SPG sent out a variety of targeted offered to customers but a lot of people including myself apparently never got the memo, so I thought it was worth sharing about these offers. Some of these offers allow you a chance to earn elite status a lot quicker while other offers are giving points away after a couple of stays.
2X elite qualifying credit on nights and stays on all stays between September 15, 2017, and December 15, 2017 — with no earning limits.
First stay earns 5X qualifying nights towards elite status; second stay earns 5X qualifying nights towards elite status (maximum bonus of 10 qualifying nights)
First stay earns 2,500 points; second stay earns 5,000 points
Keep in mind that these are targeted so it’s possible that you might not get anything at all.
These are some pretty great offers if you’re interested in earning status with SPG. I’m a big fan of SPG Platinum Status which I earned by doing a status challenge to earn Marriott Platinum status. I already have Platinum status for 2018, so I’l be sitting this challenge out though I did receive a targeted offer for 2X the credits on nights and stays.
Don’t forget that you also must register for the promotion using the register button (seen below). You will see the option to register if you are targeted for any of the promotions.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time credit card rewards/travel expert and has earned and redeemed millions of miles to travel the globe. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.
What Are The Benefits of SPG Platinum Status?
SPG Platinum status offers an extensive range of valuable hotel and airline benefits that can enhance your travels both in the sky and when you stay at a Starwood Preferred Guest property. Here’s a rundown of some the benefits you can expect to enjoy when you obtain SPG Platinum status.
How to earn SPG Platinum status
You can earn Platinum status in a few ways:
Complete 25 eligible stays or 50 eligible nights in a calendar year.
Complete a status challenge from SPG Gold to SPG Platinum (you can automatically hit SPG Gold status by holding the The Platinum Card® from American Express).
If you hit SPG Platinum you’ll be given Marriott Platinum status that comes with many of the same benefits as SPG Platinum like complimentary breakfasts, lounge access, better upgrades (which include suites), etc. One of the best perks of Marriott Platinum is that you’re also given United MileagePlus Premier Silver elite status, which can offer you complimentary upgrades to both economy plus and first class and benefits like priority boarding and free checked luggage.
This benefit is not exclusive to Platinum status but it’s still worth mentioning. When you redeem Starpoints for five free night awards, SPG will cover the fifth night. This is available for any of their Category 3-7 hotels.
Bonus earning rate
Earn three Starpoints for every U.S. dollar spent on eligible stays — a 50% bonus over Preferred.
This is the same earning rate as SPG Gold. (However, if you stay 75 nights or more this rate will bump up to 4 Starpoints per dollar spent.) At 2.4 cents per point, 3 SPG points per dollar spent, is like a 7.2% return. Compared to top tier status with other major hotel programs like Marriott, Hilton, IHG, and Hyatt, this rate is actually one of the lowest.
Late check out
4 PM late checkout, subject to availability.
4 PM late checkout can make your trip to the airport much less stressful by giving you plenty of time to relax in your room before having to pack. This benefit is guaranteed at all hotels, except at resorts, conference centers, and convention hotels, where it is based upon availability. Both Marriott and SPG are great about honoring this benefit, so I’m looking forward to them maintaining it as the merger between the two hotels completes.
Upgrades
Platinum members receive upgrades to the best available rooms, including Standard Suites, subject to availability for the entire length of stay at time of check-in. Not offered at Aloft® or Element℠ hotels.
Gold members receive upgrades to “enhanced rooms,” subject to availability, which are rooms on higher floors, corner rooms, newly renovated rooms and rooms with preferred views. However, as a Platinum member you should be upgraded to a suite if there is availability. If you’re interested in your odds for an upgrade simply search “[Your hotel name] upgrade flyertalk” and you’ll probably be able to get a good idea on others’ experiences with getting upgraded.
Your choice of welcome gift upon arrival — choose from bonus Starpoints, continental breakfast or local amenity.
The major difference between this benefit and what you get with SPG Gold status is that Platinum offers you the option to take a complimentary breakfast. Sometimes you get to double up on these perks. For example, at the new W Las Vegas, I was offered two free breakfasts (one for me and one for Brad) in addition to two free drink coupons. All together it was a total of $60 worth of freebies.
Free $15 drinks at the W.
The free breakfast perk for SPG Platinum is particularly valuable since they offer free breakfasts at even their most luxurious properties. Contrast this with Marriott who will often leave you hanging for breakfast at top properties.
Complimentary premium internet access
Complimentary in-room, premium Internet access when you book on SPG digital channels. (Preferred level does not get premium internet.) This is in addition to your welcome gift.
When a reservation is booked at any SPG-participating hotel through Starwood-branded websites (e.g., spg.com, Sheraton.com, Westin.com) or through the SPG app, all SPG members receive complimentary in-room Internet access. That means that you can get your complimentary internet and still request a free cocktail or bonus points as your welcome gift. However, if you made your booking through a website like Expedia.com (an OTA), you would not receive complimentary internet in addition to your gift.
Complimentary health-club, Club-level and Executive-level access.
Platinum members receive complimentary access to the Sheraton Club lounges, Westin Executive Club Lounges and Le Méridien lounges, where available.
Complimentary snacks and champagne at the Executive Club at the Westin Cape Town, South Africa.
Promo offers
While this isn’t officially discussed in the benefits on the SPG website, SPG has been known to send out special promotions to members with Gold or Platinum status and offer special discounts, such as 25% off redemptions.
Delta Crossover Rewards
SPG Gold and Platinum members can register to earn one Starpoint per dollar spent with Delta Crossover Rewards on eligible Delta flights. Also, if you are registered for Crossover Rewards and are a Delta Medallion member, in addition to earning Starpoints for Stays at SPG Participating Hotels, you will earn one Delta mile for every one U.S. dollar or its foreign equivalent spent on eligible SPG stays.
However, SPG Platinum members can receive exclusive additional elite benefits, such as:
Priority Check-in
Priority Boarding (up to 8 passengers)
Unlimited Complimentary Upgrades (First Class and Delta Comfort+)
Also, SPG has a partnership with China Eastern where you can earn one Starpoint for every 4 China Easter miles earned. You’ll also be able to enjoy elite in-airport benefits, including priority check-in, boarding and luggage handling as well as an excess-luggage allowance and access to the China Eastern business-class lounge. Register for that benefit here.
Bonus earning for events
Earn one Starpoint for every US$2 in eligible revenue when you book a group for any occasion, business or pleasure. From weddings to meetings to family reunions.
Guaranteed room
Guaranteed room availability when your room is booked by 3 p.m., 72+ hours prior to arrival.
Uber benefits
Register and earn with Uber. Earn 1 Starpoint per 2 U.S. dollars spent with Uber every day, and 2 Starpoints per U.S. dollar spent with Uber during your stays with SPG.
You’ll need to have one qualifying stay with SPG before you’re eligible to start earning points. You can find out more about this benefit here and here.
Increased awards for 50 night and 75 night stays
SPG Platinum is further divided into tiers, so that you are continuously rewarded for your stays as you hit higher thresholds. When you hit 50 nights you can choose from a range of different rewards to receive including:
10 Suite Night Awards
The gift of Gold status for a friend or family member
One Free Night Award
Five Elite-Qualifying Nights
SPG donation to UNICEF
40% off your favorite hotel bed
When you hit 75 nights you’re granted additional perks including:
Earn 4 Starpoints for every eligible U.S. dollar spent — a 100% bonus over the Preferred level
Your24™ — have the flexibility of choosing your check-in. For example, check in at 9 p.m. and check out 9 p.m. on the day of departure.
And of course there’s lifetime status, achieve 500 eligible nights total and 10 years of Platinum status to earn SPG Lifetime Platinum status.
Final word
Although Marriott is my favorite mid-tier status, my favorite top tier status is probably SPG. I love that you’re offered so many perks for different airlines and can match to Marriott Platinum. The free breakfasts at top properties is nice and I like that upgrades to suites are based on availability.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time credit card rewards/travel expert and has earned and redeemed millions of miles to travel the globe. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.
SPG Personal & Business Cards at 35K: Should You Apply?
The 35,000 sign-up bonuses for both the personal SPG card and the business SPG have returned, despite the doubts that many people had given the recent merger between Marriott and SPG. These two offers are the all-time highest offers for these cards so they are definitely worth considering. Here’s a look at each of the offers.
Earn 25,000 bonus Starpoints after you make $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months and an extra 10,000 bonus Starpoints after you make an additional $2,000 in purchases within the first 6 months
$0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95
2X points on purchases at SPG or Marriott properties
Free in-room, premium internet access at SPG properties
Credit for 5 nights and 2 stays each year toward SPG Elite status
No foreign exchange fees
Boingo Wifi
Business version
Earn 25,000 bonus Starpoints after you make $5,000 in purchases within the first 3 months and an extra 10,000 bonus Starpoints after you make an additional $3,000 in purchases within the first 6 months
$0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95
2X points on purchases at SPG or Marriott properties
Free in-room, premium internet access at SPG properties
Credit for 5 nights and 2 stays each year toward SPG Elite status
No foreign exchange fees
Boingo Wifi
Enjoy complimentary access to the Sheraton Club lounge
*Both offers contain language barring you from applying if you’ve receive bonuses from these cards in the past.
It’s really tempting to go for both of these offers since that would net you 70,000 SPG points plus the 13,000 SPG points from meeting the minimum spend requirements. That’s a total of 83,000 SPG points. And when you factor in the 25% bonus you get for transferring SPG points out to airlines, that’s 103,000 potential airline miles. For two cards with a waived annual fee the first year, that’s a ridiculously good offer!
Offers Expire in April
Both offers end 4/5/2017
What can you do with SPG points?
The question is really what can’t you do with SPG points? That’s because you can use them for free nights at SPG properties, transfer them at a 1:3 ratio to Marriott, transfer them out to over 30 airlines (mostly) at a 1:1.25 ratio, and utilize them in a number of other different ways, such as SPG Moments. If I were getting both of these cards I would consider a Marriott hotel and air package since the bonuses you’d receive from these two cards would put you in close contention of being able to redeem for one of these packages.
SPG points often offer great value for hotel redemptions
Many people value SPG points around 2.0 to 2.5 cents per point. However, it’s not very hard to got more than that in value when making SPG hotel bookings. This is especially true if you can take advantage of the 5th night free benefit or cash and points redemptions. You can read more on maximizing the value of SPG free nights here.
Why I value SPG points so much
While I’ve used SPG points to redeem for hotels, like the Westin in Cape Town, I put more value in SPG points for their transferability to so many different airline partners. This comes in handy in two major ways.
1. Flexibility
You can’t beat the flexibility of SPG points. This flexibility really comes in handy when you need to top-off your miles accounts for certain airlines. It’s often the case that you may find yourself thousands of points short for redemptions, especially if you’re ever planning a complex itinerary or round the world trip. In those situations, the flexibility of SPG points can be just what you need to complete an itinerary.
2. Sweet spots
There are a number of airlines that offer exceptional redemption rates to given destinations but they are only transfer partners with SPG and not any of the other major programs like Chase, American Express, and Citi. Airlines like Alaska, Asiana, and JAL are prime examples.
Consider that I could fly from IAH to SCL in business class one way for only 35,000 Asiana miles or 70,000 round trip. The same roundtrip flight to SCL on United would require 110,000 United miles, so that’s a savings of 40,000 miles! You can find those sweet spots going to just about anywhere. For example, JAL offers roundtrip business class redemptions to Europe for 63,000 miles from the East Coast and both Asiana and JAL offer roundtrip business class redemptions to Europe for 80,000 miles from other parts of the country.
And don’t forget, SPG transfers to airlines come with that 25% bonus, so you’d only need 65,000 SPG points to take advantage of a 80,000 mile sweet spot. Thus, you could easily be saving close to 50,000 miles or more by using SPG points for your redemptions. Pretty incredible and that’s why I put a lot of value in this card.
Final word
SPG points are extremely valuable and since these are the highest offers out for the personal and business credit cards, I think you should give them a look. Just remember to read up on the American Express Application Rules, before you apply.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time credit card rewards/travel expert and has earned and redeemed millions of miles to travel the globe. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.
What Are The Benefits of SPG Gold Status?
SPG Gold status offers some decent benefits that can enhance your travel when you choose to stay at a Starwood Preferred Guest property. Here’s a rundown of some the benefits you can expect to enjoy when you obtain SPG Gold status.
How to earn Gold status
You can earn Gold status in a few ways:
Complete 10 eligible stays or 25 eligible nights in a calendar year.
Get approved for a Platinum Card from American Express and automatically receive SPG Gold status
Spend $30,000 or more on the SPG credit card from American Express
5th night free
Not exclusive to Gold status but worth mentioning. When you redeem Starpoints for five free night Awards, SPG will cover the fifth night. This is available for any of their Category 3-7 hotels.
Bonus earning rate
Earn three Starpoints for every U.S. dollar spent on eligible stays — a 50% bonus over Preferred.
This is a nice way to rack up valuable SPG points when paying for stays. Don’t be turned off by what might look like a low earning base-rate at only 3 points to the dollar. While Hilton HHonors Gold members earn 12.5 (including the 25% bonus rate), the value (as calculated by many people) of those points still will usually come out to a little less than what the SPG points are worth. For example, if you value SPG points at 2 cents per point and HHonors points at .4 cent per point, you’re still getting a full cent more worth of value with each dollar spent with SPG.
Late check out
4 PM late checkout, subject to availability.
4 PM late checkout can make your trip to the airport much less stressful by giving you plenty of time to relax in your room before having to pack. This benefit is guaranteed at all hotels, except at resort, conference center, and convention hotels, where it is based upon availability.
Upgrades
An upgrade to an “enhanced room” at check-in — corner room, higher floor, or better view.
Gold members receive upgrades to “enhanced rooms,” subject to availability for the entire length of stay at time of check-in. Enhanced rooms are rooms on higher floors, corner rooms, newly renovated rooms and rooms with preferred views. While enhanced rooms do not include suites (that’s a platinum benefit), it is possible to be upgraded to suite level rooms with Gold status.
Upgrades seem to be a little sporadic for Gold members but some members have had luck with calling ahead and notifying the hotel that they would be interested in an upgrade if one becomes available.
Welcome Gift
Your choice of welcome gift upon arrival – choose from bonus Starpoints, complimentary premium in-room internet or a beverage on us.
The major difference between this benefit and what you get with Platinum status is that the latter offers you the option to take a complimentary breakfast. The lack of a complimentary breakfast would be the one knock against SPG Gold status, as other hotels, such as Hilton HHonors, provide this benefit for mid-tier status.
Complimentary premium internet access
Complimentary in-room, premium Internet access when you book on SPG digital channels. (Preferred level does not get premium internet.) This is in addition to your welcome gift.
When a reservation is booked at any SPG-participating hotel through Starwood-branded websites (e.g., spg.com, Sheraton.com, Westin.com) or through the SPG app, all SPG members receive complimentary in-room Internet access. That means that you can get your complimentary internet and still request a free cocktail or bonus points as your welcome gift. However, if you made your booking through a website like Expedia.com, you would not receive complimentary internet in addition to your gift.
Promo offers
While this isn’t officially discussed in the benefits on the SPG website, SPG has been known to send out special promotions to members with Gold or Platinum status and offer special discounts, such as 25% off redemptions.
Delta Crossover Rewards
Register to earn one Starpoint per dollar spent with Delta Crossover Rewards on eligible Delta flights. Also, if you are registered for Crossover Rewards and are a Delta Medallion member, in addition to earning Starpoints for Stays at SPG Participating Hotels, you will earn one Delta mile for every one U.S. dollar or its foreign equivalent spent on eligible SPG stays.
Uber benefits
Register and earn with Uber. Earn 1 Starpoint per 2 U.S. dollars spent with Uber every day, and 2 Starpoints per U.S. dollar spent with Uber during your stays with SPG.
With Uber now so popular and in so many different locations, it should be easy to rack up SPG points as you explore your destination. You’ll need to have one qualifying stay with SPG before you’re eligible to start earning points, however.
Other benefits
Register to earn one Starpoint per dollar on eligible Emirates® flights.
Earn one Starpoint for every US$2 in eligible revenue when you book a group for any occasion, business or pleasure.
Go Gold — for life. Achieve 250 eligible nights total and five years of elite status, and you’ll earn SPG® Lifetime™ Gold status.
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Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time credit card rewards/travel expert and has earned and redeemed millions of miles to travel the globe. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.
How To Transfer SPG Points Without Waiting 30 Days
Brad recently tried to transfer a few thousand SPG points to my account but we got hung up in the process because we realized our addresses didn’t match. This is a big problem when transferring SPG points because there is a 30 day waiting period when changing your address! Luckily, we were able to get around this requirement and here’s how we did it.
Starwood Preferred Guests transfer policy
Their official terms state that:
SPG Members Who Reside at Same Address. In Starwood’s sole discretion, an SPG Member may be permitted to transfer Starpoints in 1000 point increments only from one SPG Member account to another SPG Member account under specific conditions. Generally, Starpoints may transfer if both SPG Members are active, consent to the transfer, and share the same residential mailing address that is not a P.O. Box, APO or SPO address for a minimum of 30 days prior to requesting the transfer.
I think one of the first things to keep in mind is that Starwood is reserving discretion to permit these transfers. Discretion can always work against you but also can work in your favor. In our case, the discretion definitely worked in our favor and allowed us to circumvent the 30 day requirement.
So the terms state that the addresses need to have been the same for a minimum of 30 days before requesting the transfer. As mentioned, when Brad tried to transfer SPG points to me recently, I didn’t realize that I still had my old address on my account and so I had to speak to a representative to confirm a change of address. The representative wasn’t sure if the transfer would work or not but told me that I would be finding out in a few days either way.
Our attempt to transfer
Unfortunately, after about 6 days we got an email telling us that the transfer would not be able to go through due to the recent address change. It stated specifically:
Dear Mr. Darnell,
Thank you for your Starpoint transfer request.
Regrettably, due to an address change within 30 days of the request on [my] account, I was unable to process the transfer at this time.
To complete your request, please provide us with a current document such as utility bill, driver license or household bill, showing [my name] and residential address, within 10 business days.
If you are unable to send documentation, you will be required to wait a minimum of thirty days before entering a new transfer request on your SPG account. Be sure to include your SPG number and reference number when replying to us. Our fax number is 1-519-633-3658 or you may email us at internaltransfers@starwoodhotels.com.
We appreciate your participation in the SPG program.
Best Regards,
XXXX
SPG Program Services – Internal Transfers Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
We sent in a photo taken from my iPhone of my ID and within an hourthe points had been transferred into my account and we made our booking!
Thus, we were able to get around the 30 day requirement by simply sending in address verification. If you have a pressing need to get points over to someone and you just realized that your addresses don’t match, I highly recommend sending in documents to expedite the process and save you a few weeks of waiting time!
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time credit card rewards/travel expert and has earned and redeemed millions of miles to travel the globe. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.
Guide to Booking Award Flights with ANA
The reward program for ANA has some very valuable sweet spots for both economy and business class redemptions to pretty much every corner of the globe. In addition, it’s pretty easy to rack up ANA miles from transfer partners making it a solid option for redemptions. However, the booking rules can be a bit confusing to comprehend. Here’s a guide for booking flights with both ANA and ANA partner airlines with ANA miles.
Star Alliance
ANA is a member of the Star Alliance, the largest airline alliance out of the big three (One World, Star Alliance, and SkyTeam). This means that you can use your ANA miles to fly on any of these other airlines (subject to availability).
The trick is to find availability for seats that can be booked with Star Alliance partners. The good news is that ANA is one of the best sites to perform searches for Star Alliance partner availability. Read about how to find Star Alliance availability here.
ANA Partners
ANA also has several non Star Alliance partners that you can book with.
ANA non-alliance partners
How to Get ANA miles from credit cards
Aeroplan is a transfer partner of two major reward programs:
There’s also the ANA Card USA. It has an annual fee of $70 and offers 5,000 miles upon your first purchase. This abysmal sign-up bonus should be a last resort and I would only consider it if you just had to have the 5,000 miles and had exhausted all opportunities with American Express.
Unique program policies
ANA has a few unique program policies. For example:
You can pool points with other family members but they must be registered and you must “apply” while paying for the application fee with 1,000 ANA miles
You can put reservations on hold for 24 to 48 hours by calling in (although YMMV)
Cancellations cost 3,000 ANA miles per person
In addition to these unique policies, there are several other booking policies. I don’t wont to bog down readers with all of them, so here are some of the important ones:
You must begin your trip within one year of ticket issuance
You can apply from 9:00 a.m. (Japan time) of 355 days before your boarding day (not including the date of departure) until 96 hours before departure.
You are able to change the boarding date or flight up to 24 hours before departure.
The name of the passenger, and the name of the individual supplying the miles cannot be changed.
The airline, passenger, sector, and route cannot be changed. (However, in certain cases where both ANA and Air Japan operate flights over the same sector, passengers may switch between the 2 airlines.)
ANA definitely implements some unique booking policies
Fuel surcharges
You are almost always going to incur fuel surcharges when using ANA miles to book award flights. However, United Airlines is an exception, and thus can be a very valuable partner to redeem miles with. Air Canada and Air New Zealand are also great partners to use to avoid or mitigate charges.
The surcharges imposed by ANA aren’t the highest in the industry and many can be quite reasonable, but they are often pretty much impossible to avoid unless you book United Airline/Air Canada flights. For a closer look on fuel surcharges, keep reading further.
Stopovers and Open Jaws
The rules section for “transfer partners” on ANA’s website is a little unclear but after playing around with bookings on the website and calling in to verify, I realized that the below rules apply to both ANA bookings and bookings with Star Alliance partners
1) One stopover is allowed on either leg
2) One open jaw is allowed subject to the following rules:
When the point of departure and final point of destination differ, both locations must be within the same country.
This means you can fly out of Chicago and come back to Houston, for example. (Confusingly, many regions like Europe and the U.S./Canada are considered one “country.”)
If the destination of your outbound trip and the point of departure of your inbound trip are different, they must be within the same area.
This is what confused me because they use the term “area” versus “zone” and then they provide a small chart that doesn’t completely describe the areas. (See the chart below.) Thus, if you’re wanting to explore options for open jaw for inbound flights, I suggest experimenting with the website or calling in to see if the destination of your outbound trip and point of departure of your inbound trip fall within the same “area.”
November 25, 2016 update: the website is clearer on this point now.
For zones in which the destination of your outbound trip and the point of departure of your inbound trip are different, the required number of miles will be calculated by halving the required number of miles for each zone and adding them together.
The stopover can be combined with the open jaw rules for pretty flexible routing that can somewhat make up for the lack of one way redemptions in some cases. For example, I was able to book the following on the website:
Outbound trip:
IAD -> LHR [stopover] -> CDG
Inbound trip:
LHR [open jaw]-> IAH [open jaw]
I called in just to make sure that this was a valid booking and didn’t get a 100% yes — it was more like, “we are pretty sure you can do that but the only way we can tell you for sure is if you transfer miles to ANA…” Thus, while this route should work according to the rules above, I’d always try to double check with ANA before planning on such a booking.
ANA sweet spots
ANA has several sweets spots that are worth mentioning.
Here’s a summary of the sweet spots for ANA:
North America to Europe
Business class: 88,000 miles
Economy: 55,000 miles
North America to South America
Business class: 88,000 miles
Economy: 55,000 miles
North America to Africa and the Middle East
Business class: 104,000 miles
Economy: 65,000 miles
North America to Japan
Business class: 75,000 miles
Economy: 40,000 miles
North America to Asia 1
Business class: 80,000 miles
Economy: 45,000 miles
Keep reading below to see details on booking these sweet spots and to see how much you would pay on fees.
North America to Europe
ANA offers one of the cheapest and most efficient ways to get to Europe with award bookings. Take a look at the award chart below.
Notice the sweet spot from North America:
88,000 in business class
Compare that to the following
Aeroplan: 110,000 miles
American Airlines: 115,000
Delta: 125,000
United: 115,000 miles (140,000 miles if booked with alliance partner)
Here’s a real world example of a flight between IAD and LHR. First, you can see how much this trip would cost on United’s website.
United offers flights from North America to Europe for 115,000 miles but only if you fly with United. Partner airlines require 140,000 miles!
So you’d be looking at 115,000 miles assuming you were able to find United availability. If you booked the same trip on another partner airline, you’d be looking at 140,000 miles!
Now, take a look below at how much this same flight would cost with ANA miles.
ANA requires only 88,000 miles and $183.70 to fly business class roundtrip to London from North America
88,000 miles plus $183.70 in fees to fly business class from North America to Europe is an absolute bargain, espcially given the product level of ANA.
And the deal is even sweeter when you book with Air Canada because the fees go down to $68!
But remember, those low fees are with flying United and Air Canada. Here is an example of what you’re looking at if you can’t get around the fuel surcharges
North America to Europe with TAP Portugal requires $613 in feesNorth America to Europe with Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa requires $497 in fees
As you can see, the fuel surcharges can be pretty hefty and so I’d try my best to find availability on a United or Air Canada flight to avoid the charges.
Getting more value with stopovers
Now let’s say you wanted to add a bit more value to the prior trip from D.C. to London by making London a stopover en route to Paris, and let’s just throw in an open jaw back to Houston so you can see how it works.
So this flight path is going to look like this:
IAD -> LHR [stopover] -> CDG
CDG -> IAH [open jaw]
This route is legal because it has one stopover in the zone of your destination [CDG in Europe] and you are returning to the same zone of your departure [United States and Canada]. (You could also make your second leg depart from anywhere within the same “area.”)
So let’s see how much more we’d pay in fees.
So that’s $155 more in fees to get the extra addition of Paris to your London trip.
If you searched long enough you could probably find better stop over deals than this but I noticed that a lot of the stopovers in Europe would incur pretty significant fees. For a true budget flyer, it might make more sense to just buy a one-way ticket on a budget airliner to your desired stopover location and then open jaw back from there to North America.
For example you could do:
IAD -> LHR
London -> Paris [with budget airline]
CDG [open jaw] -> IAD
And finally, don’t forget about economy flights from North America to Europe… at only 55,000 miles, that’s not a bad deal at all.
Therefore, ANA is one of the best options for getting to Europe from North America!
North America to South America
Getting to South America can be a lucrative way to redeem ANA miles, too. In fact, with the potential for lower surcharges, I’d argue there’s even better value in flying to South America than to Europe in business class. For example, Houston to Rio De Janerio is only 88,000 miles in business class and the fees are only $62!
Here are the miles required by other airlines or this route.
Aeroplan: 110,000 miles
American Airlines: 115,000 miles
Delta: 150,000 miles
United: 110,000 miles
88,000 miles and $62.24 for North America to Brazil in business class!
Getting more value with stopovers
Let’s say you were planning a larger scale trip to South America where you wanted to see Rio de Janerio, Santiago Chile (and maybe take a flight to Easter Island), and Lima, Peru (and take a short flight to Cusco to get to Machu Picchu).
For the same amount of 88,000 miles you could get to Rio de Janerio, Santiago, Chile, and Lima, Peru. You’d still have to cover your tickets from Rio to Santiago, Easter Island, and Cusco, but having everything else worked out with business class tickets for only 88,000 miles would be great.
A sample flight path would like this:
Outbound: IAH – YYZ -> GIG
Inbound: SCL[open jaw] -> LIM [stopover] -> IAH
This is all legal because your inbound leg departs from the same area (SCL in South America) as the destination of your outbound leg (GIG in South America) and you only have one stopover on your route (LIM which is also in the area of your destination).
The best part of this routing is that your fees would only come out to $101.25.
Take a look at what this itinerary looks like booked on the ANA website. Again, when I called in to verify this route I got the same “we’re 99% confident you can book this route but you’ll need to transfer your miles to ANA for us be sure.”
Note: you could probably find better routings not flying through Canada but I just wanted to show how much value you could get from 88,000 miles!
Total fees number to only $101.25!
Also, economy awards from North America to South America can really be bargains at only 55,000 round trip!
North America to Africa and the Middle East
104,000 in business class to Africa and the Middle East in business class is another bargain, in my opinion. Availability might sometimes be an issue, especially without the added flexibility of one way awards but being able to get to places like South Africa and Dubai in business class for 104,000 miles round trip is pretty phenomenal.
Aeroplan: 165,000
American Airlines: 140,000
Delta: 170,000
United: 140,000 (160,000 on partners)
Just keep an eye out for those surcharges, as you can see on the routes below they can be quite pricey. (Partner Etihad is known for having little to no surcharges, so seek availability with them.)
$498 in fees with Turkish Airlines$593 in fees with Ethiopian Airlines
Also, economy awards from North America to Africa and the Middle East can really be bargains at only 65,000 round trip!
Getting more value with stopovers
Don’t forget that Africa and the Middle East are part of the same zone (Zone 8). That means you would be able to combine a trip to the Middle East with your trip to South Africa. I struggled to find some availability for this trip so I wasn’t able to price out the fees but with enough time and willingness you could probably secure this route for a mere 104,000 miles.
Partner Restrictions
There are some restrictions when booking with certain partners that you should be aware of:
Even if your itinerary includes ANA flights, the Chart of miles required for Partner Flight Awards will apply if the itinerary includes even one flight partner airline.
Flight award passengers cannot use Suite Class, First Class and Business Class on certain aircraft flown by Singapore Airlines (A380, A380 and B777-300ER).
Flight awards for Hawaiian Airlines flights can only be used only be used for flights within the Hawaiian islands.
When you book directly with ANA you are subject to different rules. They operate with a different map and on a seasonal basis.
They have low season, regular season, and high season, which change for different years. Take a look at the season chart for North America/Europe and Japan.
There are some real sweet spots for getting to Japan and Asia 1 (China, Guam, Hong Kong, Macau, Philippine, Taiwan).
The following rates apply during low season:
North America to Japan
Business class: 75,000 miles
Economy: 40,000 miles
North America to Asia 1
Business class: 80,000 miles
Economy: 45,000 miles
The drawback is that you’re going to have to pay fuel surcharges for ANA flights. The good news is that they really aren’t that bad. In fact, as you can see below, the total fees for flying ANA from North America to Japan are actually cheaper than those including a United flight!
Since there is one partner leg on this trip, the partner rate of 90,000 miles applyOnly 75,000 miles and $85 in fees for round trip business class to Japan is great!
Remember, that while one stop over is allowed on ANA flights, no stopovers can be made for flights departing from Japan.
Final Word
So there you have it, ANA is one of the most valuable transfer partners of American Express Membership Rewards and Starwood and should definitely be considered an option if you’re planning a trip from North America to any of the zones discussed above.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time credit card rewards/travel expert and has earned and redeemed millions of miles to travel the globe. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.
Guide to Booking Flights with Aeroplan Miles
After several disappointing (and quite drastic) devaluations over the past few years, Aeroplan miles aren’t quite the valuable currency they once were. However, there are still some valuable perks and ways for you to redeem Aeroplan miles that surpass other airlines. This article will highlight some of the most valuable ways to use Aeroplan miles when booking trips.
Star Alliance
Aeroplan (Air Canada) is a member of the Star Alliance, the largest airline alliance out of the big three (One World, Star Alliance, and SkyTeam). This means that you can use your Aeroplan miles to fly on these other airlines (subject to availability).
The trick is to find availability for seats that can be booked with Star Alliance partners. The good news is that Aeroplan has one of, if not the best, websites to perform searches for Star Alliance partner availability. Read about how to find Star Alliance availability here.
How to Get Aeroplan miles from credit cards
Aeroplan is a transfer partner of two major reward programs:
I personally value the transferability to Aeroplan because I live near a United Airlines hub and fly them often. United transfers at a 2:1 ratio from SPG and is not a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards, so I originally thought I was out of luck. However, because I can book United flights with Aeroplan (sometimes with far fewer miles as shown below), I really value the transfer potential here.
There’s also the TD Aeroplan Visa, which offers a 25,000 mile sign-up bonus. You get the 25,000 miles with only $1,000 in spend within the first 3 months of account opening and the $95 annual fee is waived the first year so it’s not a bad deal.
These three options make it pretty easy to accumulate miles for Aeroplan and can make life a lot easier for folks who rely on United Airlines for reward seats.
Avoid costly fuel surcharges
The first thing to look at when redeeming Aeroplan miles is avoiding fuel surcharges. These fees can put a huge dent in your wallet and really take away from your savings.
For example, take a look at the next two flights below.
Notice anything different?
There’s a huge difference in the price. It’s a difference of $190 USD vs $834 USD due to fuel surcharges, so always do your best to book with a partner that does not incur fuel surcharges when booking with Aeroplan.
The following airlines do not carry surcharges when you book them through Aeroplan:
Air China
Brussels
EgyptAir
Ethiopian
EVA Air
Scandinavian
Singapore
Swiss
Turkish
United
LOT (has small surcharges)*
Stopovers and Open Jaws
Aeroplan is one of the rewards programs that allow for stopovers and open jaws and they are pretty generous with those. If you’re unfamiliar with these concepts, I suggest reading up on maximizing open jaw and stop overs. In short, stopovers allow you to break up a route so that you can spend time somewhere on your way to your destination. So if you are flying from Chicago to Paris, you could stop over in Geneva en route to Paris.
Open jaws on the other hand allow you to return or depart from from a different destination. So, for example, you could fly from Chicago to Paris and then have your return route be London to Chicago. You would be responsible for getting from Paris to London, however.
Stop overs and open jaws can get a little complex but they can add significant value to your redemptions, essentially offering you free one-way flights.
Air Canada has very generous open jaw and stop over rules.
So here’s a breakdown of the Aeroplan rules on stop overs and open jaws.
On roundtrip rewards, stopovers are permitted as follows:
Travel within Canada or between Canada and the Continental USA (not including Hawaii/Puerto Rico):
One stopover permitted in addition to the point of turnaround. One open jaw is permitted in lieu of the one stopover.
Between Canada/Cont. USA and Hawaii/Puerto Rico/Mexico/Central America/Caribbean:
Rule for rewards containing only Air Canada flight: Two stopovers are permitted in addition to the point of turnaround. One open jaw is permitted in lieu of one stopover.
Rule for rewards containing a minimum of one flight on a Star Alliance partner other than Air Canada: One stopover is permitted in addition to the point of turnaround. One open jaw is permitted in addition to the one stopover.
Intercontinental travel (travel between two continents):
Two stopovers permitted in addition to the point of turnaround. One open jaw is permitted in lieu of one of the two stopovers.
Intracontinental travel (travel within the same continent) except for travel within Canada/Continental USA, or between Canada/Cont. USA and Hawaii/Puerto Rico/Mexico/Central America/Caribbean:
Stopovers are not permitted. One open jaw is permitted.
North America to Europe
Aeroplan is one of the best ways to get to Europe from North America. Photo by Daniel Gillaspia
I think the best way to utilize Aeroplan miles right now is to book flights from North America to Europe. For Aeroplan, Europe is divided into two regions (Europe 1 and Europe 2). I’ll use a booking to a country found in Europe 1 as an example of how lucrative these redemptions can be.
Europe 1 consists of the following countries:
Austria
Belgium
Denmark
France
Germany
Ireland
Italy
Luxembourg
The Netherlands
Norway
Portugal
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
The United Kingdom
Let’s say you want to go from Chicago to Paris in business class on Swiss Airlines. This trip will require 110,000 Aeroplan miles. Compare this with the miles required when booking with other airlines:
United: 140,000 miles (with alliance partners)
American Airlines: 115,000 miles (no stop overs)
Delta: 125,000 miles (no stop overs)
As you can see, it’s a great deal but the deal gets even better. That’s because on international flights, Aeroplan allows:
“Two stopovers permitted in addition to the point of turnaround. One open jaw is permitted in lieu of one of the two stopovers.”
In this case, the “point of turnaround” would be Paris and so you’d be able to book two additional destinations with this itinerary, free of charge. I’ll show you how it would work.
Let’s say you wanted to visit Geneva, Switzerland and Brussels, Belgium in addition to your destination: Paris France. Your trip would look like this:
Chicago (ORD) -> Geneva (GVA) [stopover] -> Paris (CDG)
Paris (CDG) -> Brussels (BRU) [stopover] -> Chicago (ORD)
In order to find availability for this route, I would suggest researching on Aeroplan’s website, segment by segment to that you can find the best flights available and then call in to book them. Below are the steps I recently took to search for the above trip, segment by segment.
Here’s the first leg, from Chicago to Geneva.
The second leg from Geneva to Paris…
Now you want to head from Paris to Brussels…
And finally, it’s time to go home again to Chi-Town.
So let’s breakdown how much you’d spend if you booked these reward flights separately.
You would have spent 155,000 miles, or 45,000 more miles for these flights if you did not utilize the stopovers! Instead, you’re only using 110,000 miles to see three countries in business class for a grand total of ~$175 USD in fees — pretty remarkable value in my opinion.
And let’s see how much you would be paying in cash for these same flights.
Chicago (ORD) -> Geneva (GVA): $7,617
Geneva (GVA) -> Paris (CDG): $430
Paris (CDG) -> Brussels (BRU): $603
Brussels (BRU) -> Chicago (ORD): $3,025
The total cash price of these flights is $11,675.
Subtract the taxes and fees and you come out to $11,500 USD worth of value. The cents per mile value for your 110,000 redemption thus comes out to 10.45 cents per mile. That is a great redemption rate!
Many people value Membership Rewards at around 2 cents per point so if you transferred Membership Rewards to Aeroplan for this redemption you arguably more than quintuple the value of your points!
One way awards
With Aeroplan you can book one way rewards for 50% of the value as a round trip reward. Don’t get confused if you come across articles stating you need to be traveling to or from North America to book a one-way reward ticket — that rule was changed recently in December 2015. Now, you can book one-way rewards for 50% of the value of a round-trip ticket from anywhere in the globe.
No stop overs on one way flights
Aeroplan does not allow stopovers on oneway flights. From their rules:
“Stopovers are not permitted on one-way flight rewards.”
Lap-child fares
Aeroplan is known for having some of the best lap-child fares. Basically if you’re going to be flying with an infant on an international flight, you’ll incur the following expenses:
Economy Class – $50 or 5,000 Aeroplan Miles
Premium Economy Class – $75 or 7,500 Aeroplan Miles
Business Class – $100 or 10,000 Aeroplan Miles
First Class – $125 or 12,500 Aeroplan Miles
These are some of the best rates that you will come across, so if you’re going to be traveling with a little one then definitely consider Aeroplan.
Cancellation fees
The cancellation fees are pretty reasonable for Areoplan. If you cancel a booking 22 days before departure, you pay $90 and get your fees refunded and points redeposited to do as you please with them. If you cancel within 22 days of your departure, you must use those points within one year of booking on a single reservation, or you lose those miles.
For example, let’s say you have a flight booked for next week and you cancel it today. You will then have one year from the time of booking to use those 110,000 miles. But if you use that credit for a 60,000 mile redemption, you lose out on 50,000 miles so be careful. Also, if you cancel within 22 days of your departure, you won’t be charged the $90 fee until you rebook your flight.
Phone service
Aeroplan has some of the best customer service phone representatives that can make finding your flights much easier. Sometimes the reps might even be able to find you flights that weren’t showing up on the Aeroplan website. Unfortunately, they charge you a $30 fee for booking over the phone and it’s very rare for them to ever waive the fee. But considering the level of service and potential savings you might come across, the $30 fee isn’t that big of a deal.
RTW options
I’ll have to reserve another post to discuss the RTW (round the world) options at length but Aeroplan is known for having some valuable “round the world” redemptions due to their stop over and open jaw policies. To read more about booking a RTW trip with Aerplan check here.
Overall, don’t discount Aeroplan, especially if you’re interested in getting to Europe from North America with a couple of stopovers, because that redemption value is definitely among the best!
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and creator of the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned full-time credit card rewards/travel expert and has earned and redeemed millions of miles to travel the globe. Since 2014, his content has been featured in major publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, US News, and Business Insider. Find his full bio here.
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