I’m currently in Los Angeles for a wedding. My flight from Boston got in at around 12 AM Pacific Time, but I learned quite a few things on my trip. There were some great things about this trip, and some not so great ones. Here are some quick thoughts.
Education of a Points Freak, Q5 – How can I keep track of all my account balances?
- Education of a Points Freak – Introduction
- Question 1 – Is accumulating points and miles for everyone?
- Question 2 – Won’t applying for credit cards hurt my credit?
- Question 3 – What are the pros and cons of different airlines’ mileage programs? (US Legacy Airlines)
- Question 4 – What are airline alliances and how are they useful?
- Question 5 – How can I keep track of all my account balances?
- Question 6 – What are other useful tools I can use?
- Question 7 – What are some good credit cards to start with?
Once I got pretty deep into the miles and points game, I found myself getting confused about my frequent flier numbers, my mileage balances, and most importantly, when my mileage balances would expire! I’ve found two sites that I like, so I’ve outlined them below. With over twenty account numbers to remember, I’ve found them invaluable!
Education of a Points Freak, Q4 – What are airline alliances and how are they useful?
- Education of a Points Freak – Introduction
- Question 1 – Is accumulating points and miles for everyone?
- Question 2 – Won’t applying for credit cards hurt my credit?
- Question 3 – What are the pros and cons of different airlines’ mileage programs? (US Legacy Airlines)
- Question 4 – What are airline alliances and how are they useful?
- Question 5 – How can I keep track of all my account balances?
- Question 6 – What are other useful tools I can use?
- Question 7 – What are some good credit cards to start with?
Most people are familiar with the three major airline alliances: Star Alliance, Oneworld, and Skyteam. What’s important for a points freak like me is how you can use miles from US legacy carries in conjunction with alliance partners to get all the way around the world. For example, I just booked that trip to Asia for my in-laws using United miles, but they are flying on United, Lufthansa, Thai Airways, and Asiana. This post will serve as an intro to the alliances and where they can get you. The more you know about different partners, the more options you’ll realize you have when redeeming miles.
Real Life Award Booking: Asia for the In-laws
I’m taking a break from my Education of a Points Freak to talk about a real life award booking I just made for my in-laws. I find it’s easiest to learn how to book award space by just doing it. I’ve played around with a lot of dummy bookings, but it’s more fun to look for actual awards. Helping my in-laws book their upcoming trip to Asia helped spur me on to write this blog, so hopefully their itinerary will be helpful to anyone reading!
Education of a Points Freak, Q3 – What are the pros and cons of different airlines’ mileage programs? (US Legacy Airlines)
- Education of a Points Freak – Introduction
- Question 1 – Is accumulating points and miles for everyone?
- Question 2 – Won’t applying for credit cards hurt my credit?
- Question 3 – What are the pros and cons of different airlines’ mileage programs? (US Legacy Airlines)
- Question 4 – What are airline alliances and how are they useful?
- Question 5 – How can I keep track of all my account balances?
- Question 6 – What are other useful tools I can use?
- Question 7 – What are some good credit cards to start with?
Once I became comfortable with the idea of applying for a bunch of credit cards in order to get the sign up bonuses, I started getting to know the various airlines out there. I don’t have time to travel all the time like the hardcore bloggers, plus when I first started I still was wary of applying for too many credit cards, so I wanted to consolidate miles into one or two programs to being with. It’s generally a good idea to have a lot of miles in one or two programs anyway, though diversity helps provide coverage if you travel a lot. I’ve gotten a feel for the pros and cons of a lot of the big airlines out there, both in terms of the product the airlines provide and their mileage programs. Being based in the US, I’m obviously more familiar with US carriers, so in the first post addressing this question, I’ll be focusing on the US legacy carriers.