Booking reward tickets can seem confusing at first, but it’s actually not too bad once you start. In order to get the best value, you’re looking for “Saver Fares.” These are the fares requiring the least mount of points.
Some resources to start your search:
- PointsYeah.com – search for hotel and airline award tickets
- Amex and Point.me – search for transfer partners of American Express
- Seats.Aero – Search airline award tickets
- MaxFHR.com – Use your Fine Hotels and Resort credit
- HigherAspire.com – Use your Hilton Honors Resort credit
- Expert Flyer – search award ticket availability
Remember Lesson 4 about flexibility? If you want to get the most travel for your points, you should look at whole months when booking and usually plan at least a few months to almost a year in advance for the best availability.
Note that often times you can book a flight on a partner airline, often for less miles than the partner actually charges!
I’ve had excellent results with Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Etihad, Lufthansa, United, and many other airlines.
Singapore Airlines’ travel rewards program is known as KrisFlyer. Singapore accepts transfer points from all the major transferable point currencies: Marriott, Chase, Amex, and Citi. This makes it really great if you have a low balance on one account to combine it with points from your other accounts.
Taxes and fees are usually low when booking a ticket through Singapore on a flight operated by Singapore. Watch out for Lufthansa operated flights booked through Singapore KrisFlyer operating in or out of Europe, the fuel surcharges and taxes can get ridiculous.