As a general rule that award tickets do not earn frequent flyer miles since they are paid for with miles, the same way you do not earn hotel points when you redeem points on an award stay. Frequent flyer programs will usually exclude award booking classes from mileage accrual. This applies to partners as well.

With that being said, there are a few exceptions or situations when award tickets might earn you miles after.

Those who hold a Chase Ultimate Rewards-earning credit card know the value of these precious rewards points. The flexibility to transfer the points to partner hotel and airline loyalty programs allows you to book free hotel nights and airline award tickets. However, you can also redeem points to book travel directly on the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal. There are several travel redemption options available including booking hotels, cruises, rental cars, and activities, however, one redemption you should consider for your Chase Ultimate Rewards points (UR points) is to book your flights on the Chase travel portal. Here’s why.

Asiana Airlines, a Korean carrier, is a diamond in the rough in the points and miles game. It’s a lesser known program that is not often discussed in the travel blogosphere. However, Asiana has an excellent award chart that offers significantly lower award prices for Star Alliance partner flights than most airlines in this alliance. This is especially true relative to United Airlines, the Star Alliance member with whom US travelers have the most familiarity, in large part due to the transferability of Chase Ultimate Rewards to United. In this post, we will discuss how to earn Asiana miles, sweet spots in the award charts, and some tips for booking award tickets.

It’s gotten harder for elites to get upgraded to first, and non-status fliers never had a chance. Don’t despair, though, you don’t have to pay hard-earned cash for the privilege of flying in style. There are still strategies to get up front, whether you rely on a free upgrade or pay your way with miles.

Beware of fuel surcharges when booking a flight, whether you are using miles or cash. The practice of imposing fuel surcharges blossomed around 2004 when world oil prices spiked. But they can vary greatly from one carrier to the next, even on carriers flying the same route with the same aircraft.

For many years, the standard price for a round-trip domestic economy award has been 25K miles for the legacy airlines. This continues to be the case for United, American, and to a lesser extent, Delta.

However, there are many alternatives available which allow us to book round-trip domestic economy awards for cheaper prices than this when the flights are short enough to fall under certain mileage thresholds. In this post, we will lay out some of the best options for cheap short-haul award bookings.

Unlike Europe, you don’t have a lot of options for Latin America with AAdvantage miles. Aside from American Airlines, there are only two carriers that can get you there, the Chile-based giant LAN and Brazil-based behemoth TAM. The two carriers merged a few years ago to form an even bigger airline called LATAM, but they are running things separately for now, until at least 2017.

Just like skiing in Europe is synonymous with the Alps, skiing in Latin America is all about the Andes. And because of the difference in seasons, the big ski season there is actually our summer so you can pick this hobby up again in June by flying south. This is the perfect time to plan that trip. If you start now, you can earn your free ticket there in time for the start of their season.

Conde Nest Traveler has come up with the Reader’s Choice Awards for 20 best ski resorts in Europe. Skiing in Europe has always been associated with the Alps, and the 2015 list includes resorts located in four countries that include them:

Mont Saint Michel, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is often called the Wonder of the West. During high tides, its slender towers and sky-scraping turrets, encircled by stout ramparts and battlements, appear to rise out of the middle of the bay. In addition to being home to the abbey that is its namesake, this feudal town once served as an impenetrable fortification and jail.

Rotterdam is both an historic city and a dynamic, modern metropolis. The Netherlands second largest city, it’s known as “Manhattan on the Maas” for its high rises and impressive architecture. The city also boasts more than a dozen museums dedicated to architecture, contemporary art, natural history, maritime history and ship building.

Though it’s not as widely known and publicized as the Air France-KLM partnership, British Airways and Iberia merged back in 2011. They are technically one airline, even though they operate under separate brands.