The best way to track your frequent flier miles
With all of the programs out there, it oftentimes can get confusing keeping track of all the programs. Especially the ones that are seldom used.
I’ve done quite a bit of research on the easiest ways to keep track of all of your miles and points.
My new favorite website is Award Wallet. You can add all of your frequent flyer numbers and accounts and it will send you emails with your balances. The best part is that it will also tell you your expiration dates as well.
You can also enter in your whole family to track their accounts as well.
I spent this afternoon submitting everyone’s numbers in. Here are our balances:
My Delta 250,000
My American Airlines 200,000
My HIlton 200,000
My Priority Club 260,000
My Marriott 120,000
Both of my kids Delta accounts: 20,000 each
My wife’s Delta account: 40,000
My wife’s American Airlines account 200,000
We’re also in the midst of earning enough points with British Airways to fly anywhere in the world in first class.
The point of this is not to brag, but just to show what flexibility I’ll have for our next trip(s).
We’ll have Marriott, Hilton, and Priority Club properties to choose from and three airlines to get the best tickets on.
While it certainly helps that I travel quite a bit, I also take advantage of every offer I can to earn more miles. I’ve switch to DirecTV, opened up bank accounts, and bought gold coins all for the sake of miles.
Earn frequent flyer miles and hotel points for your charitable donations
There are some great offers out there to get rewarded for your generosity to charities. Several of the airlines and hotels are currently offering bonus points for your charitable contributions. Here is a run down of the current offers:
American Airlines
* Offer valid on contributions made online at http://american.redcross.org/americanairlines-pub
** Minimum donation of $50 required in order to earn bonus miles* Members can earn a one-time bonus up to 500 miles* Promotion dates are January 14 through February 28, 2010* Donation receipts from the American Red Cross forwarded to ReliefMiles@aa.com. Miles will post to the member’s AAdvantage account approximately 14 days after the receipts are received. Please check your AAdvantage account on aa.com to verify the award.* The name on the donation receipt must match the name on the AAdvantage account.* You must be an AAdvantage member to receive the bonus miles.* Bonus miles do not count toward elite-status qualification.* American Airlines reserves the right to change the AAdvantage program at any time without notice.* American Airlines is not responsible for products or services offered by other participating companies.* For complete details about the AAdvantage program, visit www.aa.com/aadvantage* The American Red Cross name and emblem are used with its permission, which in no way constitutes an endorsement, express or implied, of any product, service, company, opinion or political position.* For more information about the Red Cross, please visit http://www.redcross.org/
Delta Airlines
5000 Skymiles for a minimum donation of $100 to the Martin Luther King Jr National Memorial Fund.
Spirit Airlines
A $5 donation equals 5000 Spirit Airlines miles.
Marriott Hotels
18,000 Marriott Hotel points for a $50 donation to the Red Cross.
Point donations
Starwood will match your donation of your own Starwood points to the Red Cross. A 4000 Starwood point donation equals $50.
United Airlines
You can donate United miles here to Haiti.
Hilton Hotels
You can donate Hilton points here.
150 Free American Airlines miles for Bose video
Go to this link to watch a video about the newest Bose headphones. The video takes two minutes, and then you have to answer 1 question about Bose headphones.
A very easy way for 150 free American Airlines miles. Offer ends October 15th.
Double Elite Qualification Miles on American and United
American Airlines and United Airlines are at it again with a Fall Double Elite Qualification promotion.
For American, go to www.aa.com/elite. The promotion runs from September 2, 2009 and December 15, 2009,
For the Double Elite-Qualifying Miles promotion, register prior to travel using promotion code DBLEQ.
To qualify for Elite Rewards, register prior to December 15, 2009, using promotion code ELTRW.
United Airlines registration is here and runs from September 3 to December 15, 2009.
Great way to quickly obtain Elite Status with either airline. Though I’m a Delta guy, I have some upcoming intra-Europe flights on United where I’ll pick up some extra miles.
500 American Airlines miles for insurance quote
Get an insurance quote from Liberty Mutual, and received 500 American Airlines miles.
Here are the terms and conditions:
Void for residents in the following states: AK, AL, GA, HI, IA, MA, ME, MO, NJ, NV, NY, OK, SC, TX, and UT.
Terms and Conditions:
1 Discounts, credits, and benefits are available where state laws and regulations allow and may vary by state.
2 The descriptions of features, benefits, and coverages are necessarily brief and are subject to the provisions, limitations, and exclusions that can only be expressed in the policy and related endorsements. Benefits are available where state laws and regulations allow and may vary by state.
Please allow 10-12 weeks for AAdvantage miles to post to your account. Maximum of 500 miles per member, per year.
Possible 1500 American Airlines miles for email subscription signup
Here’s an opportunity to earn 1500 American Airlines miles for simply signing up for email subscriptions. I would highly recommend using your points spam email address to sign up.
Here are the terms and conditions:
American Airlines Travel Brain Bonus Mile Offer Terms & Conditions
American Airlines Travel Brain: Offer is valid for recipients of this mailing only. No registration is required. American Airlines AAdvantage® members will have the option to receive a special offer by subscribing to one or more of the following email products (AAdvantage eSummarySM, AAirmailSM, Net SAAver Fares®, AAdvantage® promotions, and AAVacationsSM travel picks) that individual is not subscribed to as of December 30, 2008. This special offer includes 500 AAdvantage® bonus miles for each additional subscription. To receive the special offer, individuals must subscribe to their chosen email product on the Promotion microsite, be subscribed for a minimum of three (3) months, have a valid email address on file with American Airlines, and must subscribe by 11:59 pm EST on February 27, 2009. After 90 days, the AAdvantage® bonus miles will be automatically deposited into the individual’s AAdvantage® account and will post within six (6) weeks after the three-month enrollment date. Individuals are eligible for the new email subscription special offer based on the individual’s account profile as of December 30, 2008. Any changes or updates past this date will not be reflected in the special offer.
My next trip and my next goal
In 2006 I was able to take a dream vacation to Bora Bora, and Tahiti, French Polynesia staying in an over the water bungalow for 10 nights using airlines miles and hotel points.
I just booked my next trip, which will be to Hua Hin, and Bangkok Thailand. We booked the tickets through a Delta partner, China Airlines, using our Skymiles. Our first class accomodations will be covered by using our Hilton points in Hua Hin for 6 nights and then using our Marriott points in Bangkok for 3 nights.
The Hua Hilton
The JW Marriott
As I was doing research on Thailand and various beach resorts, I stumbled upon what has to be our next destination – the Maldives. I must say the only things I’ve heard about the Maldvies is their sea level continues to rise each year/ Eventually, the sea will swallow up the entire country. Until, then it appears they have some spectacular resorts! Including the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island resort that was twice voted “Best Hotel in the World” and several time “Best Resort”.
Conrad Maldives
The Conrad Maldives Rangali Island resort in the the Maldives and most importantly, a Hilton partner.
Check out this underwater restaurant they have.
The total points required for the Conrad Maldives is 40,000 Hilton points per night. Here are some fantastic ways to earn enough points.
** Disclaimer ** – Earning the maximum number of points requires applying for credit card and sometimes using credit cards. Credit cards are not for everyone and the credit cards charge outrageous interest rates for carrying balances. If you have problems with credit cards, this is not for you. Please educate yourself on how applying and having credit cards affects your credit score and ability to apply for home loans, school loans, etc.
You can apply for American Airlines credit cards that are no fee for the first year. To get 100,00 American Airlines miles, apply for these four cards: the Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® World MasterCard, the Citi Select® / AAdvantage® American Express® card, the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® MasterCard, and the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Visa® Card.
After 6 months, cancel them and reapply again. (This may negatively affect your credit score). This will net you 200,000 American Airlines miles total. Most of these cards require a $250-$750 minimum spending requirement on them. There are many ways to do this, including coins
With your 200,000 American Airlines miles, you can convert these to Hilton Honors points at a 1:2 ratio, in essence getting 400,000 Hilton points.
There is a no annual fee Platinum American Express Hilton Card that will give you 20,000 Hilton points upon signup. The best part about the Platinum American Express Hilton card is it allows you to do an AXON award stay. An AXON award stay is only available to those people who have an American Express Hilton Platinum card. With that card, you are able to redeem four rewards nights at any Category 5 or Category 6 Hilton Family hotel for 125,000 Hilton Honors points instead of 140,000 or 160,000 points. This would allow you to redeem 4 nights in the Maldives for 125,000 points instead of 160,000 points! So, you maximize your points and stay at a top class resort. And by hitting a spending bench mark with the credit card, you probably will earn Gold VIP status with Hilton. And guess what? More perks-like picnics on the beach, fruit and water upon arrival, lei greetings, complimetary internet access, and more.
We’ll see you in the Maldives in 2012.
20000 AA miles
Open a regular checking account with Citibank. Make a direct deposit each month or two bill pays per month and earn 10,000 initially and 10,000 after 9 months.
The minimum deposit is $1000. It is important if you choose to do this to document everything: the offer page, the application, bill pay registration, and the terms and conidtions.
The promotion code is CYBD – here is the offer
Earn 10000 Bonus Miles with American Airlines
American Airlines is offering 10,000 Bonus Miles if you book and fly between January 1, 2009 and March 31, 2009. To qualify, purchase a ticket in First Class, Business Class, or select Economy Class fares ( (F, J, A, D, I, R, Y, B or H) for round-trip travel on American Airlines to or from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Central or South America connecting to a oneworld airline.
