The quest to maximize points and miles has inspired thousands of TPG posts. Whether you are New to points, miles and credit cards or want improve your mileage redemption strategiesWe can have a lot of articles for you.
Like many TPG readers, some TPG employees spend their free time looking for high-value hotel and flight prizes available for their travels. Below is a list of nine bonus trips that TPG employees have booked for travel in 2023.
Hola, Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is one of my favorite cities. However, it is known for having limited business class award flight options.
Luckily, this year I’m taking advantage of LifeMiles’ little-known partnership with Air to travel on one of the few daytime flights to Argentina in business class from Mexico City International Airport (MEX) to Buenos Aires Ezeiza International Airport (EZE).
The one-way flight costs 52,500 miles and $95 in taxes and fees. Avianca LifeMiles regularly sells its mileage with generous bonusesso I bought 52,800 LifeMiles for $726. This 9-hour business class flight will cost me $821 in total, while the cash price for the same seat costs $3,587 on the Aeromexico website.
Kyle Olsen, point and mile reporter
Related: ¡Viva Mexico! Aeromexico business class review on flight 787-9 from Mexico City to Buenos Aires
Use points and miles for the best seat in the sky
news of Singapore Airlines swaps Airbus A380 for Boeing 777-330ER on the route John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Frankfurt Airport (FRA) — and thus eliminated Luxury Suites products from the US – caused me severe FOMO (fear of missing out).
I was looking for Singapore KrisFlyer and was delighted to find an Advantage space on the 143,500-mile Frankfurt to New York route before Singapore pulled the A380 off the route in May. I was leave Amex Membership Rewards to KrisFlyer for this reservation.
Sign up for our daily newsletter
To go to Europe, I found Emirates Business Class bonus space on Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Athens International Airport (ATH) fifth free flight for 70,000 VND Air Canada plane point.
With Aeroplan, you can one more stop for 5,000 more points, so I decided to choose Athens as my stopover. I will continue to Malta on Aegean Airlines after a few days in Athens.
I transferred 75,000 Amex Membership Rewards points to Aeroplan for this booking. I might be able to redeem my miles or find a cheap one-way cash ticket from Malta to Frankfurt for a Singapore Airlines flight back to the US
Also, since I live in Texas, I have the ability to redeem my miles positioning flight to and from the New York City area.
Senitra Horbrook, credit card editor
Related: Is your credit card score worth more? Air Canada and Emirates expand partnership
sexy shirt
My family is planning a reunion in Austria, so I took time off on vacation to arrange reward flights. I was worried about finding room availability because we were locked into a specific week in August due to everyone’s schedule.
I was so excited to use it United MileagePlus miles and British Aviation Avios to make sure my nieces and nephews fly out of Washington, D.C. They will fly Austrian Airlines in economy class to Vienna Airport (VIE) with 33,000 miles and $41.30 per trip. Aer Lingus will take them home for 27,500 Avios plus $211.55.
My husband and I opted to fly business class, and I was happy to score one-way flights (United and Austria Airlines in one direction and Austria and Lufthansa in the other) for 66,000 MileagePlus plus about $100 per person each afternoon.
Now, I need to add my nieces like authorized user above Platinum Card® from American Express so they can use the lounge during this trip. After all, it only costs $175 to add up to three authorized users on this card (see rates and fees).
Andrea Rotondo, content director
Related: Why you should add authorized users on your Amex Platinum
Southeast Asia luxury
For the new year, I booked a two-week trip to Japan and Vietnam, my first trip to Asia in over three years. I exchanged 65,000 Alaska Airlines Mileage Mileage Plan for one way Japan Airlines business class flight to Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport (HAN).
I’m using Mileage Plan Free Stops in Tokyo to visit Disneyland. I also used mine $200 Fine Hotels & Resorts/Hotel Collection Credit the words Platinum Card® from American Express to book a three-night stay at a luxury hotel in Hanoi.
On the way home, I’ll be flying business class EVA from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA). I booked this in my favorite frequent flyer currency, 75,000 Air Canada Aeroplan points.
Matt Moffitt, senior credit card editor
Related: 7 reasons EVA Air is the most overlooked business class option across the Pacific
paradise honeymoon
my wife and i are aiming honeymoon 2023 to Hanoi, Bali and Singapore.
We have transferred Amex points to Singapore KrisFlyer to book flights from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Hanoi via Singapore Changi Airport (SIN), flights from Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS) to Singapore and then flights from Singapore back to New York.
On top of that, all of our flights have to sit in flat business class seats.
Ben Glidden, Integrated Marketing Manager
Related: Compare 2 longest flights in the world Singapore business class
Barbados did the right thing
I’m planning a week-long trip next Barbados with my husband in the summer of 2023 using the points and miles I accumulated during the pandemic. This will be our first international trip since 2019.
I order ours Even more seats above JetBlue flights between JFK and Bridgetown’s Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI) with a combination of TrueBlue Score I earned by flying and Citi ThankYou points i earn with me Citi Premier® Card.
We will be traveling Amtrak between New York and Washington, DC before and after our flights. However, to give us enough time, I booked a night stay at the Marriott by JFK and Kimpton by Penn Station using Marriott Bonvoy and IHG One Rewards point.
While we are in Barbados, we will stay Fairmont. I plan to book this accommodation soon through Capital tourism. To help pay for this stay, I’ll redeem Capital One mile I’ve been collecting for years from an annual free card and Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card X I added to my wallet late last year.
Depending on how many more Capital One miles I will earn over the next few months, I may also be able to use some of the miles to return my Amtrak ticket myself.
Christine Gallipeau, coordinator editor
Related: Ouch: Not only you, Marriott hotels now have more points
New Zealand with a stop in Fiji
My schedule is packed with lots of travel this year. One trip that I’m particularly excited about is New Zealand with a stop at Fiji.
My husband and I exchanged 60,000 United miles plus $46.20 each to fly from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) to George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) on the first domestic leg. of United, from Houston to Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) in Sydney United Polaris . business and Sydney to Wellington International Airport (WLG) in the Air New Zealand economy.
We are keeping our time flexible in New Zealand as we hope to get a cheap RV rental to explore the country. However, we booked hotels with free cancellation as a backup if we couldn’t find a good campervan relocation rental.
To return to the states, we exchanged 55,000 Alaska miles and $108.87 per person to fly from Auckland Airport (AKL) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on the Fiji Airways business. with a stop in Fiji.
While in Fiji, we would stay in a simple accommodation booked through Airbnb for a two-night stay at Hyatt’s Nanuku Resort (where we redeemed 30,000 Hyatt points plus a Certificate of Category 1 to 7 free nights).
Katie Genter, senior points and miles writer
Related: Sweet Spot Sunday: Fly from the US to Australia with a stop in Fiji
Did someone say “hockey?”
Although it was a simpler trip than many of the others discussed in this story, I Redeem United miles for a flight from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) to watch the NHL Stadium Series game at Carter Finley Stadium.
Taylor Stephenson, engineering project manager
Related: Redeem points for sporting events, concerts, etc. through Marriott Bonvoy Moments
Exclusively for the northern lights
My wife is still trying to see I was born in the North first. I’ve seen it twice, but we missed our previous trips to Alaska and northern Sweden.
we had a Companion fares of Alaska Airlines was about to expire, so we used this trip to book another trip to Fairbanks, Alaska, for mid-March 2023, which we are told is peak time for aurora viewing.
we redeem World of Hyatt points for our five nights at Hyatt Place, we only lost 6,500 points per night.
Ryan Smith, credit card writer
Related: 4 lessons learned from searching for the aurora above the Arctic Circle
bottom line
Points and miles inspire the journeys of many travelers, including many TPG employees.
Whether it’s a complicated booking take advantage best transferable point currency to book a premium cabin seat on a partner airline with a free stop or simply a trip to watch a sports game, each of us uses points and miles for what’s important to us.
With frequent devaluations, points and miles in history are one bad long term investment. We recommend following the “earn it and burn it” philosophy. In other words, let 2023 be the year you’ll have a lot of fun with your points and miles.
For Amex Platinum Card rates and fees, click here.
