Not everyone can earn a significant number of frequent flyer miles quickly, so once you do have enough for an award, you treat those miles like gold. After all, they are a precious commodity that can help take you all over the world, but sometimes you just need to get home to see grandma. When should you pay cash for your airline tickets and when should you use miles? Here’s some advice.
You may have never heard of Mons, Belgium, but that’s about to change. The latest CNN report on top travel destinations puts it in the spotlight as one of the prime places to visit in 2015, and for a good reason.
While Spirit will never win a popularity contest, it’s hard to argue with its financial success. It was profitable even in the hardest of times, when every other airline was struggling to stay afloat. Spirit Airlines has only one competitive angle: low price. And for that price, it provides only one service, transporting you from point A to point B. Everything else costs extra.
Free Spirit, the frequent flyer program for Florida-based budget carrier Spirit Airlines, is very controversial. On the one hand, it is very restrictive. Your miles expire after only three months of inactivity, unless you have the Bank of America Spirit Airlines World MasterCard (see below). Most programs give you at least a year, and some up to two years. On the other hand, Free Spirit miles can give you amazing and unbeatable value if you’re in the right place at the right time.
If you’ve discovered the power of tapping into your good credit to sign up for new credit cards in order to snag hefty frequent flyer mile bonuses, the inevitable has probably already happened: your wallet is stuffed to the gills with plastic.
Bolivia was once largely cut off to travelers due to endless transportation strikes and general dysfunction. But that’s changed, and thanks in part to recent investments in tourist-friendly infrastructure it’s number eight on the New York Times’ 52 Places to Go in 2015.
One of the most annoying things about frequent flyer programs is that there is often no easy or free way to transfer miles from one account to another. If you fly often for work but your spouse doesn’t, there are probably times you wish you could move some of your miles to your partners account.
If you’re collecting miles and playing the frequent flyer awards game, you’re probably already familiar with the airport taxes, fuel surcharges and other fees that often get added to your ticket. So when you finally earn that “free” flight you’ve been saving up for, you don’t expect it to be completely free.
The incredible clear skies, high altitude and remote location of the Elqui Valley in Chile have long made it the ideal environment for large research telescopes. But it has recently also become a hotbed for astrotourism. Small, private observatories now dot the landscape, along with quaint hotels catering to stargazers.
American Express Membership Rewards is the granddaddy of programs offering
Like many aspects of Mexico’s tourist industry, Aeromexico and its frequent flyer program meet some, but not all North American travel expectations. For example, Aeromexico offers feeder co-branded credit cards with exceptional value, but it also requires you to call its frequent flyer program for things you’d expect to be able to do quickly and simply online.
No one likes paying taxes to Uncle Sam, but its something Americans must do every year on April 15. If you’re like most frequent flyers, you’re looking for ways to earn a few miles for paying your share. Here’s some advice to help you maximize your earnings at tax time and a warning about why paying taxes with a credit card is usually not the best idea.
There are good reasons why Costa Rica is a prime ecotourism destination for North American tourists. It has hundreds of breathtaking waterfalls, peaceful lakes, and roaring rivers.
Despite not having any transfer partners, the Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard is still a great tool for getting award flights. In addition to a 40,000 mile sign-up bonus, this card has great earning capabilities and the flexibility to redeem your miles for most of your travel expenses.
No, Qantas is not an indigenous Australian word for the airlines trademark Kangaroo, like Singapore Airlines mythical Silver Kris bird. It is actually an abbreviation for the airlines earlier name, Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services. That gives you a clue as to how long Qantas has been in business.
