Did you know you can potentially save points and miles even after you’ve redeemed them? Here’s a handy hack I’ve found.
I recently redeemed Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles for a flight on Singapore Airlines next year. I don’t have flexibility on the date or route of travel, but I found a suitable flight with award availability. KrisFlyer has two levels of award pricing: limited-availability, low-priced “Saver” prices and more readily available, but more expensive, “Advantage” prices.
On the flight I needed, only Advantage pricing was left, which was an acceptable, though not spectacular, way to redeem KrisFlyer miles, so I booked it.
But here’s the trick: The lower-priced Saver availability could open up at any time, so I set an alert on my favorite award search tool, Seats.aero, to send me an email and a text message advising me if the award price for this flight drops below the number of miles I paid for it.
Then, if I receive an alert, I can cancel the Advantage award online and rebook the Saver award immediately for a much lower mileage price. Although there is a charge of $50 to redeposit the KrisFlyer miles to my account, switching to a cheaper award would save me tens of thousands of miles, so it would be well worth it.
This trick also works with major programs like American Airlines AAdvantage and United Airlines MileagePlus that dynamically price select awards. These can, from time to time, drop in price closer to departure, especially if the flights are not full.
If you’ve redeemed points and miles at a price higher than you were hoping for, it’s well worth spending a few minutes setting an alert for price drops. You might be pleasantly surprised with a notification out of the blue.
If you are paying cash, here’s a handy tip: You can set alerts on Google Flights to track price changes and get a refund on most airlines if the price drops. If you have upcoming travel, check out our guide to Google Flights.
Posts in this newsletter contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products, and this may impact how or where they appear. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.
Photo Credit: Ben Smithson/The Points Guy.
Together with
From 'How?' to 'Wow!' with Globus
Your vacation is too valuable to wing it. With Globus, big trips feel easy. We take the stress out of planning and the guesswork out of getting there — bundling iconic sights, hand-picked hotels, VIP access, seamless transportation and more. Use code “TPG200” to save up to $1,400 per couple on select tours.
You are receiving this email because you opted in atthepointsguy.com.
Where to find us:
The Points Guy 100 5th Ave., 16th Floor New York, NY 10011 USA USA
If this newsletter was forwarded to you, you can subscribe here.
Advertiser Disclosure:
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don’t cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
Editorial Note: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
