Another Resource: Milewise

Like Pointhub, Milewise will search your potential options for redeeming miles or points on awards on several different airlines.

Milewise also has a really easy to use interface with a few extras, including a flexible date search.

Using the flexible dates option, there seem to be lots of opportunities for low-level award space in the front of the plane.  And although only one rewards redemption is shown per date combination, clicking on your preferred dates will show you all of your choices.

Milewise also ranks your options, with a 100 signifying the best option.

Notice in this case, you have three options that all result in the exact same flights: either by transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points, using United miles, or using Continental miles.  Chase takes the lead in this scenario because the monetary value that Milewise assigned to Chase makes this option cost the equivalent of $685 (they consider United and Continental miles more valuable, thus more expensive options).

It’s also convenient how Milewise spells out the taxes & fees required on an award ticket.  In this case, it’s minimal across all airlines.  If you choose to pay cash instead of redeeming an award, you’ll also quickly see how many miles you’ll earn.  Milewise will add in any elite bonuses you qualify for if you link your account numbers (similar to using Award Wallet)

Just like with Pointhub, not all airlines are covered right now.  American Airlines has specifically excluded itself from the results (a shame!) and other airlines just haven’t been built into the system yet.  No hotel searches are currently covered.

Overall, I think this is a great tool for domestic flights and a good starting point for international redemptions.  It’s important to realize these may not be your only options, so if you don’t find the exact flights you want online, give the airline a call.

Using PointHub for Award Searching

Searching for ways to get value from your miles and points can be a tedious task, especially if you have miles in numerous programs.  I currently have miles with American, United, and Delta, so searching once instead of three times can be a time saver.

PointHub is one of the free tools out there to help consolidate your searches.  It has a really easy to use interface with lots of customization and sorting options, making it a great starting point.  Basically, it searches on major airlines’ websites to show you what award seats there are (based only on what is loaded on the airline’s website, which may not include partner awards or other options only available by calling) and how many miles each option costs.

Because it seems to be limited to whatever reward availability is loaded directly onto an airline website, it generally does best with domestic awards.  It’s convenient to see multiple airlines all listed on one search tool, rather than seeking each airline’s options out individually.

Searching for an award flight to Billings, MT in August resulted in finding NO low-level (25,000 points) award space for the dates I wanted, but did show some options on multiple airlines.

PointHub will also recommend when to use miles versus when to pay with cash.  Essentially, it’s assigning a monetary value to each point and then doing a quick comparison to see if the total value of the miles is greater or less than the cost of the ticket in dollars.  Whether you ultimately decide to use miles or points should be based on how you value your miles (do the math!) and what your personal circumstances are, such as if you are short on cash or if you are saving your miles for a larger future trip.

While these are handy features, there is one main reason why I like PointHub.  I find it faster to check on mileage costs using a PointHub search than by going to each airline’s reward charts (some redemptions I know by heart, but many I have to look up).  Delta considers Morocco as part of “Europe” but American considers it part of Africa, making for two very different mileage requirements that are instantly seen on PointHub.  Plus, it includes some airlines where I might not consider checking since I don’t have miles (such as Air Canada’s Aeroplan).  The upside to this?  You might be able to transfer credit card points (such as AmEx Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards points) to these airlines even if you don’t normally collect miles through those airlines – giving you lots of options to redeem your points.

The biggest downfall to this website is that it doesn’t include any availability for rewards not shown on an airline’s website.  For example, I could use my American Airlines miles to fly on Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong, but since AA doesn’t hold Cathay Pacific reward inventory online (you have to call), it won’t show up on a PointHub search.  This is a significant issue because availability at a low-mileage level could exist for your desired itinerary even without showing up in your search results.

Another feature that I’d like to see is more participating airlines.  Currently, there’s no way to search for British Airways awards on PointHub, and that would be a great addition considering that you can transfer credit card points easily into the Avios program for award redemptions.

PointHub is also a great start when searching point for hotels.  In this scenario, their search function is much more complete since all award availability can typically be found online with no “hidden” inventory only accessible by phoning to book an award.  A few caveats: it only shows straight reward bookings (no point + cash options) and Hilton / Hyatt points are missing from their reward search (it will show cash purchase options but no rewards).  However, if you’re looking to decide between Priority Club, SPG, and Marriott, you’re all set.

I hope that PointHub strengthens its searching power to include more airlines and hotels in the future because I think they have a great start.

Add Double Miles to the List of Hilton Bonuses

On Thursday, I wrote about how you could earn 10,500 bonus points from a 2-night weekend stay at Hilton properties.  I’ve stayed at the Hampton Inn in Bowling Green (a Category 1 hotel) for just 7,500 points per night and there’s a decent amount of Category 2 hotels that cost just 12,500 points, so this is a pretty good deal.

Loyalty Traveler shares how to take this promotion even further: by getting double (or more!) miles as well.  Remember that with Hilton, all members earn a base 10 points per dollar spent.  You then choose to earn an additional 5 points per dollar OR you can choose to earn airline miles.

To get double miles, you’ll need to:

1. Register for the promotion with your favorite airline
2. Make sure your earnings preferences are set to airline miles
3. Make sure your frequent flyer number is in your Hilton account
4. Complete your stay by March 31

Several airlines are participating, so be sure to register for the promotion that partners with your preferred airline and make sure your preferences are set to earn miles with the same airline partner as the promotion you are registered with.

American Advantage: Double Miles
Aeroplan: Double Miles
US Airways: Triple Miles
Delta: 2,012 Miles with 2-night stay EDIT: As of January 23, this offer has been rescinded!

None of these stays need to be on the weekend, and even a one-night stay will qualify for the promotion.  However, to double up with bonus points and bonus miles, you’ll have to make sure you hit the requirements for each promotion.

As you are setting up your preferences to earn airline miles, you’ll have the choice to choose fixed or variable miles.  With fixed miles, you’ll earn 500 miles per stay (100 miles at Hampton Inn/Homewood Suites) OR 1 mile per dollar spent (including at Hampton/Homewood).  Be sure to choose the method that nets the most miles and remember you can change your preferences as often as every stay.

Thus, a 2-night weekend stay at a Hilton Garden Inn costing $100/night would net:
2,000 Base HHonors Points
10,500 Bonus HHonors Points
Plus Your Choice of 1000 AA miles, 1000 Aeroplan miles, or 1500 US miles
That’s enough for a free night at a Category 1 or 2 Hotel plus a headstart on your next free flight!

Anyone making plans yet?