Top 8 Airline Miles Programs – 2016 Edition

Posted on November 11, 2015 by Tara

I last made my recommendations of which airline miles programs to join back in 2012 so with all the changes I think it’s time for an update! Which programs are still good? Which ones no longer exist? Which ones are less valuable than before? How can Australians and Americans get free miles from credit cards? Read on!

WHAT MAKES A PROGRAM “GOOD”?

I attribute greater value to programs which require minimal outlay of cash (no fuel surcharges) and better opportunities to get miles from everyday credit card spend and sign up bonuses.
“Buy miles 100% bonus” deals may have value to people who have cash to outlay but since this is a guide for cash poor people who want to travel I am not including them here.
These recommendations are for eco-tourists so I haven’t considered luxury travel to Europe and Asia redemptions.
Free miles from E-Rewards is a plus.
I have not taken elite programs into account in any of the below programs.
I am not a credit blogger so please use other resources to find the best deals on sign up bonuses.

1. American Airlines AAdvantage – One World member

Has more options between USA and Australia on Qantas, Air Pacific or Air Tahiti Nui, also great for LAN or AA to South America and Africa via Qatar or direct QF flights. Can book several of their partners online with AA planning to add more as they go along. One way awards at half round trip rates. Save AA miles for long hauls if possible, use BA for short haul. No fuel surcharges except BA and IB awards. E-Rewards participant.

Americans get miles from Citibank co-branded cards and the grandfathered Barclays Aviator cards (not available to new applicants). You can also transfer points from SPG best done in blocks of 20k to get 5k bonus.

Australians get miles by transferring preferably blocks of 40k Amex MR points to get 20k SPG, then blocks of 20k SPG to get 5k bonus.

2. United Airlines Mileage Plus – Star Alliance member

Good for awards to South-east Asia on UA, SQ & TG; Central & South America on Copa & Avianca and Africa on South African, Ethiopian and Egypt Air. Also very good for intra-Latin America and intra-Africa. E-Rewards participant.

Americans get miles easily via Chase’s Ultimate Rewards cards and co-branded United Explorer card.

Australians have a much harder time getting miles as the SPG route is a poor value at 20k SPG gets 10k United plus bonus of 2500. Most Aussies will find Singapore a better Star Alliance partner.

3. Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer– Star Alliance member.

Don’t keep miles in here if you can’t use them within 3 years because they expire whether you have activity or not. Be careful of fuel surcharges on Asian routes. Good for redemptions on NZ between Australia and Pacific islands & redemptions on Avianca & Copa for Central/South America trips as no fuel surcharges.

Americans get miles from Chase’s Ultimate Rewards cards, Citibank Thank You cards, American Express Membership Rewards & SPG.

Australians get miles from American Express Membership Rewards 1000:1000 and transferable rewards programs from Westpac and ANZ.

4. British Airways Avios and Iberia Avios– One World members

Same Avios currency but you need to join both BA and IB’s versions to maximize it. Pretty easy to earn Avios via E-Rewards and can also credit stays at Accor hotels to Iberia’s program and transfer easily between BA and IB. Not a great program for long haul or itineraries needing connections but excellent for short haul within South America on partner LAN, the BA-Comair flights within Southern Africa or within Australia on partner Qantas. Some nice 5th freedom flights in the Caribbean – Trinidad to St Lucia gets you between 2 islands with good birding.

Americans get miles from Chase’s Ultimate Rewards cards and co-branded British Airways card. You can also transfer points from SPG best done in blocks of 20k to get 5k bonus.

Australians get miles by transferring preferably blocks of 40k Amex MR points to get 20k SPG, then blocks of 20k SPG to get 5k bonus. Aussies need to use a European or American address as they don’t accept memberships with Australian addresses.

5. Flying Blue – Sky Team member

Be careful as most redemptions here attract fuel surcharges. Flying Blue can get you some places that are otherwise very difficult to get to such as Kenya Airways flights to Madagascar and Garuda domestic Indonesia flights (no surcharges). Also use on short haul flights on Gol, Aerolinas Argentinas (no surcharges) and some other interesting partners. Participates in E-Rewards. Miles expire after 20 months of when they were earned unless you credit a Sky Team flight to Flying Blue. Non-flying activities such as credit card spend and E-Rewards don’t renew your expiration date.

Americans get miles from Citibank Thank You cards & Amex Membership Rewards. You can also transfer points from SPG best done in blocks of 20k to get 5k bonus.

Australians get miles by transferring preferably blocks of 40k Amex MR points to get 20k SPG, then blocks of 20k SPG to get 5k bonus.

6. Virgin Velocity – Not in an alliance.

Good for short-haul to New Zealand and Pacific islands, domestic Australia flights and sometimes long haul to USA and Asia. Participates in E-Rewards.

Americans get miles from transfering SPG points best done in blocks of 20k to get 5k bonus. You need an Aussie address to join.

Australians have numerous credit cards (basically every bank in Australia) that earn Velocity points directly or transfer there. Keep an eye out for huge sign on bonuses which have greatly improved in the last year or so. There is a new partnership with BP to get 2 points per litre with occasional targeted bonuses.

7. Etihad Guest – Not in an alliance

I never looked twice at this program until they partnered up with Flybuys. I did a recent review with Aussies in mind (sorry Americans) and found some interesting options with partners and decent value to Africa. Probably not a good program for Americans to join, better to use AA redemptions on Etihad awards. Beware of miles expiring after 2 years, don’t transfer them until you are within booking range. Activity does not renew the expiration.

Americans get miles from Citibank Thank You cards. You can also transfer points from SPG best done in blocks of 20k to get 5k bonus.

Australians get miles from American Express Membership Rewards 1000:1000 and the new Flybuys partnership FB 10,000: EY 4000.

8. Qantas Frequent Flyer – One World member

Use for domestic Australia or short-haul to NZ, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. Has fuel surcharges on most routes with the possible exception of LAN intra-South America.

Americans get points from Citibank Thank You cards.

Australians get points from co-branded Qantas cards, just about every bank in Australia has them. Unfortunately the Woolies and Optus partnerships are gone so much harder to get points now outside of credit cards.

Obviously not everyone needs to use ALL these programs. It depends on where you want to go. Situations change so you need to be constantly evaluating. A month ago I wouldn’t have considered Etihad Guest but now I can see getting at least 16,000 free miles each year just by grocery shopping at Coles and using bonuses. From the previous list US Airways Dividend Miles is gone and the Avianca Lifemiles program is no longer as valuable as it once was due to devaluations. It is no longer so easy to get Qantas miles as they eliminated their best “every day spending” partners. American may lose it’s #1 position if they devalue their awards. I say as long as it’s free to join a program, then do so as you never know what deals may come in the future!

Etihad Guest For The Aussie Eco-tourist

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Tara

Etihad Guest is a program that wasn’t really on my radar as I have been concentrating on other programs. (I really need to update my old Top 8 Programs list.) Now that it will become easy for Aussies to get Etihad miles via Flybuys by simply doing their grocery shopping at Coles, it’s time for a closer look at Etihad Guest.

HOW TO GET ETIHAD GUEST MILES

This is geared for non-frequent fliers as there are other blogs who cater for frequent fliers as well as business travelers and airlines status seekers. I am concentrating on the non-frequent flier who is into birding and eco-tourism and wants to get free miles for a free airline ticket to somewhere they can watch birds.

Newest partner Flybuys as detailed in my other post.
Amex Membership Rewards (Australian) transfer at 1000:1000 with occasional bonuses where you get 10-25% extra if you are ready at the right time.
Etihad partners with E-Rewards so you can get miles doing surveys. Be sure to join using the Etihad invitation or one from a hotel chain. If you join with another airline’s invitation, you won’t get options for other airlines.

Be careful as Etihad Guest miles expire 2 years from date of activity so don’t transfer your points until you are close to booking an award. There is no way to reset expiration by performing any activity.

BEST USES OF ETIHAD GUEST MILES FOR ECO-TOURISTS

This is where it really helps to have a bucket list, dream travel list or whatever you want to call it. Then you can start analyzing a program and where it can help you go. With Etihad you can obviously redeem on Etihad and on their partners as well.

FLYING ON ETIHAD

Awards on Etihad are based on distance so amounts vary depending on the exact distance. You need to do an individual quote so I will show you an example. Since I like birding in Africa, I would possibly redeem between BNE and EBB since Uganda is on my bucket list. Business class is roughly double economy and more tax & fees but on such a long flight it would be nice if I could get that many points!

FLYING ON PARTNERS

You can also use Etihad Guest miles to fly on partner airlines.

Bearing in mind my travel bucket list, I can see that partners that could be useful in the next few years are Air New Zealand, Garuda, Gol, South African and Virgin Australia. Lets have a closer look at their award charts to see what is the best value.

Air New Zealand

I don’t like the looks of this chart for anything over 1750 and NZ is notoriously stingy about giving space to partners so this is probably not going to be my choice. Possible short haul between AKL and Pacific Islands but then again these flights can often be bought cheaply on “happy hour” type sales.

Garuda Indonesia

Again I can see good value in the shorter hops under 1000 miles. If I hadn’t already ear-marked Flying Blue miles for my 2017 trip to Indonesia, I’d be seriously considering this option. Using Great Circle Mapper one of my potential routes is Palu-Ujung Padang-Denpasar whic is 679 miles so 10k Etihad is great value here. Business class is also really good value.

GOL

Brazil is one of my favourite countries to go birding in so I would be very interested in this option. Since we would usually be landing in Sao Paulo I checked a few random cities around Brazil, most are well under 1500 miles so 9000 Etihad miles would be excellent value here!

South African Airways

As I mentioned before, I am planning a future trip to see birds in certain parts of Africa we didn’t get to before. Namiba, Zambia & Uganda are all part of this plan. WDH-JNB-LVI is coming in at 1317 miles so would cost 15,556 Etihad. It’s another option if I don’t go with BA Avios on this route. It will all depend on which miles are easier to obtain at the time.

Virgin Australia

For Virgin Australia, Etihad doesn’t have a nice, neat little chart. It’s all on one big pdf categorized by distance/mileage required so please look here. Find your home town and take note of where you can go and for how many miles. Just looking at my home town of Brisbane I can see a few interesting options.

6900 miles each way gets me to Tasmania, Vanuatu, basically anywhere Virgin flies in eastern Australia.

10,900 miles gets me to Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, New Zealand & Fiji.

16,900 miles gets me to Darwin, Perth, Samoa & Bali.

60,000 miles gets me to LAX.

Considering all the options, I am happy to see that my everyday grocery shopping at Coles will get me some valuable miles which can be used in some pretty amazing places!

Earn 10,000 Bonus Velocity Points On Your July Service

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Tara

Update posted on 30 July in Brisbane:

Velocity website now shows end date of 31 July. There must have been a data entry error. I’m really glad I had my car serviced on Monday as my points have already posted – they have a posting date of the day after the service! I really hope Velocity and Midas do more of these promos!

Very lucrative bonus for having your car serviced! Please note that there is a discrepancy on the end date. Velocity website says 31 August, Midas website says 31 July. Either some data entry clerk goofed up or they extended it but I decided with so many points at risk not to take a chance and scheduled my car for a service in July. We’re doing a road trip in a couple months for birding Outback Queensland so we need the service anyways!

Earn 10,000 bonus Velocity Points on your July service

Kick start the New Financial Year with 10,000 bonus Velocity Points when you have your car serviced with Midas by 31 August 2015*. Plus, earn 3 Velocity Points per $1 spent on the service cost.

Virgin Australia Velocity Offers 15% Transfer Bonus & 15% Discount On Awards

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Tara

Australians need not feel left out of the October promo frenzy that seems to be going on this month! Virgin Velocity is one of the programs I recommend Aussies join as it is very easy to get points from everyday living and also the American Express Membership Rewards program. If you are new to my blog, please take a few minutes to read the posts I linked above.

Transfer your credit or charge card points from 1 October to 31 October 2013 and you will receive 15% bonus Velocity Points*.

Participating Banks

For individual bank partner terms and conditions please click here.

Plus, get even better value by saving 15% off Reward Seat and Any Seat bookings on Virgin Australia domestic and international flights^. Velocity Frequent Flyer offers the best Reward Seat availability out of all Asia Pacific region programs, now that’s rewarding^†.

Recommended Virgin Australia destinations for eco-travelers

Virgin Austalia serves all the major domestic airports too.

Terms and Conditions

* Available to Velocity members only and points transfers with participating banks only. For full details on points transfers, including minimum Points transfer requirements and Card Partner Terms and Conditions click here. The earning and redemption of Card Partner points is subject to the Terms and Conditions of the Card Partner reward program. Once Card Partner points have been redeemed for Velocity Points, they are governed by the Velocity Membership Terms and Conditions and cannot be reversed. Conditions apply, see www.velocityrewards.com.au. Transferred Points will be available in your Velocity Account subject to the Partner Points transfer timeframes. The 15% bonus Points offer is only available with, ANZ Rewards credit card accounts, Commonwealth Bank Awards credit card accounts, ANZ Business One Visa Rewards accounts, Westpac Altitude Rewards, St.George Amplify Rewards, BankSA Amplify Rewards, Bank of Melbourne Amplify Rewards, Citibank Rewards accounts, Diner Club Reward accounts, Suncorp Rewards accounts, Card Services Rewards accounts (Citibank Rewards, Diners Club Reward, Suncorp Rewards and Card Services Rewards customers enrolled in direct-earn airline rewards programs are not eligible to participate) and Australian American Express Card holders, including David Jones American Express Card holders enrolled in the Membership Rewards program (this offer excludes American Express New Zealand Card holders). Velocity members must transfer their credit card or charge card points between 1-31 October 2013 to receive the 15% bonus Velocity Points calculated on the total number of Velocity Points when transferred to the Velocity Account.

^This offer applies to Reward Seat and Any Seat bookings made on Virgin Australia marketed and operated flights between 1 October 2013 and 30 November 2013. Flights operated by partner airlines are not eligible for this offer. Any Seat refers to seats in any fare class available to the general public on Virgin Australia operated flights. Reward Seats and Any Seats are subject to availability and to the Velocity Membership Terms and Conditions and must be booked at www.velocityfrequentflyer.com. 15% discount is only applicable to minimum Points pricing and does not apply to taxes, fees and surcharges which are payable in addition to Velocity Points redeemed. Any taxes, Booking and Service fees and surcharge components are not eligible for Points earn. Refunds and itinerary changes are permitted prior to travel, subject to a service fee, fare differences (if applicable) and fare restrictions as outlined on the Virgin Australia website. For a redemption booking, the payment amount will comprise of taxes or, where the total cash component of a booking exceeds $50 and this amount is paid for by credit card or debit card, the payment amount will comprise of taxes and a Booking and Service fee of $7.70 per person per booking for Virgin Australia domestic flights, $10 per person per booking for Virgin Australia international short haul flights and $30 per person per booking for Virgin Australia international long haul flights. A phone booking fee applies: $35 per person per booking for Virgin Australia domestic and international short haul flights and $60 per person per booking for Virgin Australia international long haul flights. Checked baggage allowance is not included for Any Seat redemptions booked as a Saver Lite fares. If a checked baggage allowance is required members can make an Any Seat redemption booking for a baggage inclusive fare or purchase excess baggage at the airport for $40 for the first piece. Baggage Allowances for Any Seat redemption bookings vary by fare class and Velocity membership level and can be viewed by clicking here. Baggage Allowances for Economy Reward Seat fares include a checked baggage allowance and vary by membership level and destination. Red members receive 1 piece up to 23kg on domestic and international short haul flights, 2 pieces up to 23 kg each on flights to Los Angeles, or 30kg on international long haul flights to Abu Dhabi. Additional complimentary baggage allowances apply for Silver, Gold and Platinum Velocity members and can be viewed by clicking here. Additional fees will be charged for baggage in excess of the published allowances. Fees are chargeable at the time of purchase and are more expensive if not purchased prior to arriving at the airport.

^†Velocity Frequent Flyer awarded Best Redemption Ability for Middle East & Asia/Oceania category in 2013 Freddie Awards, and ranked highest of all Asia Pacific region programs in Ideaworks Company’s 2013 SwitchFly Reward Seat Availability survey.

To earn and redeem Velocity Points you must be a member. Velocity membership and Points earn and redemption are subject to the Member Terms and Conditions, as amended from time to time.

New Global Cash Cards For Australian Frequent Flyers

Posted on July 20, 2013 by Tara

Both Qantas and Virgin Australia are offering their members the opportunity to order new global cash cards with their airline membership numbers on them. If you order by the specified date, you have a chance to win a prize in the drawing too!

QANTAS

Full details

Qantas Cash Card

Log in to your Qantas account to confirm or update your Qantas Frequent Flyer profile contact details before 11 August 2013 and you’ll be automatically entered into the draw to win one of three $15,000 Qantas Holidays Vouchers. Vouchers can be used toward any Qantas Holidays domestic or international package.

You must be over 18 years of age and an Australian resident to be eligible for the competition. One entry per member. Alternatively, you can enter the draw by logging in to Your Profile from the qantas.com homepage, or by updating your member details through the Frequent Flyer Service Centre. See terms and conditions for details*.

VIRGIN VELOCITY

Full details

Win with Global Wallet™

With Velocity’s new Global Wallet™ you can travel easy with your Velocity Frequent Flyer Membership and Visa Prepaid card in one. It’s a convenient, secure, and reloadable travel card that allows you to make purchases, earn Points and access your own money around the world, anywhere Visa is accepted.

To celebrate the launch of Global Wallet™ Velocity is giving you the chance to win one of 10 x $1,000 AUD* to be pre-loaded onto to your card. All you have to do is opt in or sign-up to receive the new Global Wallet™ card before 31 August 2013!

Learn more about Global Wallet™ and its features.

New Members

If you aren’t already a Velocity member, join now. New members who sign-up to Velocity before 31 August 2013 and who are eligible^~ for the Global Wallet™ will automatically request to receive this nifty new card and will receive an automatic entry into the competition.

Current Members

If you are a current member^~ and would like to receive a new membership card with Global Wallet™ functionality, simply login to your Velocity Account and request a new card for free. Do this before 31 August 2013 and be in the running to win.

Now you have that extra incentive to start planning your next getaway with the convenience of your new Global Wallet™ (potentially pre-loaded with an additional $1,000 AUD spending money!).

Terms and Conditions

^*Please view full Terms and Conditions. View the Product Disclosure Statement or Financial Services Guide. Rêv Australia Pty Ltd and Cuscal Limited are not promoting this competition.

^~To be eligible to receive a Global Wallet™ enabled card, you must be 18 years of age, have a residential address in Australia and otherwise be deemed by Velocity Frequent Flyer to be eligible to receive the Global Wallet™ enabled card.

When Pigs Fly, They May Not Earn Miles…………….

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Tara

…………………….but now your pet dogs and cats can earn Virgin Velocity points!

Earn Points when travelling with your pet!

We know pets are part of the family and in an Australian-first members can earn Points for travelling with a cat or dog on a Virgin Australia domestic flight*.

You will earn a minimum of 300 Points per pet carrier for each flight sector flown. Points will be awarded for a maximum of two pet carriers per booking.

To earn Points your Velocity membership number must be added to the booking.

Silver, Gold and Platinum members earn a 50%, 75% and 100% Points bonus respectively on top of the base Points earned.

Points Earned per Virgin Australia flight^

# of Pet Carriers	Red	Silver	Gold	Platinum
1 Pet Carrier	300 Points	450 Points	525 Points	600 Points
2 Pet Carriers (Maximum)	600 Points	900 Points	1,050 Points	1,200 Points

^One way travel

For more information on how to book pets, please visit Special Assistance – Pets.

Points will not be earned for unaccompanied pets, the international transportation of pets or Service dogs that travel in the cabin of the Virgin Australia flight. Points will be credited to the member travelling with the pet within 14 days after completion of travel.

Terms and Conditions:

*Pets will be carried in accordance with the Member Terms and Conditions.

Virgin Velocity – 15% Off Domestic And International Reward Seats

Posted on June 8, 2013 by Tara

This will be more of interest to Australian readers. Virgin Velocity is one of the programs I recommend Aussies join as it is very easy to get points from everyday living and also the American Express Membership Rewards program. If you are new to my blog, please take a few minutes to read the posts I linked above.

Until 30 June, you can save 15% on reward flights. If you couple this with one of the regular points bonus transfers, this can be a substantial discount on the cost of reward seats. Velocity usually does a bonus promo at least once a year and offers a 15-30% bonus when you transfer miles from any of their affiliated credit cards. This promo has finished but it gives you an idea of what to expect.

Velocity special

15% off Domestic and International Reward Seats Terms and Conditions

*All redemptions quoted are Reward Seats, subject to availability and to the Velocity Membership Terms and Conditions and booked on the internet at virginaustralia.com/velocity . This offer only applies to flights marketed and operated by Virgin Australia. Flights operated by partner airlines are not eligible for this offer. This offer applies to bookings made between 19 April 2013 and 30 June 2013. 15% discount is only applicable to minimum Points pricing and does not apply to taxes, fees and surcharges which are payable in addition to Velocity Points redeemed. Quoted fares are correct as at 19 April 2013 and are subject to change. Seats are limited and may not be available at peak times or on all flights. Any taxes, Booking and Service fees and surcharge components are not eligible for Points earn. Name changes are not permitted. Refunds and itinerary changes are permitted prior to travel, subject to a service fee, fare differences (if applicable) and fare restrictions . Payment amount will comprise of taxes or taxes and a Booking and Service fee, depending on the value. A Booking and Service fee will apply when paying by credit card or debit card when the payment amount is $50 or more: $7.70 per person per booking for Virgin Australia domestic flights, $10 per person per booking for Virgin Australia international short haul flights and $30 per person per booking for Virgin Australia international long haul flights. A phone booking fee applies: $35 per person per booking for Virgin Australia domestic and international short haul flights and $60 per person per booking for Virgin Australia international long haul flights. Baggage Allowances for Economy Reward Seat fares include a checked baggage allowance and vary by membership level and destination. Red members receive 1 piece up to 23kg on domestic and international short haul flights, 2 pieces up to 23 kg each on flights to Los Angeles, or 30kg on international long haul flights to Abu Dhabi. Complimentary baggage allowances apply for Silver, Gold and Platinum Velocity members. Additional baggage charges apply; please view the schedule of current fees . Fees are chargeable at the time of purchase. Fees will be incurred for excess baggage.

Here’s a sample route map of non-stops from Brisbane. You can put any city as the departure on their interactive map and see where you can go on a non-stop or a connection. I highlighted in yellow some places of interest to eco-tourists.

Virgin Austalia serves all the major domestic airports too.

Top 8 Frequent Flyer Programs For Eco-Travelers

Posted on December 30, 2012 by Tara

* UPDATED FOR 2016 *

It’s always good to be diversified but then not TOO diversified that you end up with tiny amounts in too many programs. Everyone, no matter where you live should join these programs right now and be ready for the New Year in case bonuses and promos are released. It’s also a good idea to make your own spreadsheet and track your miles in each program and set up a special email folder to put all emails that come from these airlines. Throughout the year, I will be blogging about any promos that come up but will concentrate on these programs as I feel they offer the best award opportunities for eco-travelers in particular. You will be on your way to a free eco-tourism adventure in no time at all!

1. United Airlines Mileage Plus – Star Alliance member, very easy for Americans to get LOTS of miles via Chase’s Ultimate Rewards (see reference tab at top), especially strong for Central America with partners Copa and Taca, but can get you to Asia pretty easily on Singapore or Thai. Has an excellent online award booking engine and allows one ways at half round trip for extra flexibility.

2. American Airlines AAdvantage – One World member, has more options between USA and Australia on Qantas, Air Pacific or Air Tahiti Nui, also great for LAN or AA to South America. Can book several of their partners online with AA planning to add more as they go along. One way awards at half round trip rates.

3. US Airways Dividend Miles – Star Alliance member, noted for great promos in the past such as Grand Slam (between me and my husband, we got over half a million miles in 3 years with this promo). Good option for non-USA residents as they offer frequent discounted buy/share miles promos throughout the year. Same redemption opportunities as UA but no one-ways and you must call them to book so they lose points for inflexibility. They have recently started to enforce MPM (maximum permitted mileage) on award tickets so booking Australia to/from USA via Asia may or may not work.

4. Avianca-Taca LifeMiles – Star Alliance member, has frequent buy share promos so good chance for worldwide members to get discounted tickets. Has online booking of partner awards but the real benefit to eco-travelers is the great rates on their own flights within Central America and Peru.

My analysis of Avianca-Taca LifeMiles

5. British Airways Avios and Iberia Avios– One World members, same Avios currency but you need to join both BA and IB’s versions to maximize it. Pretty easy to earn Avios via E-Rewards and can also credit stays at Accor hotels to Iberia’s program and transfer easily between BA and IB. Americans can get lucrative credit card bonuses. Not a program for long haul or itineraries needing connections but excellent for short haul within South America on partner LAN or within Australia on partner Qantas.

FOR AUSSIES ONLY

6. Qantas Frequent Flyer – One World member – Join at Woolies via Everyday Rewards and get points from your weekly grocery shopping and Optus phone/internet. Various credit cards to get more points. Use for domestic Australia or short-haul to NZ, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.

7. Virgin Velocity – Not in an alliance. Good for credit card bonuses, transfers from Amex and short-haul to New Zealand and Pacific islands.

8. Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer– Star Alliance member. Don’t keep miles in here if you can’t use them within 3 year because they expire whether you have activity or not. Good for redemptions on NZ between Australia and Pacific islands.

Getting To The Cook Islands Using Frequent Flier Miles

Posted on December 22, 2012 by Tara

STAR ALLIANCE IS THE BEST OPTION

The Cook Islands has only one international airport (RAR) and only 3 airlines that serve this airport. Air New Zealand, a member of the Star Alliance has the most flights, most of which originate in Auckland (AKL) and a few flights to LAX and SYD (Sydney). You can use any of the Star Alliance partners to book these flights but depending on where you live and what your profile is, some programs will be better than others.

If you live in Australia or New Zealand, your best bet is probably going to be the Singapore Airline’s Krisflyer. As you can see by the chart below, Australia, New Zealand and the Cook Islands are all in the South-West Pacific category. Round trip awards are only 25,000 miles in economy and 35,000 in business class. Air New Zealand does not have a first class cabin. This is the ONLY award I use SQ miles for and I keep my Amex points in Amex and transfer them just when I am ready to redeem because SQ miles expire after 3 years whether you have any activity or not. I don’t use SQ for any other routings than Pacific awards because they have tremendous fuel surcharges on just about all their other routes.

If you are traveling from North America, Asia, Europe or South America, you will find much easier awards using one of 3 Star Alliance partners: US Airways Dividend Miles, United Airlines Mileage Plus or Avianca Taca Lifemiles. There are pros and cons to each program and from the USA especially business class is hard to get so you will most likely end up in economy. Air New Zealand does release business class within a couple months of departure but by that time, the economy seats will be gone so if you like to plan in advance, I wouldn’t risk it. On the other hand, it can be good news for more spontaneous travelers who have more flexibility.

Anyone from anywhere in the world can join these 3 programs. Americans will usually be better off with United if they plan on using any of the Chase Ultimate Reward cards to acquire miles with both personal and business cards available and gift card churning. This is way too complicated to go into here but if anyone is interested, start with Flyer Talk or ask me to personally recommend a blogger who specializes in this sort of thing in the comment section below.

No matter which Star Alliance partner I am booking on, I find the UA award search tool is the easiest to use because of the colour-coded calendar. Obviously the miles needed for the redemption are valid only on UA. If you are after business class awards, beware of the Mixed Class warning as shown in the second screenshot.

You are probably wondering why they are routing you through Sydney instead of the direct flight LAX-AKL, then AKL RAR. Let’s see if there is any availability. Scroll down to the bottom, do a LAX AKL search, choose your date and tick the Nonstop flights only box.

There are no non-stop flights available so it gives a warning and shows connecting flights.

At this point, depending on how much flexibility you have, you can keep plugging in dates hoping for the non-stop LAX-AKL (I did a few random dates and couldn’t find anything) or just take what they offer.

Bear in mind that this availability display will be much the same for any of the Star Alliance airlines but not all airlines have the facility to search partner awards. The ANA tool can also be used. It’s complicated but I will do a more comprehensive post on how to use it later.

For people who can’t get the Chase credit cards from the USA, your best bets will be either US Dividend Miles or Avianca Taca Lifemiles. Both these airlines have frequent 100% bonuses on purchase miles throughout the year. I’ll go into more detail later, because both programs have their pros and cons so I will just show you how many miles it takes to go from LAX to RAR.

Let’s start with US Airways Dividend Miles. From the USA and the rest of North America, you will need 80k in economy, 110k in business. From UK and Europe, you will need 100k economy, 120k business and from Australia or New Zealand you will need 25k economy and 30k business-all round trip and no one-way options available.

Using a 100% bonus on purchase miles, an American would pay $1505 USD including tax for 40k miles purchased and 40k given free with the promo.

Avianca Taca Lifemiles offers one-way awards and online booking of partner awards, but people on Flyertalk report it is difficult to deal with the call centres for non-Spanish speakers and you can’t mix classes (economy and business/first) on an award. I’ll post their award chart and do a more comprehensive post on them later. Sorry this is going to post very small so I would suggest clicking on the link on their website to see it better. All the Pacific countries: Australia, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Tahiti and others fall into the “Others” category. Don’t ask me why they didn’t just call it “South Pacific” like all the other airlines! From the USA and the rest of North America, you will need 90k economy and 130k business. From Europe, you will need 110k economy, 175k business and from Australia/New Zealand you will need 35k economy, 55k business.

Using the 100% bonus purchase miles promo, an American would have to buy 45k for $1350 and get 45k free from the promo. The website states that there is a tax payable but when I bought a smaller amount of miles earlier, I was not charged a tax.

ALWAYS COMPARE FULL COSTS WHEN PURCHASING MILES TO JUST PURCHASING THE TICKET.

Using the examples above, an American would spend $1505 to use USDM, $1350 to use Avianca Taca Lifemiles (need to add tax on top of that) or a quick look at Expedia shows tickets available for $1313 and you will EARN miles! So in this case, only use miles if you got them free from a credit card or earned while flying on other paid Star Alliance flights. Don’t buy miles in this case when the paid ticket is cheaper!!!

An Australian would pay $490 to get 13k USDM plus 13k free. On Avianca Taca Lifemiles, it would cost $540 to get 18k miles plus 18k free. A quick look at Air New Zealand’s site shows a fare of $1276 NZD which is around $1056 USD so for the Aussie, the better option is to buy the US Airways miles after making sure there is availability on the desired dates.

FLIGHTS USING VIRGIN AUSTRALIA’S VELOCITY

Virgin Australia serves RAR from AKL with onward connections to Australia. This program is likely to be useful only to Australians who are using credit cards or every day life techniques to get Velocity points so here is a sample of award levels. See their website for more information. Aussies who are using Amex Membership Rewards would be better off transferring to Singapore’s Krisflyer where 50k Amex = 50k SQ which can be redeemed for 2 x Australia to RAR in Y as noted above.

FLIGHTS TO/FROM TAHITI

Air Raro and Air Tahiti share the route between RAR and PPT (Papeete, Tahiti). There are no frequent flyer options here, you will have to pay cash for this flight but it could be a useful option if you want to redeem a Star Alliance open jaw award Australia-Raro /- Tahiti-Australia and need to get between Raro and Tahiti. The flight only operates once a week but does save a lot of backtracking.

WHEW, that was confusing! If you have any questions, please ask in the comments below and I will be happy to clarify anything. Once you get to the Cook Islands, you will want to organize your neighbor island visits to Aitutaki and Atiu so please check those posts too!

LIST OF PARROTS IN THE COOK ISLANDS

Miles To The Wild

Create unforgettable eco-tourism and birding adventures using miles & points!

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