the transfer, but it’s worth the extra miles. After they visited Israel last year, the miles they both earned ended up in my American Airlines account. 2. Family members are a great way to help you meet minimum spending requirements. Get second cards for your family and have them spend away on it (providing you trust them to give you the money to pay you back). I was still in school when I started travel hacking, so my mother put our family’s groceries on the card. I got triple points and my free flight to Europe faster! If you have the ability to do this, do so!
SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTERS I sign up for all the airline and credit card newsletters so I can stay updated on special fares, deals, and offers. Many of the best deals in the business are only sent via newsletter and if you don’t sign up, you’ll never know about them. I once got triple miles for three months on my Citi American Airlines AAdvantage card through an alert sent to me via e-mail. Moreover, many airlines offer special card sign-up bonuses to subscribers that aren’t available to the public. Be sure to sign up for every airline newsletter! The following websites are also great for flight and bonus mile deals: • The Flight Deal • Airfarewatchdog • Holiday Pirates
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TAKE SURVEYS Every little bit counts, and in exchange for signing up for surveys, liking Facebook pages, and completing other tasks, many companies offer 250–500 points. I always participate in these trivial online contests because they add up over time.
STAY UP-TO-DATE ON BONUS OFFERS Be sure to constantly check for bonus offers on airline websites. Many brands, especially airlines, offer bonus offers on selected flight routes, fare classes, and dates. By flying during these times, you can maximize your miles for future redemptions. Stay up-to-date via newsletters or by following some of the sites listed in the resources section.
DINING REWARDS PROGRAMS Just like shopping portals, airlines also have dining rewards programs. You sign up with your frequent flier number, register your credit card, and get extra points when you dine at the restaurants within the airline’s network (which rotate throughout the year). It’s important to note that while you can sign up for every program, you cannot register a credit card with more than one. That means that if your Chase Sapphire card is tied to your American Airlines account, you can’t earn miles on your United account, and so forth. No double dipping! You can earn up to five bonus points per dollar spent with these programs. Many programs will give you bonuses for leaving reviews, too. While these methods are not as immediately profitable as sign-up bonuses, by following the above tricks, you can keep gaining more miles per dollar spent—even after acquiring the initial bonus—and cut down the time it takes you to earn rewards.
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TRAVEL HACKING 104: ADVANCED HACKING PART 1 TAXES & GIFT CARDS
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PAYING YOUR TAXES ONLINE Did you know that you can pay your federal tax bill with a credit card? Yup! There are a number of companies out there that help facilitate this: DEBIT CARD FLAT FEE
Pay1040.com
$2.79
Businesstaxpayment.com (Link2GovCorporation) 888-729-1040 Payment 888-658-5465 Service
$2.79
PayUSATax.com (WorldPay US, Inc.) 888-972-9829 Payment 855-508-0159 Live Operator 877-517-4881 Service
$2.79
(Link2GovCorporation) 888-729-1040 Payment 888-658-5465 Service
$2.49
ValueTaxPayment.com (WorldPay US, Inc.) 855-972-9829 Payment 855-508-0160 Live Operator 877-517-4881 Service
(MasterCard debit fee $2.89)
OfficialPayments.com/fed (Official Payments Corporation) 888-872-9829 Payment 877-754-4420 Live Operator 877-754-4413 Service
(MasterCard debit fee 2.35%)
ChoicePay.com/fed (Official Payments Corporation) Personal Tax Payments Only 866-964-2552 Live Operator
$3.95
$3.48
(MasterCard debit fee 1.88%)
CREDIT CARD FEE
PAYMENTS ACCEPTED
2.35%
(minimum credit convenience fee $2.79)
2.35%
(minimum credit convenience fee $2.79)
1.87%
(minimum credit convenience fee $2.79, Business card fee 2.29%)
1.87%
(minimum credit convenience fee $2.79, Business card fee 2.29%)
2.35%
(minimum credit convenience fee $3.95)
1.88%
(minimum credit convenience fee $3.48)
Information from http://www.irs.gov/uac/Pay-Taxes-by-Credit-or-Debit-Card You can gain miles for a fee as low as 1.87%. On a $10,000 tax bill, that’s only $187. And if it helps you meet the minimum spending on, say, two cards with a 50,000 point bonus each, then for $187 extra you could unlock 110,000 points (50,000 points x 2 plus the 10,000 points-per-dollar you get for putting the $10k tax bill on the cards). That’s a great value.
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If you have automatic withholding from your paycheck, you can submit a new W-4 to your employer to reduce your withholding. You pay less up front and more during tax time, which can allow you to better utilize the above hack. Every year, I pay my federal tax balance on a new credit card to help meet the minimum spending requirements and gain additional points for very little extra cost. I’d be paying my tax bill anyway, so why not make the most of it?
MANUFACTURING SPEND Can’t meet minimum spending requirements? No problem. There are plenty of ways to “manufacture” spending to meet the credit card spending requirements and earn additional miles. Enter Scott Mackenzie of Hack My Trip to introduce this complicated travel hacking trick… “Manufactured spend” is the process of buying cash-like products with a credit card. You then use these products to pay off the credit card’s balance. The net cost is only a few dollars in transaction fees, but in return you will earn hundreds or thousands of points.” (Matt says: “Basically, you’re creating a closed loop, moving money around at a small cost in order to gain big (i.e. miles).”) Once the large initial sign-up bonus on a card has passed, manufactured spend can provide a continued source of additional miles or points. Some cards may even have annual bonuses when you spend $10,000 to $30,000 each year. Those numbers sound intimidating, but remember that we’re only talking about charges on the card, not your actual out-of-pocket costs.
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Another description for manufactured spend is “points laundering,” and, in fact, the process shares many features with money laundering. Although you can expect to face skepticism and even criticism from some merchants and banks, you aren’t doing anything illegal. The best approach is to avoid becoming greedy. Mix in some real spend, avoid maximizing the potential of any one card, and leave some time between making a purchase and cashing out your points. Remember: Pigs get fed, but hogs get slaughtered. How do you manufacture spend, thus allowing you to not only to meet the minimum spending requirements to unlock a bonus on a credit card but also continue to earn miles into the future? Here’s how:
BLUEBIRD BY AMERICAN EXPRESS AND GIFT CARDS Bluebird is a reloadable, prepaid card launched by American Express and Walmart. It’s one of the greatest tools for manufactured spend because it is relatively inexpensive to use, has many options for withdrawing your balance (to pay off the credit cards you used to fund it), and has a much higher limit than Amazon Payments. With Bluebird, you can load up to $5,000 per month, with a daily limit of $1,000. The basic strategy is: 1. Buy $5,000 in Visa or MasterCard gift cards from your favorite store using a travel credit card, preferably one that has a bonus like 5x on office supplies or 3x on groceries. If there’s no bonus, use a card that earns particularly valuable points since you’ll only get one per dollar. 2. Load the gift cards onto the Bluebird. 3. Use the Bluebird to write a check—even to yourself!—or just tell Bluebird to make a direct payment to your credit card issuer to cover the bill. You’ll still have to make a separate payment for gift card activation fees, however.
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You’re simply moving money around. Purchasing Visa and MasterCard gift cards has become the best and most lucrative way to manufacture spending, increasing the amount of points earned, and reaching spending minimums for three reasons. First, you can buy as many of these as you want—there is no limit. Second, you can get rid of them easily. Most Visa and MasterCard gift cards are PINenabled, making them easy to cash out via cash back at the grocery store register, money order, ATMS, or Amazon Payments. Third, you get to earn bonus points! You can buy gift cards at grocery stores, office supply stores, and drug stores—all of which tend to be a point bonus category with credit card issuers. For example, if I went into Staples and bought a $500 Visa PIN card with my Chase Ink Bold, I’d earn 5x points per dollar spent. I’d get 2,500 points for $6.95. That’s a great deal. Then I’d load them onto a Bluebird, withdraw as a money order, or get cash back at grocery store (check with the store’s policy on this) and pay the card off. Recent federal guidelines require that gift cards have the ability to assign a PIN. With a PIN, they will function just like a debit card—which means that you can use them to reload a Bluebird at any Walmart register or at a Walmart MoneyCenter ATM. Because most debit cards don’t earn miles or points, you still need to first use a points-earning credit card to buy a gift card that acts like a debit card. So how do you pick which Visa gift card you want to buy? You can spot them easily on the gift card rack; almost all of them have a picture of a present on the front. The name of the issuing bank is in the fine print on the back. I’ve found the ones issued by US Bank are the easiest to use. Simply call the phone number on the back
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and assign a PIN to the card. The same process works for MetaBank-issued cards. VanillaVisa cards don’t need to be assigned a PIN when you buy them; the first time you use one, you’ll be asked for your PIN and whatever you enter will be the PIN assigned for future use. (But really, what future use? You’re just going to dump it all on the Bluebird.) Once you’ve loaded your Bluebird, the easiest step is getting the money back. It has many of the same features as a personal checking account, since it’s intended to function as a substitute for a traditional bank. You can, for example, use its billpay feature to send a direct payment back to the credit card you used to buy the gift cards. You only need to make up the difference in activation fees with your card issuer; Bluebird does not have any account maintenance fees of its own. You can also order checks and write one to your bank, to yourself, to your spouse, or to your landlord. This makes Bluebird a good solution for situations where you can’t normally pay by credit card. But make sure the card you use is PIN-enabled! Otherwise this won’t work!
AMERICAN EXPRESS FOR TARGET American Express for Target is an exclusive card sold only in select Target retail stores. (If you don’t see them in the normal gift card racks, check out the electronics department.) Although this card is not nearly as valuable as some other prepaid cards, it has the distinct advantage of being directly reloadable with a credit card at any Target cash register. The maximum limit is $1,000 per reload with a $3 fee. You can then liquidate it at an ATM, $400 at a time (fees will depend on the ATM). Because American Express issues this card, you won’t want to use another American Express card to load it. There isn’t much advantage to spending $1,000 on one credit card just to transfer it onto a second credit card. You could’ve just spent that $1,000 from the first credit card over time instead of locking it up in one place!
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The trick is that you can buy gift cards that offer bonuses from other stores and then use those to reload the AmEx for Target card. Use the same gift card suggestions that I described for Bluebird to maximize your benefits, such as buying Visa gift cards at the grocery store for 3x points with an AmEx Premier Rewards Gold card or from an office supply store for 5x points with a Chase Ink Bold or Ink Plus. Each card has an activation fee, but the points you earn will easily offset the initial costs. Target will accept up to three different forms of payment for each transaction, so a $600 load can be spread across three $200 gift cards. This method is less lucrative than Bluebird and doesn’t return your money, but if you don’t have a Walmart or Vanilla Reloads nearby, it’s a good alternative for “upgrading” your spend. Now everything you buy with the Target prepaid card will earn the 3x or 5x bonus from the original gift cards you used to load it.
STORE-BRAND GIFT CARDS In addition to Visa, MasterCard, and American Express gift cards, store-brand gift cards are a great purchase when using a rewards card. To start, they often don’t have any card activation fees, which can save you money and potentially provide you with a category bonus you wouldn’t receive otherwise (e.g., purchasing an Olive Garden gift card at a grocery store with a credit card that earns bonuses on grocery purchases but not restaurant purchases). Even better, you may be able to buy gift cards through a shopping portal to double up and earn points with both the portal and the card used to pay. If you do use a shopping portal, be aware that many specifically exclude earning points on gift card purchases, but a site like evreward.com can help compare portals. Upgrade gift cards if possible. The goal here is to turn one kind of gift card into another. Why? Because while you may get a high bonus for purchasing gift cards from Retailer A, the gift cards you actually want are from Retailer B. Some stores, like Sears, may allow you to purchase a gift card with another gift card. The idea is that you would buy a Sears gift card from a different store—such as an office supply
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store with a category bonus—and then use the Sears gift card to buy a different merchant’s gift card at a Sears store. There are two primary ways to liquidate gift cards aside from simply using them for everyday purchases. The first is to buy merchandise for resale. You may even be able to go through a shopping portal to earn more miles to complete the purchase! The second option is to just sell the gift card for cash to someone else. There are many websites such as Cardpool and Gift Card Granny that facilitate these transactions. You’ll be selling your card for less than the face value, so you’ll incur a loss, but ideally you’ve also earned hundreds or thousands of miles in the process of purchasing and upgrading your gift card. Although you can be in danger of being ripped off by a buyer who never pays, many people have reported success with this method. Back to Matt….
AMERICAN EXPRESS SERVE Serve is a prepaid card that acts like a debit card. You load money onto the Serve account from various sources (bank account, debit card, or credit card), and then proceed to spend or withdraw the funds as you see fit. Note: If you have an American Express Bluebird account, you can’t get a Serve account. While not as useful as Bluebird since you can load up to $1,000 per month with a credit card without fees, it saves you from going to Wal-Mart all the time! Therefore, it’s possible to “spend” the $1,000 on your credit card and then use the Serve account to immediately turn around and pay off the credit card balance. You can sign up through the American Express website. They’ll mail you the Serve card and you’ll receive it about a week later. When it arrives, just activate it and it’s ready to go. Additionally, you can purchase Serve cards at many drugstores such as CVS.
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As you can see, there many ways to manufacture spending on your credit card to earn miles and meet spending requirements. You can use some or all of these suggestions depending on your needs and available time. You have to balance multiple cards and transactions and execute them in just the right way, or you’ll get hit with tons of spending you won’t be able to pay off. But when done carefully, this can be a great way to acquire miles and points quickly.
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TRAVEL HACKING 105: ADVANCED HACKING PART 2
THE MILEAGE & MATTRESS RUN
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Mileage runs are when people take flights simply to earn miles and elite status. They look for lastminute deals or fare specials and hop on the next flight. It seems a little ridiculous to fly for the miles (many people get to their destination and then turn around and fly right back), but if you are a serious travel hacker, mileage runs are a staple in your quest to earn thousands miles for just a little extra money. There’s also no rule that you have to turn around immediately. It’s actually easier to find cheap fares if you’re willing to spend a couple days in your destination. If you found a supercheap fare to London for $500, does it really matter if you’re only there for the weekend? So how do you look for a good deal? It comes down to how many miles you get per penny spent (i.e. what is your cost per mile?). Cost per mile is determined by simply dividing the ticket cost by the total distance flown. You want the cost per mile to be as low as possible and the value as high as possible. For example, I was going to fly round-trip between NYC and Hawaii for $365 USD, by which I would have earned 10,000 miles. That means each mile is worth 3.65 cents, a very, very good value. Anything above 5 cents per miles is not considered a good deal. Mileage runs allow you to gain status and add miles at a low cost; they aren’t “free” miles,” since you have to spend money to get them. Look at it like this: 1. A business class award seat to Europe costs 110,000 miles. 2. Someone who has elite status and earns a 100% bonus can get 110,000 award miles by flying 55,000 butt-in-seat miles. 3. On a cheap mileage run of 3 cents per mile, flying 55,000 miles will only cost $1,650. 4. The mileage runner gets to take all those mileage run trips, maybe visiting friends or a new city, AND gets an award flight to Europe in business class for less than the cost of a single normal ticket, which is normally thousands of dollars. This also applies to hotels. Mattress runs, as they are called, are when you stay at very cheap hotels in order to get bonus hotel points or to maintain or gain an elite status.
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The best place to find out about these deals is on the FlyerTalk forums. The people on these forums spend hours looking up deals and posting them online. I constantly look for deals there to help me gain or maintain my status on various airlines and earn a significant number of points for a nominal price. Being involved in the forums also gives you a leg up as the best deals are given to trusted friends. Participation in the forums is helpful, but not required.
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TRAVEL HACKING 106: AWARD TYPES & POINT VALUES
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How much is a mile worth, and when is a mile not really worth a mile? Knowing when to redeem points is just as important as knowing how to earn them. Again, you want to maximize value. This is important because you need to know when it’s better to redeem points rather than pay directly, so you actually save money. For example, I recently redeemed 20,000 Starwood points for two nights at the Westin in Portland. The value of those 20,000 points was $525, but the cost of the two nights was only $486. Therefore, by redeeming the points, I actually lost money. It would have been better to save my points for a better deal. In general, it’s best to save as many points as possible for international rather than domestic flights, especially in business or first class. I pay for a lot of my domestic flights out of pocket to help maintain my elite status and earn points. Enter Scott again to talk in more detail about the three categories of awards:
1) ZONE- OR CATEGORY-BASED AWARDS The majority of airlines and hotels have fixed-cost award charts. Hotels are grouped into categories, while most airlines use zone-based award charts that place more emphasis on where you start and stop than how you get there or what the real ticket price is. These inefficiencies create opportunities for airlines to decrease value. An airline may charge the same 25,000 miles to fly 200 miles or 2,000, as long as you stay within the continental U.S. Or it may charge the same 110,000 miles to fly in business class, whether you’re on some low-quality domestic carrier or one of its prestigious international partners. Many points and miles junkies like to take advantage of the disparities between basic and premium services. A cheap airport hotel, for example, may cost only $100 or 10,000 points. A luxurious beachfront resort may cost $500 or 20,000 points. Which would you rather have? Many airlines often charge just twice as many miles for
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business class over economy class despite a four-fold increase in the published fare. First class offers an even better value.
2) DISTANCE-BASED AWARDS A few frequent flyer programs focus only on the distance traveled and ignore where you begin and end. Two major examples are ANA (All Nippon Airways, a Star Alliance member) and British Airways’ Avios (a Oneworld member). Some routes offer better value over zone-based charts. Remember when I said that some airlines charge the same 25,000 miles regardless of where you go, as long as you stay within the continental U.S.? Well, ANA and British Airways do care where you go on that flight. Let’s use the short flight from my home in Seattle to visit my parents in the San Francisco Bay Area as an example. This route is operated by Alaska Airlines, which partners with both American Airlines and British Airways. If I book through American (zone-based), it costs 25,000 miles. If I book with Avios (distance-based), it’s only 15,000 points round-trip to Oakland. If I can find award space to the small airport at Santa Rosa closer to their home, I can fly for just 9,000 points round-trip! The catch with distance-based programs is that they can be picky about your routing. ANA doesn’t care much. You can make any number of connections, and they will charge you based on the total distance flown for the route. Avios, however, prices each segment individually. Let’s return to that trip from Seattle to Santa Rosa. It’s rare that I find an available award seat on this route. Usually I have to connect in Portland. And that means I pay 18,000 points round-trip, or 4,500 points for each segment between Seattle and Portland and between Portland and Santa Rosa. I still get a better deal than using 25,000 miles for the trip, but it’s still not nearly as good as what ANA offers.
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3) FIXED-VALUE AWARDS Finally, fixed-value award charts assign a specific value to their points and treat them like cash. There is no way to game these systems. But they can be useful when no other option is available or when a flight happens to be relatively cheap. Rewards points from banks are one of the best examples, though they can often be transferred to specific airline and hotel programs that offer greater value (because those can be gamed). American Express credit cards allow you to earn Membership Rewards points that can be used at a rate of 1 cent per point. Chase cards award Ultimate Rewards points that can be used at a rate of 1.2 cents per point. (Caveat: you can earn and consolidate Ultimate Rewards points with many Chase cards, but you need a Sapphire Preferred, Ink Bold, or Ink Plus to get maximum value when redeeming them.) Citi cards awards ThankYou Rewards points that can be redeemed at a rate of 1.33 cents per point. (Caveat: like Ultimate Rewards, you can consolidate points across cards but need the ThankYou Premier Rewards card to get maximum value.) Ultimate Rewards points are arguably one of the easier currencies to accumulate and use. Other programs, like Wells Fargo Rewards, assign a very high value of 1.75 cents per point but institute rules such as minimum redemption amounts as high as $400–$500 per ticket. That’s leaving money on the table if you need something cheaper. Other programs that used fixed-value currencies tend to be discount carriers like Southwest Airlines and JetBlue. One Rapid Rewards point from Southwest Airlines, for example, is worth 1.43 cents when redeemed for their discounted “Wanna Get Away” fares. And you earn Rapid Rewards points based solely on how much your ticket cost, not how far you flew. It’s really no different from a rebate program. It can
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still make sense for some people, though, depending on when and where they want to travel. Enter Matt again….
HOW MUCH IS A MILE WORTH? Now that you have an idea of how you can use miles, you’re better able to determine how much they are worth to you. For example, Southwest’s points probably aren’t worth any more than the 1.67 cents they allow you to redeem them for. United’s miles tend to be valued at about 2 cents each (since, on average, you can redeem 25,000 miles for $500 flights and use cash for the others). Ultimate Rewards points and similar programs are tricky. They have a fixed-value component if you use them to book a ticket through the bank’s travel agency, but they can also be converted to high-value airline miles by transferring them to an airline’s frequent flier program. I prefer to value them as if they were airline miles. When assigning a value to miles, the math is pretty simple: the value of the award divided by the number of miles required. But the value of the award does not always equal the published fare. If you wouldn’t pay $5,000 to fly business class to Europe, then don’t use your award for a $5,000 flight. Maybe it’s only worth $2,200 to you; for example, if you saw a business class ticket for $2,200 you would be willing to buy it with cash rather than redeem miles for it. Divide by 110,000 miles and we get 2 cents per mile. The catch is that everyone is going to value that business class trip differently. Some people will view it as once-in-a-lifetime and assign it a premium. Others will care only about reaching the destination, so it’s not much better than being in economy class. Still more people will argue that the complications of finding limited award space detract from their value. An elite frequent flyer might assign a higher value to miles because they can be used flexibly. Award change and cancellation fees don’t apply to elite fliers (another reason to be loyal), meaning they can book trips on speculation and cancel with no penalty. On the other hand, an elite frequent flyer is also concerned about re-qualifying for status each year, and award flights do not earn any elite qualifying miles.
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Use your own judgment to determine what a flight is worth to you when redeeming your miles.
HOTEL AWARDS Most hotel programs function very similarly to the fixed-cost award charts described above. Hotels are sorted into categories, and a certain number of points in each category is required to book a night. For example, a room in the cheapest Starwood category can cost 2,000–3,000 points depending on the day of the week, but the highest category can cost over 30,000 points a night. This can be very beneficial if staying at a nice hotel that happens to be in a relatively low category (see the Appendix for the category chart). It stinks if you end up paying more than the hotel is worth. Hotels differ from airlines, however, in the other ways they allow you to redeem your points. Many allow discounts for booking multiple nights, which could mean that the cost of staying four nights versus five is basically the same. Others offer bonuses when you transfer hotel points to an airline to use on a flight. Most airline transfers are actually a bad deal, but a few programs like Starwood Preferred Guest actually offer pretty decent transfers; this is one reason why their points are highly valued. You get 5,000 extra points for every 20,000 Starwood points transferred to an airline. Some hotels also allow flexible use of their points for suite upgrades, where you pay for the room with cash but use points to get something better than you originally booked. Hyatt Gold Passport is known for particularly inexpensive suite upgrades. Keep in mind that most hotels waive taxes (but not resort fees) on award nights and have very limited capacity restrictions. This contrasts with airlines, which rely on limited award availability to keep their award prices low and always add on the associated taxes and government fees; a few airlines even add on fuel surcharges.
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TRAVEL HACKING 107: REDEEMING MILES
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Now that you’ve earned all those miles, what do you do with them? Just book and go? Well, yes but there are some caveats, so let’s talk about how to maximize redemptions so you can get the best flight possible. While all the airlines have their own rules and procedures, there are some general principles to address. First, for the most part, bookings are easy. Airlines let you book most award tickets via their website. You go online, you put in your destinations, click use award tickets, and search for tickets, and use your points that way. No need to call up. With American Express and Chase Ultimate Rewards, you can use your miles right there for points, and for cheap tickets, this can be good. Sometimes they also require fewer points than if you used them with an airline reward program. But of course, things are never that easy, so I’m going to explain some overarching principles and then give some examples of looking for rewards so you understand the basic principles. Travel hackers devote thousands upon thousands of blog posts to this subject, searching fare routes, classes, and more, but these general principles will help you start off. Let’s start with some simple examples: Let’s say I want to go from NYC to Paris on American Airlines. I can simply go to AA.com, click redeem miles, and see what’s available:
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This is pretty straightforward, as AA shows all their partners flying this route and you don’t need to call. I can do the same on United or Delta. However, let’s say I want to go to NYC to Chicago on miles. What should I use for such a short flight? Or if I ant to NYC to Hong Kong. Or LA to South Africa? Or Chicago to Singapore? Or DFW to Dubai? Now things aren’t as simple for a number of reasons: First, many airlines won’t show routes online, so you have to call up. Second, since these routes may include stopovers, they get a bit tricky. Third, since many of these routes could be served by foreign carriers, it may make more sense to transfer points from your Ultimate Rewards or Membership Rewards account. Fourth, as we learned in the last section, there are different types of award miles!
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So how do you know what to do? Get ten travel hackers in a room and you’ll find ten different ways to book flights. Everyone has his or her own method. For those deep into the game, they will sit there for hours planning the perfect, point-maximizing route. Me, I’m lazy. I’ll never waste points but my time is valuable so I like to go with the easiest, most maximized route that fits my needs for that flight. After all, time is money! First, on a short haul flight, it’s always best to use distance based award tickets from ANA or British Airways since you’ll always need fewer miles than in a zone based system. Second, if the ticket is super cheap, it’s often better to redeem your Chase or Amex points for cash value. If a $116 only costs 11,000 Chase points versus 25,000 zone based points, use those Chase points (assuming there is no BA or ANA spots available). For longer flights, here’s what I do: 1. I decide where I want to fly to and in what class. 2. First, see where I have the most points. If I have a lot of AA points versus Chase points, I may decide to use those points. This is a cost-benefit analysis. I may end up using more AA points than Chase, or United, or British Airlines points, but if I’m running “low” on a balance, I may decide to conserve them for a later date. I love taking stock of my balances because when it’s time to book, I’ll search a few routes. 3. Next, I start looking on an airline’s website to see what is available. Often times, you can just get what you want by searching and booking online. 4. If I don’t see a lot of availability, I’ll head to ANA’s website (Star Alliance flights), or Air France-KLM (Skyteam), or Qantas (Oneworld). These airlines show much better partner award availability. Note: Not all airlines show award space for their partners. For example, you can only find Singapore Airline’s first class seats on their website!
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5. Next, I’ll call the airline and let them know who I want to fly, where, what flights, and when. Often times they can come up with better routes and deals than you can online. That’s it. That’s my five-step plan to redeeming miles. Yes, there can be a lot of variables between airline programs and you may not always find the exact route you want but for the most part, it’s a pretty straight forward process. Lastly, let’s talk about fuel surcharges and taxes. Some airlines (like British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and Air Canada) still require you to pay the taxes for the flight. For example, redeeming British Airways first class to the US from London will not only cost you miles but upwards of $600 in taxes and fuel surcharges. This is a growing trend and something you should be aware of. While all airlines charge a service fee for booking a mileage flight, some charge taxes if you fly their metal (i.e. their own planes). You don’t pay the fuel surcharge if you use BA points and fly an American Airlines flight but if you use AA points to fly a BA flight, you have to pay the surcharge! Just keep it in mind! Redeeming points is complex and each airline has a very different system. I could write novels on each airline program. There are tons and tons of caveats. I know that’s not the answer you really want but that is the truth. If you use these general principals to guide you, you’ll be starting off in the right direction.
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TRAVEL HACKING 108: THE ITA MATRIX
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The ITA Matrix is a travel hacker’s best friend; nearly everyone I know starts here. They display all the major airlines and allow you to search complicated flight routes. Here’s how it works: This is what the homepage looks like:
Taking a look at ITA’s home page, most of the entries are self-explanatory. It’s just like a regular search engine. (It’s the advanced features that really make it sweet!)
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After you enter your search, you wind up at their matrix chart:
The information displayed in the complete trip format is easy to understand—departure and arrival times; stops; cautionary advisories such as red-eyes or short connections. It’s pretty straightforward. Clicking “Individual flights” will give you another list that gives you the chance to select your outbound flight first then your return flight. Instead of them bundling flights together, you can mix and match your flights to get a ticket that works best for you.
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Finally, there is the “time bars” option, which displays flights (and any connections or layovers) in the form of a time bar. Here’s an example:
This can be helpful in seeing how the timing of your trip breaks down. You can use ITA to search a 30 day window by clicking the button that says “See calendar of lowest fares.” This is a great feature for seeing the lowest fares in a large date range . If you are flexible with your travel dates, use this option. ITA is pretty simple. Anyone who has booked a flight online will find many similarities with the features of other search engines. It’s just the interface you have to get used to. But it’s once you get to the advanced features that ITA allows you to become a flight ninja.
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ADVANCED FEATURES Underneath the fields destination fields on the main page, there is a link labeled “advanced routing codes”:
This is where ITA really shine and lets you work some trickery to find flights and routes that normally do not appear in a simple search. Here is a list of the commands you can give ITA (afterwards, I’ll give some examples): COMMAND
DESCRIPTION
AA
Direct flight on a specific carrier. In this example it will be marked by AA, but could be operated by another carrier.
AA+
One or more flights on a specific carrier.
AA,CO,DL
Direct flight on one of the carriers separated by commas.
O:AA
Direct flight on a specific operating carrier. In this example it could be marketed by another carrier, but it will be operated by AA.
O:AA,O:CO,O:DL
Direct flight operated by one of the carriers separated by commas.
N
Any single non-stop flight. This contrasts with a direct flight, which may have a connection or plane change but still use the same flight number.
N:AA
Any single non-stop flight on AA.
DFW
A single connection point in a specific airport. You can also use city codes
DFW,STL,LAX
A single connection point in one of the airports separated by commas.
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COMMAND
DESCRIPTION
X
Any single connection point. Use multiple separated by spaces to define addtional connections.
X?
Zero or one flights. Use this to permit a connection but leave the possibility of a nonstop flight.
DFW?
Direct flight or one stop in DFW.
AA151
A specific flight number, in this case AA151.
AA1000-2000
A single flight on AA within the range of 1000-2000.
~
Negation. Use this to rule out an airline, airport, or flight. For example, use SEA :: ~DEN to allow a connection anywhere but DEN.
~AA,UA,CO+
Any number of flights, but not on AA, UA or CO.
AA+ DL+
One or more flights on AA followed by one or more flights on DL.
AA DL,AF
Any direct flight on AA, followed by any direct flight on either DL or AF.
AA UA?
Any direct flight on AA, optionally followed by another flight on UA.
AA N?
Any direct flight on AA, optionally followed by another flight on any airline.
AA25 UA814
Two specific flights, AA25 followed by UA814.
AA25 UA+
Flight AA25 followed by any number of flights on UA.
AA25 F+
Flight AA25 followed by any number of flights on any airline.
DL CHI DL
Two flights on DL with a connection in Chicago.
-overnight
No overnight stops.
-change
No airport changes.
-redeye
No redeye flights.
-prop
No propeller planes.
-train
No trains (e.g., CO flights to PHL sometimes involve a train from EWR).
-helicopter
No helicopters (although I’ve never come across one of these).
minconnect XX
Minimum connection of XX minutes.
maxconnect XX
Maximum connection of XX minutes.
padconnect XX
Require XX minutes in addition to the airline’s minimum recommendation.
maxdur XXX
Maximum total trip duration of XXX minutes.
So what does this all mean? If I only wanted to see United Airlines flights leaving New York’s JFK, I would type: • “JFK :: UA” (Make sure to always use the dots!) Typing in “UA” once will command ITA to look for a single direct flight . Type the code multiple times to request a specific number of flights (e.g., “JFK :: UA UA UA” for three flights) or use the plus symbol to indicate all flights by the same carrier (e.g., “JFK :: UA+”).
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You can search for multiple airports and airlines at the same time by separating them with a comma. The Washington, D.C. has three major airports: IAD, DCA, and BWI so you could search to include all three airports and specific airlines: • IAD,BWI,DCA :: UA,US,AA • WAS :: UA,US,AA You can use ITA to require a connection in say Dallas-Fort Worth: • JFK :: DFW Enter Scott again to example two advanced hacks: If you want to specify both a connection and an airline, you’ll have to be more careful. The airline code must go before the airport code for the connection, and you’ll only be specifying the airline for that particular flight. Here are two examples: • Example 1: SEA :: UA DEN • Example 2: SEA :: UA DEN UA In the first example, only the first flight to Denver will be marketed by United, but the subsequent one can be marketed by other airlines. In the second example, both the first and second flights must be marketed by United. You can use the plus symbol to avoid entering the airline multiple times (e.g., “SEA :: UA+ DEN”). You’ll notice that I keep saying flights are “marketed by” United. This means they could be codeshares that are operated by another carrier such as Air. That’s unlikely on a flight to a United hub like Denver, but you can still use “O:UA” to force ITA to find only flights operated by United (e.g., “SEA :: O:UA+ DEN”). Unlike the previous example where all flights were marketed by United but could be operated by other carriers, now the reverse is true. All flights will be operated by United, but could be marketed by other carriers.
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You can specify that flights be marketed by a particular alliance (so you don’t have to type in all the airline codes) or that tickets be issued in a particular fare class or booking class (such as “W” so that you can use your United system-wide upgrade to move from coach to business). These commands don’t require the two colons after the airport, but they won’t hurt, either. However, you must use a forward slash and include the commands at the end of any other advanced routing codes. • “/alliance star-alliance” to search Star Alliance members like United • “/alliance oneworld” to search Oneworld members like American Airlines • “/alliance skyteam” to search SkyTeam members like Delta • “/f bc=w” to search for tickets in the W fare class • “/f bc=w|bc=y” to search for tickets in the W or Y fare classes If you’re planning to meet up with friends in one of several different cities in the United States to fly to Europe over spring break and you want to keep your options open, you could easily use ITA to search for something like this: • Departing from: SEA,SFO,LAX,IAD,MIA • Destination: LHR,MUC,CDG,FCO,BCN,FRA It probably won’t return everything available, though, which means you could be missing the cheapest fares. Specifying just a few airlines or even a single alliance will help a lot. It’s also beneficial to use some of the commands in the list above when you have found one or two specific flight numbers you’re interested in for the transatlantic portion of your journey but are still flexible about the domestic legs that get you to the gateway city. There are also many special commands to prevent “bad” flights courtesy of SeattleFred on FlyerTalk. List them after a forward slash and separate them with commas, e.g., “BOS :: / -overnight,-redeye”. (Those are hyphens, not the tildes used for negation above.)
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Back to Matt…. ITA Matrix is the best way to search routes for the biggest airlines around the world. You can find routes, tickets, and prices that are often great deals you won’t find elsewhere. Note that you can’t book your ticket with ITA. Once you find your route, you have to go to the airline’s website to book your ticket directly.
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TRAVEL HACKING 109: TRAVEL HACKING
FOR NON-AMERICANS
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Travel hacking is definitely a predominately American game. While some other countries offer rewards programs, the large bonuses you see pretty much only occur in the States. But that doesn’t make it impossible for non-Americans to use these points and loyalty systems to their advantage. In Canada, you can find large bonuses on certain cards. This link on The Points Guy shows the latest and greatest card deals near the bottom of the page. These blogs are great resources too: • Canadian Kilometers • Rewards Canada • Canadian Travel Hacking Residents of Australia and the UK can often find a few deals as well. These links show various credit card deals for Australia and the UK. The best site in the UK is Head for Points, which keeps its thumb on the pulse of the latest rewards and free flights. For everyone one else in the world, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there simply aren’t any offers for large credit card bonuses in your countries, and there’s nothing that can be done about that. What else can you do? There are a couple of things: For starters, join a lucrative loyalty program. You don’t need to be a citizen or resident of the country the airline is based in to sign up for the program. For example, I can sign up for Emirates’ reward program and a Greek could sign up for United. Find an airline program that has great redemptions, good perks, and a large number of global partners. You can choose Aegean Airlines, for instance, because a mere 20,000 miles allows you to earn Star Alliance “Gold” status, giving you access to lounges worldwide.
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Additionally, you can use all the methods listed in section 102. Promotions, surveys, and more can be used no matter where you are in the world. Moreover, be sure to read the very, very long interviews with Rob from Head for Points about UK travel hacking and Jeff from Canadian Kilometers on Canadian travel hacking. Those multi-thousand word interviews will give you step-by-step action plans for travel hacking. (They are a separate download from this book and you got them when you got this book!) So, while it’s much harder to earn a significant number of points without credit card bonuses, it’s not impossible for non-Americans to speed up how quickly they increase their mileage balance
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CONCLUSION
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Travel hacking can be complicated. There are many different systems and programs that are constantly changing. The constantly fluctuating rules can cause confusion even for people who have been in the game a long time. The most diehard travel hackers spend countless hours each week keeping track of all of this. It’s like a sport. And this is also why there are so many sites dedicated to just this ONE topic. I hope this book has put everything into perspective for you and relieved some of the confusion and mystery of the process. You don’t need to devote endless hours of your week to keeping on top of current trends, but putting in even a little bit of time will be well worth the effort. If you’re just starting out, begin with a goal and wade into the pool with just a few credit cards; once you get a handle on this, you can then move towards the advanced stuff. In some ways, this is a shell game where you move points and money around in a circle, but if you aren’t careful and miscalculate, you can find yourself on the hook for lots of spending. While it will take some time (and maybe a second reading of this book), you too can be an expert travel hacker in no time and start jetsetting around the world for virtually free. Travel hacking will make your life easier and your travel goals attainable. It’s never too late to start. Start today. Travel cheap, far, and wide. I also want to take a moment to thank Scott Mackenzie from Hack My Trip. He contributed explanations to some of the more advanced sections of this book. He’s an expert travel hacker and his depth of knowledge on the intricacies of point value cannot be understated. He’s definitely someone you should follow in your mileage quest. And if you have any questions, e-mail me at
[email protected]. I’ll be happy to answer any questions you have. — Nomadic Matt
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RESOURCES
It can be a lot of work staying up to date on all the latest deals, promotions, and trends in travel hacking. Sometimes it feels like a full-time job. Luckily, there are people who do make it their job and can keep you informed. Here are the best resources:
TRAVEL HACKING BLOGS The Points Guy
AIRLINE FREQUENT FLIER PROGRAMS
Million Mile Secrets
United Airlines MileagePlus
BoardingArea
American Airlines AAdvantage
FlyerTalk
Delta Air Lines SkyMiles
Frugal Travel Guy
US Airways Dividend Miles
Hack My Trip
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
RESOURCE SITES
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan British Airlines Avios
Evreward
Air Canada
Award Wallet
ANA (All Nippon Airways)
Expert Flyer Points Hound
HOTEL LOYALTY PROGRAMS Hyatt Gold Passport Starwood Preferred Guest InterContinental Priority Club Rewards InterContinental Ambassador Marriott Rewards Hilton HHonors
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FAQ
This book contains plenty of information, but some common questions always come up that I wanted to address. What’s a good plan for a college student who doesn’t have much money? Start off with a low minimum-spending card. Citi cards often have low minimumspending requirements and the annual fee waived for the first year. How can you do this if you’ve had credit problems in the past? You need to rebuild your credit. You can start with pre-paid credit cards or Capital One cards, as Capital One often takes people with bad credit. How do you redeem points? That process varies GREATLY from company to company. Daraius from Million Miles Secrets breaks down the process for just about every major rewards program. Consult his blog for more information on this topic. Can you use points on round-the-world (RTW) tickets? You can use your frequent flier points for RTW tickets by calling up the airline and speaking to them directly. They can’t be booked online and cost between 120,000160,000 miles. How do you find elusive rewards seats? Use the website Award Wallet, which will search multiple airlines and allows you to set alerts for when award seats become available. Can any point programs be combined? You can move points from programs like American Express’s Membership Rewards or Chase’s Ultimate Rewards to a specific airline or hotel. Additionally, you can move points from hotels to airlines and vice-versa. However, you can’t combine point balances from different companies or airlines into one giant balance.
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Can you use points for upgrades? Yes you can, but there is usually an additional cash payment required.
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APPENDIX A: A Step-by-Step Instruction Guide
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There’s a lot of information in The Ultimate Guide to Travel Hacking and it can be hard to distill all that down into an actionable, step-by-step plan. There are numerous places to start, right? Well, fear not! Below is my step-by-step plan to putting everything you’ve learned to use. 1. Get your finances in order – This is the most important step. You don’t want to go into debt just to earn miles and you don’t want to be stuck holding the bag if you miss a payment. That means doing the following things: a. Survey your bank accounts and current credit cards – Who do you bank with? Who are your credit cards with? What are their limits? What’s the interest? b. Consolidate – Move any debt to the card with the lowest interest rate you can get, ditch the high interest cards and consolidate your bank holdings. As you get more cards and accounts for travel hacking, the more you can consolidate, and the easier it will be to remember to pay everything off. c. Pay off your debt – If you are currently in debt, reduce your debt load as much as possible before you start travel hacking. It will be easier to get the better reward credit cards with less debt. 2. Start with a goal – What do you want to work towards first? Flights? Hotels? Cash back? Don’t overreach. Start slow. Aim for one thing at a time. Write it out. 3. Find the cards that meet your criteria – Use the links in the guide to find the cards that get you closer to your goal. Work with those cards first. For example, if you want United miles, get the United card plus a Chase or American Express card (since their points transfer to United). Domestic flights? Go with Southwest. Need hotel rooms? Look for the best sign-up bonus. Again, start slow. 4. Manufacture your spend – Next, you need to hit the spending threshold on the cards you’ve opened accounts with in order to obtain your sign-up bonus points.
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If you can’t do that with just your everyday spending, you’ll need to manufacture spending to hit the limits. Here are things to think about: a. Time – What is the easiest for you? What takes the least amount of time? You could spend dozens of hours each week doing this but is that what you really want to do? b. What is available? – Can you buy gift cards with your card and use those to buy groceries instead of paying cash? Is there a Wal-Mart near you where you can use Bluebird? Can you use Evolve Money to pay bills? 5. Collect miles – Collect extra miles by attaching your card information to an airline dining program as well as utilizing online shopping portals so you can earn lots of extra points while you eat out and do your normal shopping. Buy retail gift cards at supermarkets to get extra points too! Continue to manufacture spend when possible. 6. Consolidate points – If you have miles spread out over multiple accounts, such as a United frequent flyer account and Chase credit card rewards, consolidate them to one program so you can redeem for the best reward possible. Make sure to put them in the program that will get you the most bang for your buck! 7. Book your ticket – Use those miles! 8. Enjoy your trip!
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APPENDIX B: HOTEL REWARDS CHART
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COMPARISON OF HOTEL ELITE STATUS – LOWER TIERS (1 of 2) Hyatt Gold Passport
Starwood Preferred Guest
Kimpton InTouch
Platinum
Gold
InTouch
Silver
Gold
Nights
15
25
Free
15
35
Stays
5
10
Free
10
20
Other
Included w/ CC
Partial Credit w/ CC
N/A
Included w/ CC
Included w/ Premium CC
5 per $
2 per $
N/A
20 per $
20 per $
15% (5.75 Total)
50% (3 Total)
N/A
25% (25 Total)
50% (30 Total)
2,000–35,000
7 Stays or 20 Nights
9,000–50,000
9,000–50,000
$870–$3,830
$670–$11,670
$700–$4,000
$360–$2,000
$300–$1,670
No
Yes
N/A
Yes
Yes
Club Carlson
QUALIFICATION CRITERIA
EARNING POINTS Base Rate Elite Bonus REDEEMING POINTS Free Night Awards 5,000–22,000 points Calculated as Dollars Spent Cash + Points Awards UPGRADES Preferred Room
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Suite if Available
No
No
Yes
No
No
Confirmed Upgrade Awards
No
No
No
No
No
WELCOME AMENITY Bonus Points Option
No
125–250
N/A
2,000 at Booking
2,000 at Booking
Food/Beverage Option
No
Yes
$10 Mini Bar Credit
No
Yes
Free Bottled Water
No
Yes
No
No
No
Free Breakfast in Club
No
No
N/A
N/A
N/A
Breakfast If There’s No Club
No
No
No
No
No
72 hours
No
No
No
72 hours
RESERVATIONS Guaranteed Availability Guaranteed Award Availability
No
No
No
No
No
Free Internet
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
2:00 PM
4:00 PM
No
By request
By request
MGM Resorts
None
None
None
None
Late Check-Out Partners and Alliances
Starwood: Award stays count toward elite status. Free Internet is available for Gold members in place of any other welcome amenity.
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COMPARISON OF HOTEL ELITE STATUS – LOWER TIERS (2 of 2)
Silver
Gold
Silver
Gold
Gold
InterContinental Hotels Ambassador
Nights
10
40
10
50
15
N/A
Stays
4
20
Hilton HHonors
Marriott Rewards
IHG Rewards
QUALIFICATION CRITERIA
Other Included w/ CC Citi Reserve CC or 75,000 Base Points
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Partial Credit with CC
Partial Credit w/ CC
20,000 Elite Points or ICH Ambassador
$200 ($150 Renewal)
10 per $
10 per $
10 per $
10 per $
20% (12 Total)
25% (12.5 Total)
10% (11 Total)
10% (11 Total)
EARNING POINTS Base Rate
10 per $ + 5 bonus
10 per $ + 5 bonus
Elite Bonus 15% (16.5 Total) 25% (17.5 Total) REDEEMING POINTS Free Night Awards 5,000–95,000 Calculated as Dollars Spent Cash + Points Awards
5,000–95,000
6,000–70,000
6,000–70,000
5,000–50,000
5,000–50,000
$310–$5,760
$290–$5,430
$500–$5,840
$480–$5,600
$460–$4,550
$460–$4,550
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
UPGRADES Preferred Room
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Suite if Available
No
No
No
No
No
No
Confirmed Upgrade Awards
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
100–1,000
No
No
No
2,000
WELCOME AMENITY Bonus Points Option Food/Beverage Option
No
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
Free Bottled Water
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
Free Breakfast in Club
No
No
No
Yes
No
No
Breakfast If There’s No Club
No
Continental Breakfast
No
Continental Breakfast
No
No
Guaranteed Availability
No
No
No
No
No
24 hours
Guaranteed Award Availability
No
No
No
No
No
No
Free Internet
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
By request
By request
By request
By request
No
4:00 PM
None
None
Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan
Venetian, Palazzo
IHG Rewards
RESERVATIONS
Late Check-Out Partners and Alliances
Hilton: Award stays count toward elite status. The Points & Points earning method earns 10 base points and 5 additional bonus points; the elite bonus applies only to base points. Marriott: Earnings rate is reduced 50% for Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites. IHG: Elite Qualifying Points are poorly defined but probably exclude promotional bonuses. Earnings rate is reduced 50% for Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites. InterContinental: The fruit and water welcome amenity is in addition to the bonus points. In addition to late check-out, guests receive guaranteed 8 AM check-in.
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COMPARISON OF HOTEL ELITE STATUS – TOP TIER (1 of 2) Hyatt Gold Passport
Starwood Preferred Guest
Kimpton InTouch
Club Carlson
Diamond
Platinum
Inner Circle
Concierge
50
50
45
75
QUALIFICATION CRITERIA Nights Stays
25
25
15
30
Other
Partial Credit w/ CC
Partial Credit w/ CC
N/A
No
EARNING POINTS Base Rate
5 per $
2 per $
N/A
20 per $
30% (6.5 Total)
50% (3 Total)
N/A
75% (35 Total)
5,000–22,000 points
2,000–35,000
7 Stays or 20 Nights
9,000–50,000
$770–$3,390
$670–$11,670
$700–$4,000
$260–$1,430
No
Yes
N/A
Yes
Preferred Room
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Suite if Available
No
Yes
Yes
No
4
10
No
No
500–1,000
250–500
N/A
3,000 at Booking
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Free Bottled Water
No
Yes
No
No
Free Breakfast in Club
Yes
Yes
N/A
N/A
Full Breakfast
Continental Breakfast
No
Continental Breakfast
48 hours
72 hours
48 hours
48 hours
Elite Bonus REDEEMING POINTS Free Night Awards Calculated as Dollars Spent Cash + Points Awards UPGRADES
Confirmed Upgrade Awards WELCOME AMENITY Bonus Points Option Food/Beverage Option
Breakfast If There’s No Club RESERVATIONS Guaranteed Availability Guaranteed Award Availability
No
No
48 hours
No
Free Internet
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
4:00 PM
4:00 PM
No
By request
MGM Resorts
None
None
None
Late Check-Out Partners and Alliances
Hyatt: If the club is closed, an additional 2,500 bonus points are awarded. If no club exists, only free breakfast is provided. Starwood: Award stays count toward elite status. Suite Night Awards are only offered to those who stay 50 nights and are not confirmed until 5 nights before arrival. Those who stay 75 nights or more qualify for 4 points per dollar and Your24, which permits check-in and check-out at any time 24 hours apart. Continental breakfast, if there is no club, replaces the welcome amenity.
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COMPARISON OF HOTEL ELITE STATUS – TOP TIER (2 of 2) Hilton HHonors
Marriott Rewards
IHG Rewards
Intercontinental Hotels
Diamond
Platinum
Platinum
Royal Ambassador
60
75
50
~55 nights
QUALIFICATION CRITERIA Nights Stays
30
N/A
N/A
N/A
Other
$40K Spend on CC or 120K Base Points
Partial Credit w/ CC
60K Elite Points or Included with CC
$200 First Year Fee or Free Referral
10 per $ + 5 Bonus
10 per $
10 per $
10 per $
50% (20 Total)
50% (15 Total)
50% (15 Total)
50% (15 Total)
Free Night Awards
5,000–95,000
6,000–70,000
5,000–50,000
5,000–50,000
Calculated as Dollars Spent
$250–$4,750
$400–$4,670
$340–$3,340
$340–$3,340
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Preferred Room
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Suite if Available
No
No
No
No
Confirmed Upgrade Awards
No
No
No
No
100–1,000 points
500 points
No
2,000 points
Food/Beverage Option
Yes
$10 credit
Varies
Yes
Free Bottled Water
Yes
No
No
Yes
EARNING POINTS Base Rate Elite Bonus REDEEMING POINTS
Cash + Points Awards UPGRADES
WELCOME AMENITY Bonus Points Option
Free Breakfast in Club Breakfast If There’s No Club
Yes
Yes
No
Hotel Discretion
Continental Breakfast
Continental Breakfast
No
No
48 hours
48 hours
72 hours
24 hours
No
No
No
No
RESERVATIONS Guaranteed Availability Guaranteed Award Availability Free Internet Late Check-Out Partners and Alliances
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
By request
By request
No
4:00 PM
None
Cosmopolitan
Venetian, Palazzo
IHG Rewards
Hilton: Award stays count toward elite status. The Points & Points earning method earns 10 base points and 5 additional bonus points; the elite bonus applies only to base points. Earnings rate is reduced 50% at Home2 Suites. Marriott: Earnings rate is reduced 50% for Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites. You have the option of selecting 750 points instead of continental breakfast if denied access to the club. IHG: Elite Qualifying Points are poorly defined but probably exclude promotional bonuses. Earnings rate is reduced 50% for Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites. InterContinental: The qualification requirement is estimated at 55 nights across three properties. Fruit and water welcome amenity is in addition to the bonus points, and mini bar charges are waived. In addition to late check-out, guests receive guaranteed 8 AM check-in.
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APPENDIX C:
FLIGHT REWARDS CHART
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COMPARISON OF AIRLINE ELITE STATUS – BOTTOM TIER
Elite Qualifying Miles Required ...or Segments Free Checked Bags Number of People Preferred Seating Number of People Section with Extra Legroom
United Airlines
US Airways
American Airlines
Delta Air Lines
Alaska Airlines
Premier Silver
Silver Preferred
AAdvantage Gold
Silver Medallion
MVP
25,000
25,000
25,000
25,000
20,000*
30
30
30
30
30
1 (50 lbs)
1 (50 lbs)
2 (50 lbs)
1 (70 lbs)
2 (50 lbs)
You + 8
You + 1
You + 8
You + 8
You + 8
Free at check-in
Free at check-in
Free at booking
Discounted at check-in
Free at booking
You + 1
You + 8
You + 8
You + 8
You + 8
Yes
No
Yes (Intl. only)
Yes
No
Bonus on Redeemable Miles
25%
25%
25%
25%
50%
Elite Check-In
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Elite Security
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Elite Boarding
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Free Domestic Upgrades
Unlimited
Unlimited
500-mile vouchers
Unlimited
Unlimited
Companion Domestic Upgrades
Unlimited
Unlimited
500-mile vouchers
Unlimited
No
No
No
No
No
Yes (few routes)
International Upgrades Free Drinks in Economy?
No
Phone Booking Fee
$25
Same Day Change Fee
$75
Same Day Standby Fee
$75
Close-In Award Booking Fee
$50
$75
No
Award Change Fee
$50
$150
$150
$150**
$75–$100
Award Redeposit Fee
$125
$150
$150
$150**
$75–$100
No
No
No
No
$25
$25
$15–$25
No
$75
$50
$25
No
No
$50
No
$30***
No
No
* Alaska Airlines requires 25K miles if you include credit from flights with airline partners. Status includes benefits on AA and DL. ** Delta Air Lines does not allow changes or cancellations less than 72 hours before departure. *** US Airways also charges $30–$40 for ALL awards ticketed by phone.
79 Copyright 2014 Nomadic Matt’s Travel Site
COMPARISON OF AIRLINE ELITE STATUS – MID TIER
Elite Qualifying Miles Required ...or Segments Free Checked Bags Number of People Preferred Seating Number of People Section with Extra Legroom Bonus on Redeemable Miles
United Airlines
US Airways
American Airlines
Delta Air Lines
Alaska Airlines
Premier Gold
50,000
Gold Preferred 50,000
AAdvantage Platinum 50,000
Gold Medallion 50,000
MVP Gold 40,000*
60
60
60
60
60
3 (70 lbs)
3 (50 lbs)
2 (50 lbs)
2 (70 lbs)
2 (50 lbs)
You + 8
You + 8
You + 8
You + 8
You + 8
Free at booking
Free at booking
Free at booking
Free at booking
Free at booking
You + 1
You + 8
You + 8
You + 8
You + 8
Yes
No
Yes (Intl. only)
Yes
No
50%
50%
100%
100%
100%
Elite Check-In
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Elite Security
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Elite Boarding
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Free Domestic Upgrades
Unlimited
Unlimited
500-mile vouchers
Unlimited
Unlimited
Companion Domestic Upgrades
Unlimited
Unlimited
500-mile vouchers
Unlimited
No
No
No
No
Yes (few routes)
International Upgrades
Unlimited***
Free Drinks in Economy?
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Phone Booking Fee
$25
No****
$25
No
No
Same Day Change Fee
No
No
$75
No
No
Same Day Standby Fee
No
No
No
$50
No
Close-In Award Booking Fee
$25
No
No
Award Change Fee
$25
$150
$150
$150**
No
Award Redeposit Fee
$100
$150
$150
$150**
No***
No
No
* Alaska Airlines requires 50K miles if you include credit from flights with airline partners. Status includes benefits on AA and DL. ** Delta Air Lines does not allow changes or cancellations less than 72 hours before departure. *** Alaska Airlines also waives cancellation fees on revenue (paid) tickets and provides Guest Upgrades for those not with you. **** US Airways also charges $30–$40 for ALL awards ticketed by phone.
80 Copyright 2014 Nomadic Matt’s Travel Site
COMPARISON OF AIRLINE ELITE STATUS – TOP TIER (1 of 2) United Airlines Premier Platinum
Elite Qualifying Miles Required ...or Segments Free Checked Bags Number of People
75,000
US Airways
Premier 1K 100,000
Platinum Preferred 75,000
Chairman’s Preferred 100,000
90
120
90
120
3 (70 lbs)
3 (70 lbs)
3 (50 lbs)
3 (50 lbs)
You + 8
You + 8
You + 8
You + 8
Free at booking
Free at booking
Free at booking
Free at booking
You + 8
You + 8
You + 8
You + 8
Yes
Yes
No
No
Bonus on Redeemable Miles
75%
100%
75%
100%
Elite Check-In
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Elite Security
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Elite Boarding
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Unlimited + 2 vouchers
Unlimited + 4 vouchers
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Preferred Seating Number of People Section with Extra Legroom
Free Domestic Upgrades Companion Domestic Upgrades International Upgrades
No
6 (some fares)
No
4 (w/ companion)
Free Drinks in Economy?
Limited coupons
Limited coupons
No
No
Phone Booking Fee
No
No
No*
No
Same Day Change Fee
No
No
No
No
Same Day Standby Fee
No
No
No
No
Close-In Award Booking Fee
No
No
No
No
Award Change Fee
No
No
$150
No
Award Redeposit Fee
No
No
$150
No
Other Benefits
Free Global Entry and a $60 statement credit on each co-branded credit card for Premier 1Ks
Special Dividends include upgrades on awards and Silver Preferred status for a friend at 85K
* US Airways still charges $30–$40 for ALL awards ticketed by phone (except Chairman’s).
81 Copyright 2014 Nomadic Matt’s Travel Site
COMPARISON OF AIRLINE ELITE STATUS – TOP TIER (2 of 2) American Airlines AAdvantage Executive Platinum
Elite Qualifying Miles Required ...or Segments Free Checked Bags Number of People Preferred Seating Number of People Section with Extra Legroom
Delta Air Lines
Alaska Airlines
100,000
Platinum Medallion 75,000
Diamond Medallion 125,000
MVP Gold 75 75,000*
100
100
140
90
2 (50 lbs)
2 (70 lbs)
2 (70 lbs)
2 (50 lbs)
You + 8
You + 8
You + 8
You + 8
Free at booking
Free at booking
Free at booking
Free at booking
You + 8
You + 8
You + 8
You + 8
Yes (Intl. only)
Yes
Yes
No
100%
100%
125%
100%
Elite Check-In
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Elite Security
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Bonus on Redeemable Miles
Elite Boarding Free Domestic Upgrades Companion Domestic Upgrades
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
500-mile vouchers
Unlimited
Unlimited
International Upgrades
8 (all fares)
4 (full fares)**
10 (full fares)**
Yes (few routes)
Unlimited****
Free Drinks in Economy?
Yes, plus snack
Yes
Yes
Yes, plus TV
Phone Booking Fee
No
No
No
No
Same Day Change Fee
No
No
No
No
Same Day Standby Fee
No
No
No
No
Close-In Award Booking Fee
No
No
No
No
Award Change Fee
No
No***
No***
No
Award Redeposit Fee
No
No***
No***
No****
Other Benefits
Choice Benefits at 75K & 125K, plus Diamond Medallions get free SkyClub membership
* Alaska Airlines requires 90K miles if you include credit from flights with airline partners. Status includes benefits on AA and DL. ** Delta Air Lines offers international upgrade certificates as a Choice Benefit, but their use is heavily restricted. *** Delta Air Lines does not allow changes or cancellations less than 72 hours before departure. **** Alaska Airlines also waives cancellation fees on revenue (paid) tickets and provides Guest Upgrades for those not with you.
82 Copyright 2014 Nomadic Matt’s Travel Site
