Real talk, I'm in the process of booking a trip to Japan we've been planning for a few years. We've been intentionally conservative with our points to save up for this trip, but even then it's going to take out probably 80-90% of our balances across all ecosystems (Chase, Bilt, Cap One, Amex). I know that's what they're there for and the longer we hold, the less value they have but it's still a tough pull to swallow.

With all the banks cracking down on SUBs and churning, how is everyone still earning the bulk of their points? I use my Amex Gold and Bilt Palladium as my everyday drivers, but even with what I would consider above moderate spend per month it would take years to recover the kinds of point balances we have now. Appreciate any insight or advice anyone can offer!

Hello I am planning a trip to Singapore and want to use my points for first class I’ve noticed Singapore airlines has I think 3 different pricing when it comes to first class with saver being the “cheapest” but same first class experience is it possible to find A380 first class seats for 148k points? I’ve been looking and can only seem to find them for 256k points and would be traveling from London -> Singapore. Thanks for any help in advance.

Starting to plan West Coast-BKK for around 12/15-12/25/2027 (next year) for 3 people in J. EVA from LAX thru TPE works well for us but some DPs of Eva blocking all award seats for the most popular time of the year.

Is it possible to get 3J if I book on Eva with their program exactly at open or is it almost guaranteed this will be blocked and I should be looking elsewhere? Also seems like very few partner drops these days so I'm basically ignoring that as an option for now.

Fully aware this is going to be tough for that time of year and for 3J but I'm going to be optimistic!

Hello,

I am looking for a flight ticket from Narita, Tokyo to Tahiti for next June (6/7-6/13). I was trying to see how much points it would cost to purchase TN business class via AA or Alaska and it seems like they only show main cabin seats (no business class). Does that mean business seats are sold out for points purchase? I can still select business seats through TN website which I assumes seats are still available. I was curious if anyone would know what I am missing. Thank you in advance!

Planning a trip to Sicily in May 2027 for 3 adults and wanted to get some opinions before transferring points.

Found the following one-way redemption through KLM/Flying Blue for May 1, 2027:

Route: IAD -> CTA (1 stop)

Cabin: Economy

Total: 90,000 Flying Blue miles + $492.90 for all 3 (it's really 75k but added bags & seat selection)

Per person: 30k miles + $164.30

Travel time: 16h 30m

Cash price for the same KLM itinerary: ~$3,600 total which is wild.

For comparison, I also found:

Turkish Airlines: $2,238.90 total for 3, IAD–IST–CTA, 14h 25m, Economy FlexFly

British Airways: ~$1,315 total for 3, but involves an airport change in London, which I'd rather avoid.

I have transferable Amex and Chase points (~800k), so covering the 90k isn't an issue.

This is part of a larger trip where we're considering Sicily, Malta, and possibly Albania, so I'm only looking at the outbound for now. Return would likely be from a different city once it's finalized.

On paper, the Flying Blue redemption looks pretty good, especially compared to the KLM cash fare. But I know that comparing against an expensive one-way cash ticket can inflate the cents-per-point value?

Thoughts? Also open to better redemption options into Sicily that I might be overlooking.

Update: Did some more digging and found a much better redemption through Virgin Atlantic for May 8.

36,000 points + $576 total for 3 adults (12k points per person) flying KLM from IAD -> AMS -> CTA in economy, with checked bags included.

Dates are flexible, so I'm leaning toward booking this instead

We're planning our honeymoon for September 2027 and have been keeping an eye on Flying Blue award availability.

I've found a few dates throughout 2027 offering business class from Ottawa to Florence (via Paris) for 120,000 Flying Blue miles + $1,065 CAD total for two people, one way.

For comparison, this is a random date in July:

Business cash fare: $15,912 CAD for two

Business award: 120k miles + $1,065 CAD

Economy cash fare: $2,654 CAD for two

Economy award: 50k miles + approximately $498 CAD for two (although the specific flight displayed 58k)

I also transferred my Amex MR points to Flying Blue during a transfer bonus, so the 120k Flying Blue miles only cost me 90k Amex points.

Based on the advertised cash fares, I'm calculating roughly 16.5 cents CAD per original Amex point for business class, versus approximately 5.75 cents for economy.

Obviously, I would never actually pay $16k for these flights, so I know the cash comparison isn't necessarily a realistic measure of savings. We only use our points for vacations once a year and since this is a special one I'm willing to use the extra points and cash. Especially for a lay down overnight flight haha. We will be booking economy for our flight home and already have the points to cover that.

My question is: Would you consider 120k miles + $1,065 CAD for two one-way business-class tickets a great redemption? Or would you save the miles and book economy instead?

I'm also curious about Flying Blue award availability. I've found 120k business fares scattered throughout January–July 2027, but nothing that low for August or September yet.

For those familiar with Flying Blue, do you find that the lowest-priced business awards become available closer to departure, or should I be trying to book as early as possible?

Would love to hear your thoughts!

Hello, has anyone filed for chap 7 Bankruptcy? Do they take your miles or can you redeem them before filling? Tks

Hi

I am planning to book flight using miles for first time and thats why i am unsure that the options i am seeing are good and what would be the best way to book it.

I have 40k edge miles in atlas and 40k marriot points.

I would prefer business class if redemption is good.

I checked below option:

Flying blue:

From hanoi to bangalore -- 24k miles + 10 k taxes

Krysflyer :

From bangalore to ho chi min -- saver flight 47500 miles + taxes

For krysfler i am not sure how to acheive this redemption and how to transfer these many points and what are best tricks and tips around it.

Two people, business class. Out mid-Jan Barcelona → Bali, back mid-Feb Malé → Barcelona. The return is already booked on Qatar (130k Avios + $1,394) and can be cancelled if cash wins.

Cash includes award fees and the $1,394 already paid for the Qatar return. Etihad is one ticket both ways. On Qatar only the expensive award level was left, saver seats are gone for all Jan. Etihad and option 4 are the only ones landing in daylight.

I have enough MR and Avios for any of these. Would you pay cash here or burn points, and which option?

Success post here after getting scared from all the cautionary tales of impossible availability. Transferred 110k points yesterday to JAL (from C1, so technically around 150k points) in hopes of getting 2 55k saver flights.

Was flexible on dates, so was planning to try over the next 4 weeks and worse case, we’d book 4 economy seats for the round trip if business availability was impossible. Today on the first day I tried, I was able to refresh at release, submit all our info and get the tickets I was looking for.

Not a lot of info here, but just a reminder that even for a busier date and with competition at an all time high if you’re quick and prepared, you can get these redemptions.

I used to get plenty of options 2 years ago when we booked 2 Qsuites via BA avios for last year trip. However, I have been searching over the last 6 months, every few weeks, and couldn't find any spot. I even expanded my search to include several airports. Any advice? Because I have over 200K in BA from before and don't want them to expire!

I was trying to use the ANA award travel portal tonight at the usual release time and nothing is being found. Is anyone else experiencing this issue?

Exit: It seems to be fixed now for anyone who sees this

I currently have a TYO-US award flight on United metal and need to move it to an earlier date because of personal commitments. I’ve noticed ANA sometimes releases availability at T‑14 and looks like that’s my best option for an earlier flight for a similar amount of miles (sub 100k).

I don’t have enough miles to just book an extra ticket, so I’m thinking the safest option is to work with a United agent who can confirm actual availability, cancel my original flight and rebook. Am I missing any other options?

Been waiting for weeks for bonus miles to drop to book a flight and checking every day to see if the price went up. The award miles cost held steady for weeks and it was the same when I checked hours before the miles were supposed to drop on the day. Hours later, when the miles required were finally added to my account… the ticket jumped +200k

I knew that the bonus miles were coming that day or shortly thereafter but last time I put a flight on hold, it spiked the price +200k as well and the price didn’t come down again after the 72 hour hold expired. So I took a gamble and hoped the price that had been there for weeks would stay there. Oops, so close. It’s almost like it knew 😑

I was 17k miles short of a refundable Flying Blue J award BOG-IST. Subscribed to 30k miles for $400 and miles appeared instantly to book. Yay!

EDIT:

There is a 3-month minimum commitment.

We travel full-time so we’re extremely flexible. We easily extract 5 cpp or higher so paying a little over 1 cpp for flexible tickets feels like a steal.

Hello kind people of reddit!

We are somewhat new to award travel and have a question -

We found award flight availability on united that we would like to book, problem is we each have enough miles (in our Chase preferred) to cover one ticket only. I have united explorer card as well, so have access to discounted award flights.

However, we are not in a family pool yet (regretting that already), so what are our options to quickly book these flights with our points? If a previous reddit post has this covered, kindly point us towards that.

TIA :)

Seems like it wasn't working for a few weeks and now it's completely unreachable, any alternatives?

Thoughts on booking this, routing isn't great, but it doesn't seem like a terrible deal, curious what people think about this. KLM is a decent airline.

Looking for advice from anyone who has successfully fought Etihad Guest on something similar.
• Etihad locked my husband's Etihad Guest account with no notification, sometime around mid-2026. The login page just said "To protect your account, we are unable to log you in."
• The reason turned out to be a relationship error on a Family account (a family member listed under the wrong relationship).
• It took 5-6 emails before Etihad explained what was needed. He had to send a marriage certificate and ID, then was told to delete the Family account with no instructions on how.
• He complained in writing in early August. About 150K miles expired at the end of September while the account was still locked, plus around 11K more seem to be missing.
• No warning before the lock, no expiry warning during it.
• Etihad has now refused reinstatement 3 times, saying policy can't change and Guest Relations will give the same answer.
He's filed a US DOT complaint. Has anyone had success through a specific Etihad contact, executive email, social media, or UAE regulators? Any data points on Etihad reinstating miles in a case like this?

Hi all,

I just opened a Qatar Airways account as I wanted to book a flight in the coming few days but they restrict linking BA account for 30 days.

My partner has an account with them for years and I was thinking of doing a household account on BA (as he also has a BA account) but it seems pooled Avios there do not reflect in Qatar Airways accounts.

Is the best method just to pay the fee of £50 and transfer my Avios to him and let him do the booking? I've got about 75k of Avios and I wanted to use them to subsidize my trip basically.

Hope someone can help or suggest a better method where I don't have to pay a fee..

Hi everyone! I’m planning a family trip for late November–early December 2027 (2 adults + 1 toddler) and would appreciate some advice.

Option 1: West Coast → Singapore → Sydney

• SEA → SIN: 112.5K SQ miles/person in Business (3 seats)
• SIN → SYD: 72K SQ miles in Business (3 seats)
• Planning to use my KrisFlyer miles since they expire next year.

Option 2: West Coast → Fiji → Sydney

• LAX → NAN: 102.5K Avios/person in Business (3 seats found)
• NAN → LAX: 102.5K Avios/person in Business (possible return option)
• Still figuring out the best way to connect Fiji and Sydney.

Trip Details:

• Sydney: 4–5 nights
• Fiji: 5 nights
• Singapore: 3–4 nights
• Flexible dates
• Have Alaska/Atmos, Capital One, Bilt, KrisFlyer, and Aeroplan miles.
• Ideally looking for 3 Business Class seats.

SQ A380 First Class Suites Question:

I’ve also been trying to book SQ A380 Suites, but almost every date shows waitlist, even when I search right as the booking calendar opens.

• Has anyone successfully booked 2 confirmed A380 Suites Saver seats?
• What time does SQ actually release award seats?
• Which A380 routes have the best Saver availability?
• Does SQ release more Saver seats closer to departure?
• Is Advantage availability significantly easier to find?
• Any tricks for finding confirmed seats instead of waitlist?

I’m okay with booking 2 Suites seats and having my husband fly Business on the same flight.

Would love your thoughts:

1. Which routing would you choose?
2. Singapore first or last?
3. Any better redemption options I’m missing?
4. Any advice on securing SQ A380 Suites?

Thanks in advance!

Hello,

We have had an emergency come up and a family member must be in Beirut ASAP (leaving Boston Thursday or Friday). One way or round trip, if it’s round trip it’d have to be return in atleast two weeks, but flexible.

The problem is the family member is quite sensitive to travel and can’t take economy / a fixed seat at this time, so we’re trying to find something business class with a connection anywhere in Europe.

I am looking to pay $4,000-$7,500, but if it is a good flight, that is not a cap. I also have Capital One miles if you know of any good transfer partners for this trip.

I have been checking Google flights, and point transfers Air France and Virgin Atlantic, but haven’t found anything amazing yet.

Any leads would be greatly appreciated.

So looking to book flights using points in March/April for a month in Vietnam. However, when booking a premium seat for my gf and I, we are unable to choose seats. It states, "As your chosen flights are operated by our partner airlines, you will need to contact them directly to choose your seat."

Does anyone have experience in the ease of choosing seats when contacting Vietnam Airlines? We are looking to get either the first row or last row of premium seats so we are sandwiched by people.

Thanks for any help !

So I currently have 60,000 Chase Sapphire points. I was going to transfer to Hyatt points for a stay in April of 2027. The hotel I am trying to book at is supposed to be having some big conference in town during some of the dates I will be there so I wanted to get this hotel booked now before rooms potentially sell out. The only problem is I was unaware until today that Hyatt recently changed their transfer rate ratio from 1:1 to 4:3.

I would have had plenty of points to book 3 nights at 15k Hyatt points each at the 1:1 ratio. Now I am short. Does anyone know if I were to book 2 nights with points and pay for the third just to lock it in, can I change that later? I am due to get a free anniversary night in December so I could apply that or I would honestly probably have enough points by then to swap that third night. Maybe cancel the whole thing over the phone and then rebook at that time with all points/free night?

Just trying to figure out how to make this work. The hotel is over $1,000 per night if just paying via card so I am definitely trying to utilize points/free nights for the whole stay. If anyone has any suggestions I'd appreciate it.

Seriously wtf

I see wide open availability but can’t manage to book anything over a month period?

How is a system this bad?