Sometimes you book an award ticket that requires you to do some positioning in order to catch that flight – for instance if the flight doesn’t depart from your home airport. There are a few best practices to keep in mind when booking these “positioning flights”, which we’ll discuss in today’s Frequent Miler on the Air episode.
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Mailbag
(01:08) – One reader writes in: “If you have Platinum Honors, I would rank the BofA Premium Rewards Elite card the highest for Priority Access by far. The airline credit offset is very easy to use and you get them all at once so there’s no obnoxious coupon book”… (Mail Bag)
Card Talk
(03:20) – BOA Premium Rewards (not elite) card (Card Talk)
Learn more about this card: https://frequentmiler.com/boaPR/#Goto
Revisit Frequent Miler on the Air Episode 204 here: https://frequentmiler.com/how-would-we-spend-1-million-dollars/
(04:57) – Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite card (Card Talk)
Learn more about this card: https://frequentmiler.com/BOAPremiumRewardsElite/#Goto
(11:17) – Cardless launching two Avianca LifeMiles cards (Card Talk)
Mattress Running the Numbers
(12:35) – Marriott Homes & Villas 50K (Mattress Running the Numbers)
Award Talk
(16:12) – Transfer bonuses (Award Talk)
(21:29) – United increases prices on partner biz class awards within Europe & Asia (Award Talk)
(24:06) – Nick: able to change Aeroplan award (Award Talk)
(29:50) – Daily Getaways (Award Talk)
Main Event: Tips for booking Positioning Flights
(32:26) – Award discovery tools like PointsYeah DayDream Explorer tool and Seats.Aero make it easy to find awards such as “business class for 4 from “North America” to “Europe”
(36:22) – Avoid checking bags!
(37:37) – Departure positioning tips: what NOT to do
Read Greg’s mad dash story (What NOT to do) here: https://frequentmiler.com/my-award-alert-flight-change-and-a-risky-layover/
(40:33) – Day before is best
(41:36) – Non-stop is best (less chance of delay)
(41:56) – If not night before…. book primary positioning flight with long airport layover
(43:15) – Useful to have lounge access for layover
(46:02) – Book freely cancelable alternate positioning flight
(49:20) – If back-up positioning flight isn’t an option, consider booking back-up for entire one-way trip
(50:18) – Best options for free last-minute cancelations
(56:48) – Back to Greg’s story. How he somewhat protected myself:
Question of the Week
(1:08:29) – Are there any certificates (like companion certificates) that disappear when you cancel the card?
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Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
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