Travelore Tips: 10 Ways To Make Travel Rewards Programs Go The Distance

Navigating the land of travel rewards programs can often be a daunting task. Rules change, programs come and go and partnerships and alliances fade. Add in expiry dates on points, blackout dates, tax and fuel surcharges – and getting a “free” ticket is tougher than ever. Well the travel experts at Cheapflights.com, the online leader in finding and publishing travel deals, are here to help shed some light with a how-to on the Top 10 Ways to Make Travel Rewards Programs Go the Distance.

“Managing your miles can be a full-time job,” said Emily Fisher, Cheapflights.com travel expert. “Do it right, though, and it can be the key to unlocking a travel goal. Some see points as the path to a dream vacation while others are aiming for the perks of status or even an economical way to score a seat in First Class. There are many ways to win at the rewards game if you are patient and pay attention to the details. We'll give you some insights into playing the game as well as George Clooney's character in ‘Up in the Air.’”

To get you started, below are the first five tips on how to get the most out of travel rewards programs:

·         Know your range of options­ - Airlines were among the first to launch loyalty programs with frequent flyer programs that date back decades. However, nowadays hotel chains from Best Western to Marriott to Fairmont all reward regular guests (your airline may do so as well). And, of course, credit card companies do their very best to keep you spending with their cards. And a host of them, from American Express to Chase Sapphire to Capital One Venture, offer incentives geared toward travelers (and aspiring travelers). Even travel booking sites are getting in the game. Register with Orbitz or Expedia and you can start to accrue benefits and costs savings there as well. You can even rack up points with services like restaurant booking platform Open Table — snag some money for eating well on the road!

·         Double (or triple) dip where you can­ - With so many companies lining up to reward you, make sure you take full advantage. One flight should mean points accrued with the airline, the credit card company and possibly the booking site. Don’t forget to give your mileage account number along with your credit card to the rental car company, too. Tack on points for the hotel and dining out, and you have a good collection started — even from a short trip. And remember, you can often book hotel rooms with airline points and flights with hotel points, adding to the incentive to rack up points everywhere you can.

·         Don’t pay to get into the game - With the possible exception of an annual fee on a credit card, all of these rewards programs are free. (And shop around on the credit card front as many travel perk cards don’t carry an annual fee.) The only cost to you should be the time and effort to keep track of the different accounts and your points. To keep it simple (and to keep points consolidated), odds are you will find yourself picking a few rewards programs and sticking with them (which is of course why the companies offer them). However, if you have the patience, having a broad mix of programs you are accruing points across means you can get something out of almost any travel transaction.

·         Don’t let blackout dates get you - Expecting to cash in your earned points for a trip over Christmas break? Some airlines (and hotels) are going to let you down when you go to use miles because they blackout popular travel dates for those booking with points. Plan ahead and start building your points with a program that doesn't have blackout dates (e.g., jetBlue, Orbitz or Expedia). If you are committed to that path, you may even want to pay the annual fee and get the added points (and occasional companion ticket) that come from signing up for an associated credit card — as well as the points accrued using the card. If you want more flexibility, though, rack up points with a travel credit card and skip the blackout window blues. When you buy using credit card points, it looks like any other transaction to the airline, so the dates won’t be blocked. In all cases, if you are looking to travel over a major holiday or school vacation, book as early as you can so you can get the best deal, even if the currency is rewards points.

·         Book strategically - One of the reasons sites like Orbitz and Expedia are getting into the rewards program game is that some airlines and hotels offer more points (or only offer points) if you book directly on their sites. So you should think ahead when booking about where you want to accrue your points. Pay attention to partnerships, too. If your dream is to go to Asia, make sure you’re building points with airlines and hotels that are partners with the airlines and hotels that will take you where you want to go down the road. And read the fine print on your credit cards. You may find some offer more points than others on travel bookings.

The next five tips cover upgrades, status, concierge services, points sharing programs, and using your points to give back. You can read about these important aspects of travel loyalty programs and Cheapflights.com’s complete Top 10 Ways to Make Travel Rewards Programs Go the Distance at www.cheapflights.com/news/top-10-ways-to-make-travel-rewards-programs-go-the-distance.  

About Cheapflights.com, part of the Momondo Group
Momondo Group is an online travel media and technology company that is driven by the belief that an open world is a better world.  The group now serves travel search and inspiration to over 17.5 million visitors a month – plus 7 million travel newsletter subscribers – via its Cheapflights (www.cheapflights.com) and momondo (www.momondo.com) brands.

Skygate began the sourcing of complex air-travel data in 1992, while Cheapflights pioneered the online comparison of flight deals for users in 1996 and momondo launched meta-search in the Nordic countries in 2006.

The Group has offices in London, Copenhagen and Boston with a consumer base across more than 30 core international markets but users all over the world.

Travelore Tips: How to Get Upgraded on Your Next Flight

Anan Kaewkhammul / Shutterstock

The only thing worse than waiting in a security line or a crowded airport terminal is squeezing into a narrow coach seat. Seat 32B, to be exact. As you enter the plane and prepare yourself for the next four hours of misery, you'll probably pass some happier passengers sipping on pre-departure beverages and sprawling across their roomy first-class seats.

So why aren't you joining them? Upgrades do cost something, whether that payment comes in the form of money, frequent flier miles or elite status. But you probably already have what it takes to sit up front or can find a way to make the jump more affordable.

Complimentary Elite Upgrades

Most first-class upgrades are given to elite frequent fliers who receive them as complimentary benefits on domestic routes. Although paid and award upgrades have priority, there often aren't enough to fill all the empty seats on a given flight. The trick to getting upgraded is thus two-fold: seek status and choose the right flights.

Consolidate your travel onto one carrier or alliance rather than distributing it among several airlines. If it costs a bit more, compare the price to what you might save in other benefits like upgrades, priority seat assignments and waived fees. But if you plan to fly with an affiliated airline, remember that complimentary upgrades generally only go to members who have elite status with the operating carrier. American Airlines, for instance, would rather upgrade a member of itsAAdvantage program before considering anyone from the Cathay Pacific Marco Polo Club.

Choosing your flights wisely is more complicated but simple enough in theory: Fly when no one else wants to fly. Consider leaving on a Saturday morning after everyone's returned home from their business trips or left for the weekend. Taking connections helps, too. No one likes to go out of their way, and these routes have more price-sensitive and typically less frequent travelers. As an added bonus, you might save money when compared to nonstop routes favored by road warriors traveling on the company's dime.

Your best bet is researching each carrier's unique rules governing its upgrade policy. American gives priority to connecting passengers, for example, and considers the time of the upgrade request (often when the flight was booked). United Airlines, on the other hand, penalizes a couple traveling together because there must be upgrade space for both or else the system skips over to the next single passenger. United’s upgrade policy also ranks passengers by the fare paid; sometimes spending $10 more for a higher cabin class can increase your position in the upgrade queue.

Paid Upgrades

In the days leading up to departure, upgrade inventory doesn't typically match the number of first-class seats available because airlines aim to sell them at full price. But carriers can still track the numbers closely. For airlines faced with a choice between giving a seat away for free or collecting some extra cash, money takes priority over rewarding loyal customers.

Upgrades can often be purchased at a discount compared to the regular cost of a first-class ticket. Some carriers offer this option at check-in or when you view your itinerary online, while others may have a fixed price or auction system at the gate. Keep in mind rules vary greatly between carriers. And unlike the treatment you would receive if you purchased a first-class ticket, you'll be treated according to the rules of the original fare. That means fewer frequent flier miles and higher fees for schedule changes.

But there are also some fares that are sold as economy class tickets that include an automatic upgrade to first class. Often called "Y-UP" fares, they'e not exactly cheap. They just happen to be less expensive than paying for first class outright. Elite frequent fliers may be offered similar instant upgrades when they book full-fare tickets even if they aren't advertised with the Y-UP name.

Award Upgrades

Carriers will let you pay for a regular ticket and upgrade it later using frequent flier miles. However, many upgrades still require a co-pay, especially for the cheapest discount fares. United charges as much as 20,000 miles plus $550 each way for a business-class upgrade between North America and Europe. If you want to upgrade a partner flight (e.g., using United's miles on Lufthansa), the co-pay requirement is dropped, though you will need to buy a full-fare ticket. Calculate how much money you will actually save for a discounted business-class seat before redeeming an award upgrade with both miles and a co-pay.

It probably comes as no surprise that upgrades are generally a bad use of miles. Continuing with United as an example, an upgrade within the U.S. is 20,000 miles plus $75 for a one-way flight. You could redeem a first-class saver award for just 25,000 miles. But some people never save enough for a free flight, can't find award space or just don’t want to travel more than they're already obligated to. Using miles in any way is better than letting them expire.

Operational Upgrades

Passengers with no extra money, no miles and no elite status will probably only enjoy a first-class experience thanks to operational upgrades (i.e., upgrades given at the discretion of the gate agent).

Is your flight's economy class cabin oversold? Someone has to move up to first class. Or conversely, a passenger may be willing to take a later flight, with a seat in first class as compensation for the inconvenience. Never settle for the agent's original offer, as there are many little things he or she can do in addition to doling out cash. Other issues like a disruptive passenger or an inoperative television screen might provide justification for reshuffling passengers on-board.

Stories about a well-dressed customer who asks for an upgrade are the exception rather than the rule. More important than how someone looks is that a seat is available, the passenger is friendly and the agent has a problem that needs to be resolved quickly. These upgrades are all about the luck of the draw. Rather than buying a new suit, consider trying out the other options listed above.

Contributed by Scott Mackenzie

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Travelore Tips: 10 Smart Ways To Get A Free Upgrade On Any Trip

After a long day of travel woes, nothing calms and excites the soul like a free upgrade.

And whether on a flight or at your hotel, there are smart ways to secure a free upgrade beyond the typical "it's my anniversary" ploy. So we turned to air travel expert George Hobica of Airfarewatchdog and other HuffPost/Travelore Report bloggers for some tips.

Get a little savvy, and...

Use your miles for an upgrade. 
Remember that airline miles aren't just for booking flights -- on many airlines, they can be used to upgrade an existing ticket as well. It's best to check online for available upgrades three or four days before your flight, says Hobica. Calling the airline to ask in realtime helps, too.

Book with a site that monitors price dips.
Websites like tingo.com will "monitor your hotel reservation, and if a better room becomes available at the same price, they will alert you and offer to upgrade you," says Hobica. THAT'S a sweet deal.

Check in late at your hotel.
Later in the day, hotels usually have a better idea of precisely which rooms are booked for the night. That means they'll be in a better position to dish out an upgrade if you ask for one.

Volunteer to swap flights before they call volunteers.
When flights are overbooked, airlines will sometimes offer vouchers to passengers who volunteer to switch to a later flight. The value of these vouchers will often rise as the need for volunteers becomes more desperate. However, it may be most lucrative to approach the gate agent before this whole process starts and tell them you'd be happy to volunteer in exchange for the best voucher deal of the day.

Just ASK.
Whether at an airline or hotel check-in, the boldness of simply asking for an upgradecan pay off. If there's a last-minute suite or first-class seat, there's no reason it can't be yours.

Be really nice.
When you do approach the airline desk or hotel check-in to ask for an upgrade, being nice dramatically increases your chances of getting an offer. According to Hobica, the logic is simple: "Most people are NOT really nice at check in... Try being nice, and ask. If the hotel isn’t full, they may give you a better room. I do this all the time."

Dress really nicely.
Likewise, looking the part of an upgraded client can earn you the status of an upgraded client. When airlines have a last-minute spot in first class, Hobica says, "Who do you think they'll upgrade? The slob, or the guy in the suit?"

Become a frequent flier (or a frequent hotel stay-er).
Many times, an airline will offer available upgrades to members of its elite programbefore it offers them to other passengers. Stay in the same hotel chain frequently to reap the perks (not just upgraded rooms, but manicures and late checkout, too!) that come with being a loyal guest.

Tip, just a little.
So it's not really a "free" upgrade if you offer a tip, but just a little bit of cash can go a long way. That's because it's not about the money -- it's about the gesture. "Tipping is kindness," explains hotel veteran Jacob Tomsky. "It's hard to express kindness in today's lightning-fast world."

Celebrate an "un-special" occasion.
When desk agents hear about birthdays and anniversaries all the time, you can imagine they don't find them very "special" or worthy of an upgrade anymore, explains Tomsky. He says he would most likely dole out an upgrade to a guest who is "celebrating" a divorce... do with that information what you will.

The Huffington Post  | By Suzy Strutner

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