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| How to score the best award flights |
| by Brian Kelly |
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Hi everyone,
I’ll be on PTO over the holidays, spending time with family and preparing for the launch of my new book, “How to Win at Travel.”
While I’m away, I’ve asked our TPG experts to share some of their experiences and tips with you. This week, Andrea Rotondo, director of content operations, is sharing her tips for booking amazing award flights when you don’t live near a major hub. Her tips will, without a doubt, help you make the most of your points and miles. While I’m out for the holiday season, you can follow along on my Instagram @briankelly.
Have a great weekend,
BK
✈️ ✈️ ✈️
These days, Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) is my home base. Don’t let the name fool you, though: There is just one nonstop flight to another country (Canada). Sigh. When I moved here, I worried that it would be difficult to maximize my points and miles. Luckily, that hasn’t been the case, but I have had to employ different strategies to snag award seats.
If you also fly out of a nonhub airport, here are my tips on booking awards:
- Lean on flexible (transferable) rewards, such as Chase Ultimate Rewards points, American Express Membership Rewards points, Capital One miles or Bilt Rewards Points. I use those programs to transfer rewards to the right partner airlines.
- Search early, often and at the last minute. It’s not unusual for me to change my flights multiple times during the planning process. Here are the best times to book business-class award flights.
- Focus on destinations served by the airlines that fly from your home gateway (and are affiliated with other airlines in your connecting hub). From JAX, my regular connecting hub airports are Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), Dulles International Airport (IAD), John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Miami International Airport (MIA).
- Book an award flight from a major hub and buy a repositioning flight on a separate (cash or award) ticket. Here’s how to book positioning flights.
- Understand married segments and how they are the secret to lower-priced awards that include the flight segment from your nonhub gateway.
- Leverage preferred award options if you have elite status or hold certain credit cards. For example, here’s how to unlock additional United Airlines award options.
- Price out the trip with a stopover, which may actually lower the number of points needed for the award. Here’s how to book a stopover on points and miles and see two cities for the price of one.
Using these methods, I’ve booked some excellent international award flights from JAX. My best score this year? A round-trip business-class flight on Japan Airlines using 120,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles flying from JAX to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Haneda Airport (HND), and returning from Narita International Airport (NRT) to BOS. It cost significantly more miles when pricing out just SFO-HND and NRT-BOS.
Wishing you all happy travels in 2025,
Andrea
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| Photo Credit: AAPHAKON YUSOMSRI/GETTY IMAGES . |
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