Often the first goals in collecting points are the aspirational, crazy expensive flights. That desire to enjoy the world’s best flying experiences without paying for them never fades- but the more you travel, the more miles can play a more every day roll in savings. Points can be an incredible way to save on travel within the U.S, so we’ll look at a few of the best ways to do it…
Amex/Chase/SPG Points Transfers To British Airways For Travel On American Airlines: Just 7,500 Points One Way…
This can be a brilliant way to use points, especially on last minute flights when American Airlines is known to make seats using points available. By doing this through British Airways you dodge American Airlines “close in” booking fees. Any flight under 1,152 miles in length is just 7,500 points. Recently, there was even a transfer bonus, which meant you needed even less points.
Avianca LifeMiles Purchased Or Earned By Flying Or Their Credit Card For Flights On United Airlines…
Just four days ago Avianca expanded their offerings for U.S. travel. For as little as 7,500 Avianca points you can fly on United. The U.S. is broken up into three regions, but regional flights are almost all in the 7,500 mile- one way band. It should be noted that United will almost always charge you more miles for the exact same flight, making this a solid opportunity.
Chase Sapphire Reserve Points At 1.5 Cents Per Mile For Any Flight And You Earn Miles…
Are there ways to extract more than 1.5 cents per point out of your Chase Sapphire Reserve points? Yes, there are. Can it be a great way to use points though- yes. Chase Sapphire Reserve points are worth 1.5 cents per point, so 10,000 points would cover a $150 ticket. If you can comfortably afford a ticket, it’s often better to buy it, but if you earn points easily it’s a great, forgotten tool to save. Plus- on any of these bookings you’ll earn miles back via the airline. You can even combine points and cash.
Delta Flash Sales Using Points From Many U.S. Cities
Delta has arguably the least valuable miles in all of travel. Perhaps somewhere behind Iran Air. With that said, they occasionally offer discounted tickets using miles- where just 5,000 miles can cover a short haul flight within the U.S. or Caribbean. These sales happen quickly and don’t work for every city, but they’re a nice thing to monitor for– just in case the perfect situation arises.
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Or Chase Ultimate Rewards Points Starting At Just 3200 Points!
Dan from PointsWithACrew suggested we add Southwest. Great idea! They often run extremely low promotional fares, starting at just $49, allowing you to use as little as 3200 points for a flight. You can instantly turn Chase Points into Southwest points, if you don’t already have some Southwest points. Worth a look!
Cool post and thanks for the tip on the Avianca short haul routes which I had not seen
One other one that I’d add is Southwest Airlines at least in the US. They have regular fare sales as low as $49 which translates to ~2300 Southwest points. I am flying to Chicago over Thanksgiving round trip for under 5000 Southwest points
Fantastic tip. Will add as soon as I land in Doha. And to anyone reading the comments, Dan’s blog is one of my faves: pointswithacrew.com and a must read for family travel. Southwest it is!
Good post.
Maybe you can expand this and have it become a signature item. For example, could add regular flying blue sales as well. They are also cheap to get to israel. I remember reading about one airline being cheap to costa rica as well…and don’t a couple airlines still use the old united chart?