I used to think earning miles and points would be difficult. I was wrong! There are so many opportunities to earn miles and points with credit card sign-up bonuses with everyday spending. However, I’ve discovered that it’s much more challenging to spend those miles and points on saver-level awards to get the maximum value out of your miles and points stash.
Recently, I’ve been asked by a few readers to help them earn miles to travel for free. I give the best advice I can. But in some cases, we’re not likely to find business class award availability for a family during peak times. It’s easy to get discouraged with this miles and points hobby when you can’t book the flights that you see the bloggers booking.
Please don’t give up! There are things you can do to increase your chances of finding that award space at decent miles/points prices.
Start early!
I can’t emphasize this enough. The earlier you start looking for mileage awards, the better your chances are of finding them. Most airlines open their schedules 11 months in advance, and they only release a small amount of saver-level awards for each flight. Sometimes, award space is available at the time flight schedules are released. But other times, award space appears over time. Regardless, having your miles stash early and starting your search early is always a good idea.
On social media, I see people planning their spring break trips for 2023 right now. If you hope to maximize miles and points redemptions, you really need to start thinking about your 2024 spring break ideas now.
Diversify your miles and points stash
Just like investing, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. It’s great to have a ton miles in one airline, but what happens if the only award space is on another airline?
Prioritize earning transferrable points
I love credit cards from the major banks with points that transfer to multiple airlines and hotels. These give you the most flexibility when it comes to booking.
Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer to:
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Air France-KLM Flying Blue
- British Airways Executive Club
- Emirates Skywards
- Iberia Plus
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
- United MileagePlus
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- IHG Rewards Club
- Marriott Bonvoy
- World of Hyatt
American Express Membership Rewards transfer to:
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- Aeromexico Club Premier (1:1.6)
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Air France/KLM Flying Blue
- ANA Mileage Club
- Avianca LifeMiles
- British Airways Executive Club
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Delta SkyMiles
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Airways Guest Program
- Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles
- Iberia Plus
- JetBlue True Blue (1:0.8)
- Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Choice Privileges
- Hilton Honors (1:2)
- Marriott Bonvoy
Citi ThankYou points transfer to:
- Aeromexico Club Premier
- Air France-KLM Flying Blue
- Avianca LifeMiles
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Choice Privileges
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Guest
- Eva Air Infinity MileageLands
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
- Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Wyndham Rewards
Capital One miles transfer to:
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
I know they don’t have a sign up bonus but I really love my Bilt Rewards card.
Being able to transfer to AA, UA, AC, and Hyatt is nice considering I was one who held the Sapphire Reserve for many years and only dropped it because the Bilt card accomplished just about the same thing without the annual fee.
Double point days is really nice as well. I hope they keep growing their transfer partners but the card is solid if one can get past the lack of a sub.
@2808 Heavy I’m gradually warming up to the idea of a Bilt card 🙂
I found your article very informative. Do keep posting such articles! Thank You.
Hi Nancy, I thought you might find this resource I created interesting which shows all the transfer partners for each alliance. I also include non-alliance airline partners as well for each airline. https://coda.io/@alchen/airlines-miles-transfer-partners-credit-cards
@Al Wow, what a great resource! Thank you for sharing.
Be willing to plan last-minute.
If you have the flexibility to choose to take a trip 1-2 weeks from departure, sometimes space open us wide. At least in non-peak season. I know lots of people don’t have this flexibility, though.
@Ian Someday, I will have that flexibility. 🙂
“On social media, I see people planning their spring break trips for 2023 right now.” I see this too, and it absolutely blows my mind. I often find myself planning something two years out, so when it’s a year out I’ll have plenty of miles/cash/etc to book it without worry. And I’ll have the pick of the liter for flights and lodging. Meanwhile these folks are in a mini-panic mode because they can’t find what they want and “why is airfare so high?!” -facepalm-
But on the flip side: “I can’t emphasize this enough. The earlier you start looking for mileage awards, the better your chances are of finding them.” Spot on when it comes booking award flights. I can completely understand how the average consumer gets this wrong though, and I blame the airlines/banks. The way they market these cards is disgusting. “80,000 miles is enough for 4 round trip tickets anywhere!” Yeah, if by anywhere you mean Chicago to Detroit in February, if you even release enough seats at that price point, and if your trip is 4 months from now you’re probably out of luck. They make it sound so easy and so lucrative when in reality, there’s so many variables.
@projectx Yep, I’m in 2024 planning mode now! I hate it when newbies get discouraged at award booking. Marketing does make it seem easy, but there’s a learning curve for sure.