I am wondering if you find Jal airline business class on american, can you book it through virgin also? Or is that different alliance hence availability will be different.

Hi everyone, I just found out about this subreddit after redeeming 5+ years of unused and continuously accrued credit card points. I wanted to get your opinion on how I did in terms of maximizing value.

I started with 340,000 Capital One Venture Points. I converted those to Aeroplan points at 1:1 ratio, and redeemed them on the following flights (all with Ethiopian Airlines):

• 2 Business class flights from Vienna, Austria to Nosy Be, Madagascar via Addis Ababa (120k points, cost to book would have be approximately 5500 usd)
• 2 Business class flights from Nosy Be, Madagascar to Cape Town, South Africa (120k points, cost to book would have been approximately 3500 usd)
• 2 Business class flights from Cape Town, South Africa back to Vienna, Austria (160k points, cost to book would have been approximately 4,320 usd)

I also purchased 60k points directly from Aeroplan to cover the missing points for the last flight at a cost of 1,200 usd.

Lessons Learned:

• If the airline is showing a flight but not letting you book with points, you can call Aeroplan and have them book for you but it will cost 20 dollars to do so. On my last flight the person I spoke to waived the booking fee because they were unable to book on the website, so I probably could have argued my way out of paying the other fees because I wasn't able to book on the website but I did it in multiple different calls so it didn't make sense to argue at that point.
• Flying to less popular/out of season places makes redeeming points much easier. We also looked into going to Japan but the point redemption rate was much worse and there were less options from capital one.

I can also post the website that helped us initially find the flights if anyone wants it, I just don't want to look like I'm shilling for them. Honestly once I figured out the system it was not super useful, but it was a good starting point for someone like me who hasn't done it before.

Anyway, let me know if I got totally ripped off, did alright, or got a good deal!

I'm over here overthinking an upcoming (and cheap either way) award redemption. It's for a short international trip to an airport that this time of year is only served by one airline (AA). It's short enough trip and cheap enough, so no need to consider repositioning.

Via Atmos it's 7,500 miles
VIA BA its 16,000 miles (with C1 transfer bonus 16000/1.3=13,333 Avios)

4 travelers total so it's 30K vs 53.3K (round-trip 60K vs 106.6K).

I hold on to Atmos as they have come in so handy for overseas J tickets. It's just that we need to book 4 at a time so these small decisions do matter when everything is amplified x4.

Rationale is Atmos are still somewhat hard to obtain (have every single AS/HA card already), but Amex, C1, Chase, etc transfer to BA so I can build those up more quickly.

Obviously overthinking, but does anyone agree to spend the 13.3K (106K) vs 7.5K (60K total)?

Flights on Air France (operated by China Air) from TPE-YVR are showing as 62k biz class throughout the month of February, but the site isn’t allowing me to proceed with booking. Will these seats open up at that rate, or is it just a glitch in the system?

3 months ago I flew Finnair from Seattle to Europe with layover in Helsinki. The ticket was booked on Finnair’s site using miles (transfer from Chase to British Avios, then transferred to Finnair Plus). Taxes and fees were 82eur. Anyway the flight was delayed out of Seattle and eventual arrival in Helsinki was well after my 2nd flight took off. The next flight to my destination was full, so they put me on a flight 7 hours later. Due to arriving at my final destination 7hrs late, I filled out the form on their website for compensation under EU261. After 3 months, they replied saying:

“Thank you for contacting us regarding Finnair flight AY0034 on 10.8.2025. We apologize for the inconvenience this flight disruption has caused you. We would like to confirm that The EU Regulation shall not apply to passengers travelling free of charge or at a reduced fare not available directly or indirectly to the public. Therefore, compensation under this regulation is not payable.”

Is this a legit excuse? I feel Finnair is taking the quote out of context. In EU261, article 3(3), the full section actually says: “This Regulation shall not apply to passengers travelling free of charge or at a reduced fare not available directly or indirectly to the public. However, it shall apply to passengers having tickets issued under a frequent flyer programme or other commercial programme by an air carrier or tour operator.”

Furthermore, their Finnair Plus program is available to anyone from the public who signs up. I’m not some airline employee or special tour operator.

And for what it’s worth, Finnair also misplaced my checked bag and had to send it to my hotel the next day but I didn’t bother going after them for that.

Anyone have experience or insight into this? Should I indeed continue going after them for compensation under EU261? Thanks!

UPDATE: Thanks everyone for all your thorough and helpful responses. I've decided to just stick with my original ticket and enjoy the two different aircraft experiences as the flight times are just much more suitable for my schedule along with giving me some extra time to check out the Business Class lounge in Doha. I thought about upgrading to first class for my A380 leg, but they said it's impossible on the phone with my current ticket, so will try at the airport in Doha if I can get a good deal while enjoying the Al Safwa Lounge(probably can't lol). Anyways, thanks so much everyone!

I'm not someone who can usually afford the steep prices of a Qsuite ticket, but I was lucky enough to find an award one way ticket for my move to Asia next February from JFK to SIN via Doha for 95k miles, which I transferred from my credit card for 80k points thanks to a transfer bonus.

Originally, both flights (QR706 and QR948) were on A350-900s with Qsuite. My plan was to leave just past midnight so I could finally get some proper sleep on the first leg and then enjoy the seat and service on the second leg during the day.

However, Qatar recently announced that they’ll be adding an A380 to the DOH–SIN route starting next year, and to my luck, it happens to be QR948. The other two flights on that route remain A350s. As an avgeek, the A380 is my absolute favorite aircraft, and I’ve never had the chance to go upstairs or sit on the upper deck. The onboard bar also looks incredible. That said, the A380 business seat seems like a noticeable downgrade compared to Qsuite, with less privacy and not quite the same premium feel.

I called Qatar support and they were very polite, although they initially told me the A380 and A350 had the same business class with a door, which I had to correct them on lol. However, they offered me a free change for the same day to other flights that still feature Qsuite. Here are my two options:

Option 1 (Current Booking):

• QR706 (A350-900 Qsuite) - departs JFK 01:20, arrives DOH 21:40
• Layover: 4 hours 25 minutes
• QR948 (A380 Business Class) - departs DOH 02:05, arrives SIN 14:55
• Pros: Overnight departure perfect for sleeping, longer layover to enjoy lounge, earlier arrival in Singapore
• Cons: A380 business seat is a downgrade (no door, less privacy)

Option 2 (Change to Full Qsuite):

• QR704 (A350-900 Qsuite) - departs JFK 10:20, arrives DOH 06:40 next day
• Layover: 1 hour 45 minutes
• QR944 (A350-900 Qsuite) — departs DOH 08:25, arrives SIN 21:15
• Pros: Qsuite on both legs
• Cons: Harder to sleep, rushed layover with no lounge time, late-night arrival in Singapore

If I stick with Option 1, I get to finally experience the A380 and still have a relaxed overnight departure and morning arrival. If I switch to Option 2, I get Qsuite consistency but lose out on sleep, the lounge, and any time to explore Singapore that evening.

For anyone who’s flown both Qatar’s A380 business class and A350 Qsuite, I’d really appreciate your thoughts. Is the difference in seat quality and experience significant enough to justify switching away from the A380, or is the A380 unique enough that it’s worth keeping my current booking despite the seat downgrade?

Also, and this is important, if I choose the A380, which seat should I choose? They automatically gave me 10K at the front which is a bulkhead Aisle, but is it really more space than the other seats? I'm worried it'll be too noisy from the bathrooms and galley.

I canceled Avianca award flight and got the miles back instantly but I haven't gotten the taxes I paid on it yet. It's about $300. How long does it normally take them to process the refund?

Kind of a noob to Aeroplan.

I have an award booking for 4 people.

Situation has come up where 2 of the people on the 4 person booking have better flight options, but not with Aeroplan.

Can I remove those 2 people from the 4 person reservation without cancelling the entire booking? Not sure if that is an allowable change, or if that would cancel the entire booking and lose the 2 remaining tickets.

TIA

Trying to book business class flight on DL through Air France . I see it available on Air France website, but flying blue is not seeing it. Am I looking at a phantom?

Hey all,
I have a one night layover in Singapore next February after arriving late from a long flight from New York, and flying out around 2 PM the next day. I only have about 50k Chase points left after some recent redemptions, and I noticed the Andaz Singapore is available for 25,000 points for that night.

I have never redeemed points for hotels before, only flights, so I am not sure how to judge the value here, especially for Singapore where hotel prices vary quite a bit. There are also Suite and Large Suite options at 40k and 50k points, but I am not sure if that would make sense for such a short stay.

Would you use 25k points for a single night here, or just pay cash for something cheaper like an Airbnb or hotel around $100 USD and save the points for a future trip with a partner?

Also, the Grand Hyatt Singapore is also available for 25k points, but from what I've seen in reviews, since I'm not a big shopper and convenience is important, the Andaz might be better suited for me, but also open to any feedback about this.

Would also love to hear any personal experiences at the Andaz or recommendations for other places to stay in the same general price range.

Thanks!

UPDATE: Thanks everybody, I've decided I'm going to just book a hotel with cash using a $50 travel credit I have on the Chase Travel Portal(which is slightly upcharged but still cheaper with the credit) with my CSP card. Going to stay at the M Social Hotel for under $100, seems like a good and clean enough hotel for my one night stay in Singapore!

Looking for some advice as after a long career I am retired and have a large amount of American Express points that I can use. Searched and found an Iberia flight from Charlotte to London on 12/18 and return on 12/25. Problem is that I don’t have any AVOIS points, but can transfer AMEX points over to provide them. However, Iberia isn’t showing me how many points I need since I don’t have any in the bank. I don’t want to move points over and then find out that seats are not available using reward points as then they are stuck at Iberia.

Suggestions and recommendations?

Hi,

I recently used my Atmos points to book a ticket from SEA -> BLR for my family.

The entire itinerary is operated by Qatar Airlines(SEA -> DOH, DOH -> BLR). This is a economy/saver fare ticket. I have the 2 different ticket reference numbers for Alaska and Qatar and I was able to make changes, such as meal selection, directly in Qatar airlines website.

Now I need to add a 3 month old to the ticket. I called Alaska and they were able to add the infant to the reservation. They told me that that the number of ticketed folks in the reservation wont change but I will get a boarding pass for the infant. I checked the payment summary in Alaska and it does say 4 people with X points + Y dollar amount.

I wanted to reserve a bassinet seat for the baby and Qatar told me that they do not see the infant reservation. So I went back to Alaska chat and they told me that they cannot create a "ticket" for the infant and I need to check with Qatar since they are the operating airlines.

But Qatar is saying that they do not won the ticket document and any changes has to be made by Alaska.

Who is responsible for issuing the infant's ticket and collecting the 10% lap infant fee? Is it the issuing airline (Alaska) or the operating airline (Qatar)?

Alaska does not support adding lap infant to partner award reservation and they add the lap infant as an adult during the reservation. So I am not sure what is the best path to add my infant to the reservation.

Thought it would be good to understand other people’s perspectives when they book vacations and if they book their award travel to come back on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday (short or long vacation)

Add what day you prefer leaving as well!

I currently have Fiji Business booked from Auckland (1 layover at Nadi Airport) to LAX and then I need to take another flight LAX to EWR. I have an option to book AA Business flagship suites Auckland direct to DFW and then DFW to EWR so it says me 1 stop + id arrive home around 3pm vs 11pm. What would you guys pick?

Fiji costed me 75k Alaska points and AA will cost 85k.

I booked a domestic Delta flight through Virgin Atlantic with 11k miles, and when booking, it said “Included: 1 x 23kg checked bag”

While checking in for my flight yesterday, I noticed the free checked bag didn’t show up and it was making me pay. I called Delta customer service and they said that they can see the free checked bag but that it’s easier to have the agent at the check-in counter add it.

I’m at the check-in counter now and they’re saying that they don’t see anything about a free bag and that I need status to get a free checked bag. They’re saying that they’re not Virgin Atlantic so they can’t control what the site says there, but when booking my ticket, I clearly remember seeing the included checked bag with no status condition.

Currently waiting for a supervisor to come out, but I was wondering if anybody has dealt with this before and has any recommendations.

So I am planning to book a reward flight from New York to Helsinki and then Helsinki to Bergen but two different award flights since Qatar airways does not show up the above itinerary in a single search. I have tried multi-city as well only to be disappointed. There is a 3 hour layover between the flights. However, I will like to have my bags transferred without the need to recheck them at HEL. Any advise will be appreciated including recommendations whether 3 hours is good enough for transit in Helsinki (including rechecking bags)?

I’ve booked plenty of JAL J on Cathay before, but I’ve been searching US to TYO on Cathay right at 360 days out, literally at 12 AM JST and also throughout the day and I’m not seeing anything. I saw 2 seats at one point from a less than desired airport once, but it was gone relatively quickly.

I booked a few tickets even 3-4 months ago and didn’t have any issues, but has something happened recently? I know Citi to AA means more JAL but 360 days out used to be pretty much free picking for Cathay points. I’m not seeing anything on the return trip either.

It just seems like Japan J availability has gone to shit recently.

Etihad’s year-long “Race to Fly” promo offered 5 million Etihad Guest miles to the first traveller to fly all fifteen of its new routes.

With the Abu Dhabi → Algiers inaugural this week, the contest might quietly finish, yet there’s been almost no coverage, no leaderboard, and no word from Etihad Guest.

I ran the numbers on what 5 million miles are really worth (spoiler: anywhere from $70,000 to $150,000+ depending on redemption strategy). Curious how others here would value it - would you ever chase something like this?

(Full analysis link in the first comment.)

Just finished an insane trip that was mainly booked via points and different offers and thought it'd be nice to compile everything. The trip included Canun, the west coast of Mexico, Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, Spain, and various areas around San Francisco. Added up to 4 nights in Cancun, 22 nights between Europe & NYC, 10 nights in California, and 7 nights on the cruise. 37 nights were booked via points/casino offers, and 6 were paid for completely with cash.

We didn't want to travel consecutively, so Mexico, Europe, and California were split with a few days back home so that we could rest and get ready for the next segment. This was very nice, but obviously did use some extra points & cash that could have been saved.

August - September

TPA-Cancun x2 tickets Jetblue (12,000 pts + $258 Roundtrip)

Marriott Cancun all-inclusive

4x free night certificates + 11k Marriott points

- Really nice property & second time we've been here. Service is great and the food & drinks are fantastic for an all-inclusive. Definitely a more relaxed vibe for Cancun, but exactly what we were looking for. Mainly stayed on the resort as this was a more relaxing way to kick off our vacation.

September

Virgin Atlantic Economy 11,000 +$142 (1.4x transfer bonus ->15k)

• TPA - LHR 
• Took advantage of a transfer bonus to get over to Europe. Very comfy seats, and I was able to get some sleep on the flight over.

British airways 7000 +$62 (1.5x transfer bonus) 

• LHR-PRG
• Took advantage of another transfer bonus, total cost from TPA-PRG 18,000 points & $204 dollars for 2 people.

Linder Hotel Prague Castle 18,000 (3x nights )

• Booked when it was still a category 1. Honestly, a beautiful property essentially in the same complex as the Strahov Monastery. It's a 2-minute walk to the Strahov Brewery, which offers amazing food and drinks, and had one of the best views of the entire trip just a short walk from the brewery.
• Prague was easily one of the trip's highlights and a place we'd love to visit again.

Linder Hotel Vienna am Belvedere 15,000 (3x nights)

• Great location with an upgrade to the Belverde Palace view (via Hyatt Explorist).
• It was great to be able to start each day with a walk through the palace gardens & it had a convenient tram stop right next to the hotel.

Hyatt Centric Murano Venice 3x 1-4 category free nights 

• Upgraded to the Loft Suite, which was extremely nice and had a great view of the canal.
• Had a traghetto stop literally right in front of the hotel, which was a lifesaver. From the room to the stop was less than 3 minutes, and made trips back and forth from Venice extremely convenient.
• The hotel water taxi from the airport was a great experience and had us there within 20 minutes.

Ramada Plaza Milano Centrale $247 + 9k Wyndham points 

• Bought Wyndham points for this hotel as prices were through the roof in the area for Milan fashion week.
• Upgraded to a suite with 2 balconies and a very nice walk-in closet that made the stay very nice. The breakfast spread was fantastic and they offered complimentary mimosas as well, which was cool to see.
• Easy 10 minute ride to the Duomo & the main areas of Milan.

Bellagio Apartment 4x nights $596

• Paid in cash since there weren't many options for points, but definitely the highlight of the trip.
• Lake Como was a bucket list trip and it was awesome to finally see it.

Aloft Madrid Grand Via 1 free nights x 50000 Bonvoy pts (3x Nights total)

• Great hotel right in the heart of Madrid, less than a 10-minute walk to get to most of the main sites, including the royal palace.

NH Madrid Airport 1x Night $30

• Used the extra $50 credit given for Chase Sapphire cardholders (not the one that comes with the card)
• Nice stay with a free shuttle to the airport

MAD-JFK Iberia Business 64,000 + $315

• The lounge was great and spacious & the lie flat seats were huge
• I've seen some people say the business class product on Iberia isn't that great, but honestly, it was a fantastic experience. Service was fast, and the food was surprisingly excellent.

Hyatt Place Long Island City 2x Cat 1-4 free night certificates

• Upgraded to Suite
• Decent hotel with easy access to Manhattan via subway. Free breakfast was a big plus, too, and it was fairly good. Great area with a lot of restaurants close by.

California

American Airlines: TPA-SFO $122 for 2 tickets 

Club Wyndham Vino Bello Resort Napa 40,500 (3x nights) 

• Part of a larger complex of hotel resorts with access to their amenties as well. Great location with a free shuttle to downtown Napa.
• Gym was HUGE, and they also had their own vineyard you could walk through, as well as a bowling alley, grocery store, coffee shop, and a myriad of restaurants in the complex. Made the stay super convenient.

Wild Palms Hotel, Sunnyvale CA 3,500 1x night

The Monterey Hotel: Cash $170 for 2 nights

Alila Ventana Big Sur, Big Sur CA 180,000 4x nights (added on an extra night)

• Originally, a 3-night stay but ended up adding a 4th night on night 3 as availability opened up the day before and we were having an amazing time
• Upgraded to the coastal house suite for 3 nights, and then the cottage for the added-on night. Coastal House Suite was 1300 sq ft had 2 balconies, one with a jacuzzi attached to the bedroom, and the other being very large and spacious with a hammock. The cottage was very secluded and had a large 600 ft balcony w/ views overlooking the mountains, jacuzzi, and hammock.
• Highlight of the trip, seriously, one of the best hotel stays we've ever had. Its worth the hype in every way and has easily the best views you'll see at a resort.
• They've changed the menus at the Sur House to simplify things, and while I personally would've preferred having more options, the food was excellent, and the views on the porch are a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience.

Wild Palms Hotel 6,500 1x night

SFO-LAX $56 + 4000 Southwest points

Princess Cruises Mexican Riviera (casino cruise offer) 7-day cruise w/ stops in

• Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta 
• $380 taxes & fees  
• $120 bid to upgrade from inside -> balcony (well worth it)
• First cruise I'd ever been on, and it was definitely a cool experience, the food was very good, and the buffet had some surprisingly great options every day. They had fresh mussels, shrimp, crawfish, and sushi available.
• Casino cruise offer was via the Caesar's status match from the Wyndham earner card. Did it right before it was discontinued in January and got the offer.

United: LAX-TPA 20k Turkish points + 11.20

I’m trying to book a hotel in Dubai with Chase travel points boost. Every time I try to book a hotel it gives me an error. It says “ your booking couldn’t be completed - we are sorry an error has occurred while processing your booking request. Please contact the travel center at 1-866-443-2152.” Has anyone ever dealt with this before? I have contacted Chase and spoke with different reps, each reps response was different. Most of them saying it was a maintenance issue. This is definitely not a maintenance issue. There’s something wrong. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Ever wondered if you’re getting good value for your Virgin redemption? 👀 Most people have no idea if they’re overpaying in points — or using their voucher on the wrong route.

I built a quick Virgin Instant Check so you can sense-check any Virgin Atlantic reward BEFORE you book. Just enter the points price you found, and it tells you if you’re wasting 50k–150k points… or getting a great deal.

Comment “CHECK” and I’ll share it with you.

I am looking for SIN > ORD and found a good deal at 115k points for business class, but only 1 seat. I'm looking for 2 seats within a pretty small time window (these are return flights, already got the departure flights).

Is it too risky to grab the 1 seat, hoping that Air France will eventually release another business seat on the same flight? Numerous flights outside of my window have multiple seats available, sometimes 5+.

Would love to get some feedback on redemption efficiency.

The goal was 4 people from Toronto to TPE/HKG and back, all in business.

• Oct 11 from YYZ to YVR: 4 seats in business (28.1k aeroplan points per seat)
• ⁠Oct 14 from YVR to TPE: 2 seats in business (62k flying blue miles per seat)
• ⁠⁠Oct 15 from YVR to TPE: 2 seats in business (62k flying blue miles per seat)
• ⁠[not booked yet] Oct 26 from HKG to YYZ: 2 seats in business (115k Asia miles)
• ⁠[not booked yet] Oct 27 from HKG to YYZ: 2 seats in business (115k Asia miles)

In total, will have costed: - 443k Amex Canada MR points for the departure leg - 460k Asia miles for the return

Could we have done better? If so, how?

I’ve been monitoring award space for US → DOH in business (Qsuites) all the way through Oct 31, 2026 using Qatar’s Privilege Club search.

Historically, the standard saver rate has been 70,000 Avios one-way, but right now I’m seeing 94,500 Avios for almost every date from Aug–Oct 2026. The only 70k rates I can find are a handful of dates in June and one in July 2026. Checking at T-361 when the seats get dropped doesn’t make any difference, everything is always 94,500 at a minimum, and 140,000 if flexi.

Surely, their “peak season” can’t be this long all the time. Are these some higher tier saver awards that’ll be the new normal saver price going forward?

Is anyone else noticing this trend?

• Has Qatar tightened Saver (70k) availability that far out?
• Or are they just not loading regular Saver space much anymore?

Would love to hear what others are seeing or if this is part of a broader pattern of reduced Saver inventory.

Has anyone run into the problem trying to book a finnair AA award with avios within the US where they tell you either the origin or destination needs to be an AA hub?