Gold Mine First Class Award Space from United States to Asia

There is excellent award space in Japan Airlines First Class between San Francisco and Tokyo for most of the next 11 months.

Amazing Summer 2014 Award Space to Hawaii

American Airlines releases a ton of award space on its routes to Hawaii at the last minute.

On almost all of American Airlines' routes from Los Angeles to the four major Hawaiian islands and Dallas/Fort Worth to Oahu and Maui, there is award space for 4+ people in the next few weeks.

If you live in Southern California or North Texas, this is a great chance to use as few as 12,500 Avios per person per direction to get to Hawaii during high season when the weather is a perfect 85 degrees and sunny.

If you live somewhere else

BA.com Isn’t As Good At Finding Connections as AA.com

British Airways has a unique, distance-based award chart that can provide fantastic value for short-haul flights.

Both Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards transfer 1:1 to British Airways Avios.

British Airways has access to all American Airlines "MileSAAver" award space. Furthermore, on some routes British Airways actually charges fewer miles for the same flight than American Airlines.

Unfortunately, using ba.com is not as straightforward as using aa.com.

Great Award Space to Kona, Hawaii

Getting to the Big Island of Hawaii from the United States mainland is easy with miles. There are a ton of direct flights on several airlines, most of which have fantastic award space. Several of the flights can even be booked for as little as 12,500 miles each way.

I've been on the Kona side of Hawaii Island this week with my family, and it has been fantastic.

The snorkeling on this coast is the best I've ever experienced.

Ten Minute Three Day Trip with Avios and Hawaiian Miles

Anatomy of an Award posts highlight real awards I’ve booked to show you the techniques needed to book your dream trip.

I recently made a last-second decision to head to Las Vegas and Phoenix for three days for a mix of work and pleasure.

I planned and booked the trip in 10 minutes with miles and points, saving myself $1,500 in the process and getting to fly First Class on one long flight.

This One Mistake on the US Airways Award Chart Can Save You 15k Miles

US Airways charges the same price for three-cabin First Class within the United States and Canada as it does for two-cabin First Class or Business Class.

I consider this a mistake rooted in the fact that US Airways only operates two-cabin planes within the United States as did its former partner United (with a few exceptions.)

But US Airways' new partners American Airlines and Cathay Pacific both operate three-cabin planes within the United States on a few routes:

New York-JFK to Los Angeles (American Airlines)
New York-JFK to San Francisco (American Airlines)
New York-JFK to Vancouver (Cathay Pacific)

I expect

Free Spreadsheet to Download for Cash & Avios Award Analysis

Super Reader Jorge sent me an awesome spreadsheet that instantly does all the math on British Airways' Cash & Avios awards, so you can quickly see whether booking one is a good deal.

Usually when redeeming British Airways Avios for an award ticket, you are offered a menu of prices. You can pay the normal amount of miles + taxes + fuel surcharges (though there are no fuel surcharges on these partners.) Or you can pay fewer Avios and more cash.

Why I Am Glad British Airways “Devalued” Its Frequent Flier Miles

This was the oldest unwritten "Draft" post in my folder. I wrote the title more than two years ago, but none of the post until today.

Qantas Will Fly an A380 Between Sydney and Dallas Starting This Fall

Qantas will operate its daily flight from Dallas to Sydney with an A380 starting October 1, 2014. This is a large increase in capacity from the current 747 on the route.

The Dallas to Sydney flight will be the longest A380 flight in the world at 16hr55min, so it's not one I'd be eager to fly in coach.

The route is in addition to the A380 flights Qantas operates from Los Angeles to Sydney and Melbourne.

Life after the American Airlines Explorer Award? Maybe It’s Not So Bad

JB books awards for the MileValue Award Booking Service. He was an expert on the now-defunct American Airlines Explorer Awards and had been planning to book one for himself.