Top 10 Tips for Last Minute Award Travel | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep259 | 6-14-24

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Jun 15, 2024

In this episode, the hosts share 10 tips for last-minute award travel. They discuss varied topics like Curve, Hilton SLH integration, and Preferred Hotels' devaluation. Other highlights include Aero plan credit card benefits, booking with Flying Blue miles, and using Virgin points for El Al. They also mention Points Path's support for Air Canada and Alaska Airlines. The main event focuses on strategies for last-minute award travel, emphasizing flexibility, diversification of points, and proficiency in award search tools.

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Intro

00:00 • 4min

Travel Challenges and Game Concepts

04:12 • 6min

Award Bookings, Redemption Experiences, and Premium Travel Experiences

10:01 • 26min

Card Account Closure and Changes in Hotel Pricing

36:29 • 6min

Discussion on I Prefer Titanium Status Match and Benefits

42:21 • 2min

Updates on Booking Award Flights with Different Airline Loyalty Programs and PointsPath Browser Plug-In

44:16 • 2min

Top 10 Tips for Last Minute Award Travel

46:22 • 5min

Strategies for Last-Minute Award Travel

51:15 • 22min

Navigating Phantom Award Space and Finding Unique Travel Activities

01:12:57 • 14min

Greg and Nick have been consumed with last-minute travel the last week and a half so it's great timing for them to summarize 10 important tips for last-minute award travel.

(01:17) - Standing ovation for the annual challenge! (Mailbag)

(06:43) - Annual Challenge recap and overview

Watch the Stage 1 recap video here: https://youtu.be/bMt_NfuuINI?feature=shared

Watch the Stage 2 recap video here: https://youtu.be/gyJPtTZN1EE?feature=shared

Watch the Stage 3 recap video here: https://youtu.be/HTmEAicB3dw?feature=shared

(34:15) - Curve overview (Card Talk)

Find out more here: https://www.curve.com/en-us

(37:56) - Hilton SLH integrated testing phase (Award Talk)

(40:26) - Preferred Hotels / Choice devaluation (55K to 87K) (Award Talk)

(42:34) - Aero plan credit card & elite members status match to iPrefer Titanium (before June 28) (Award Talk)

(44:18) - Book Oman Air w/ Flying Blue miles (Award Talk)

(44:30) - Book El Al with Virgin points (Award Talk)

(44:51) - Points Path adds support for Air Canada & Alaska Airlines (Award Talk)

Main Event: Top 10 Tips for Last Minute Award Travel

(47:00) - General advice

(52:38) - Great awards often open last minute (ex: Lufthansa first)

(57:16) - Diversify. Having different types of points and miles helps.

(58:28) - Become adept at award search tools. Huge time saver.

(1:00:26) - Don’t rely entirely on award search tools. They don’t catch everything (no Virgin Atlantic on a couple, no BA / QR Avios, didn’t see LifeMiles for my redemption, etc)

(1:03:41) - Consider keeping stashes in programs you use often. This only applies if you have a lot of points and miles, but it could help avoid a failed transfer.

(1:05:27) - Watch out for transfer times

(1:08:10) - Get a good VPN. I wonder if some of my problems could have been averted if I’d used one all along.

(1:11:22) - Know that Aeroplan’s contact center isn’t 24/7. This can be a big pain when you’re overseas.

(1:12:37) - Beware the phantom menace. Tons of Swiss space that isn’t real.

(1:17:02) - Have some tricks up your sleeve. This could alternatively be called "persistence pays off". Don’t give up right away. Examples include searching Avianca’s site multiple ways, forcing a stopover with Aeroplan to get a flight to show up, booking a refundable something as a backup, etc.

(1:20:10) - How do you go about finding activities while you travel? (Question of the Week)