United Hidden City Ticketing to a Train Station to Make Newark Flights Cheaper

United allows you to book trips to and from ZFV, Philadelphia's 30th St. train station. Such fares include flights to or from Newark and trains from there to Philadelphia.

Because in the short term an airline's ticket prices have more to do with competition from other airlines than anything else, United often sells tickets to ZFV for cheaper than flights to Newark, even when the trip to ZFV is the same flights to Newark plus a train ride.

Save $150+ On Canceling an American Airlines Award (TRICK!)

I booked a few awards to Thailand and Egypt in January. The awards would have allowed me to explore new areas and fly some of the world's fanciest First and Business Class products.

How to Book a Five City European Award for 15,000 United Miles

I just booked myself a five city, four country award for 15,000 United miles + $73. Let's back up a little bit before I explain my current award.
My 2013 Euro Hopper
Two years ago, I flew a Seven City, Seven Flight, Six Country Award in Europe for 12,500 United miles plus taxes.

My Trick to Avoid a $150 Cancellation Fee on My American Airlines Award

Here's how to cancel an American Airlines award without paying the $150 fee to reinstate your miles and cancel the award.

Be an Executive Platinum canceling an award booked with miles from your account.

How I Saved 47% on My Last Flight with a Fake Location

Last month, I wrote about saving money on paid tickets by using a "fake location." The idea is that airlines charge different amounts for the same ticket depending on where you're from or where you say you're from.

I just had the opportunity to use the trick, and I saved 47% on an intra-Egypt flight.

I'm going to spend a week in Egypt in May, and I want to split the time between Luxor and Cairo.

Two Tricks When United.com Isn’t Working

United.com is convenient to use, but doesn't work very well.

I ran a simple search the other day, and got a different problem with a different solution for the outbound and the return.
The Plan
I was just running a search from Chicago to Sydney roundtrip.

Book Tickets from Fake Location to Save Money

A friend passed along an article from Time.com that advocates doing something I've done a few times, but not described:

You can often get a cheaper price on a cash ticket if you book the ticket in foreign currency through airline's website designed for use by people in another country.

Power Point Slides from Chicago Seminars about Trick Awards

I gave a well-received presentation on Trick Awards at the Chicago Seminars in October.

The presentation dealt with free one ways, negative price one ways, open jaws, stopovers, avoiding fuel surcharges, and award chart SUPER sweet spots.

Enjoy!

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Two Tricks I Used on My Last Award Booking

As you read this, I'm 35,000 feet up on my way to Medellin, Colombia.

I was in Tucson over the weekend for a tennis tournament, and I didn't have any exit flight booked. I really wanted to return to Colombia because I had enjoyed Bogota so much and heard even better things about Medellin, but award space didn't appear to be available for a Monday departure from Tucson to Medellin.

I used two tricks and a little bit of creativity to come up with a Saver award, save myself $75 in fees, and give myself a chance to hang