If you have stumbled across this post it means you are at least somewhat knowledgeable about points and miles and have started your journey to earn points and perhaps even have redeemed them for a trip or two.
If you have no idea what we are talking about, check out Points and Miles 101 to get started.
New to points and miles? Grab our course: https://mikayla-adair-s-school.teachable.com/admin-app/get-started
We don’t claim to be a points and miles experts, but have been playing the game for a few years and have come to gain some knowledge that we think is helpful as you continue your journey. *This is not financial advice.
#1 Points and Miles in a Variety of Portals
Having available quantities of points/miles within different banks proves to be a benefit, especially when it comes to achieving the elusive business and first class redemptions for flights. When you have 2-4 different banks you can pull points from, it gives you more power to utilize transfer bonuses, as well as have the flexibility to pool all your points to a certain hotel or airline transfer partner when there are crossovers. For example (Chase, Capital One, American Express, & Citi Bank all transfer to Flying Blue (KLM & AirFrance airlines).
Some of our favorites include:
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
The Platinum Card® from American Express
#2 Earn Them Before you Burn Them
If you have been around in this space, you have heard the phrase “earn them and burn them” when it comes to points and miles and that is because they devalue overtime. Something we have learned is that for the average person/household, it takes ALOT of time, welcome offers, credit cards, and monthly spending to secure enough points to buy business class flights or stay at a luxury resort. We are just here to say it is okay to stockpile points and take your time earning them before burning them so that you can get the redemption you are looking for in travel!
#3 Be Realistic
We see a lot of folks in the advertising space of points and miles talk about the number of points or miles needed to secure certain travel (flights and/or hotels). The biggest issue we have seen is that these numbers are not always what they seem. The communication gives people an unrealistic expectation of the amount of points or miles needed for a certain type of trip (especially purchasing upper class awards).
So, our due dilligence is to provide the average traveler the information below in regards to general numbers of points or miles needed for business class redemptions around the world ROUNDTRIP (since most of are not full time travelers). The general rule of thumb is the further you go, the more points it will be!
Can you find flights that are less than the below? ABSOLUTELY. There will always be those flash sales, one-time offers, etc. but finding award availability in business class, especially for more than one person, will almost always yield within the ranges below. If you are finding flights WAY HIGHER than these ranges, you may want to keep looking.
a. US to EUROPE – 75K-120K RT per person
b. US to SOUTH AFRICA – 150K-225K RT per person
c. US to SOUTHEAST ASIA – 170K-250K RT per person
d. US to SOUTH AMERICA – 50K-100K RT per person
e. US to AUSTRALIA – 170K-250K RT per person
#4 The Power of Positioning Flights
When folks starting looking for flight awards, the logical place is to look from your home airport. Well….what if you can’t find what you are looking for? What if you don’t live in a major city? That is where the power of positioning flights comes into play. Chris and I have only flown ONE business class ticket direct from Denver (our home airport). The rest of the time, we end up flying to other major cities (Dallas, Chicago, DC, San Fran, LA, etc.) to hop on an international business class flight. We feel flying economy for 1-3 hours in order to be on a business class seat for 8-15 hours is worth the trade off.
Same can be true of your final destination. Want to visit Bali but can’t find award availability direct? What if you find a flight to Singapore instead on business class and then buy an economy ticket to Bali? Can’t find award availability to Croatia? How about finding a ticket to London and then flying an economy ticket (or trains can be a good option within Europe) to Croatia?
We feel this sentence sums up points and miles perfectly….those who are the most flexible with dates and destinations will find the biggest value from redemptions. Happy traveling!
MC Exploring 