travel hacking airlines
TRANSCRIPT
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T R AV E L H A C K I N G :
A I R L I N E S
B E N H U G H E S | @ R U B I E T Y | H T T P : / / F L I G H T L E V E R A G E . C O M
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1 . A I R FA R E P E R U N I T
D I S TA N C E VA R I E S W I D E LY
2 . M I L E S E A R N E D( M O S T LY ) = M I L E S F L O W N
3 . A I R L I N E R U L E S H AV E
L O O P H O L E S
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F I N D I N G C H E A P
A I R F A R E
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P H L T O P E K : $ 4 4 8 ( 2 . 5 C P M )
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L A T O T O K Y O : $ 4 4 5 ( 2 . 7 C P M )
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H I D D E N C I T Y T I C K E T I N G
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H I D D E N C I T Y T I C K E T I N G
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V O L U N TA R Y
D E N I E D
B O A R D I N G
( V D B )
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F R E Q U E N T F LY E R M I L E S
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M I L E S C A N B E A C C R U E D T O A N D
R E D E E M E D O N
A N Y O T H E R A I R L I N E I N
T H E A L L I A N C E !
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A D VA N TA G E S O F U S I N G M I L E S
• Last-Minute Travel (Funerals, Random Trips, Binds)
• Lower Cancelation Fees, Free for Top Elites
• Flexible Routing Rules
• Stopovers & Open Jaws
• Premium Cabins
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I N T E R N A T I O N A L
L I E - F L A T
B U S I N E S S C L A S S
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I N T E R N A T I O N A LF I R S T C L A S S
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D I S A D V A N TA G E S O F U S I N G M I L E S
• Limited Award Availability - Need to be flexible!
• Mile currencies inflate faster than the US dollar
• Airlines can change the rules at any time
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AWA R D C H A RT H A C K S
&CO MPAR AT I VE AD VAN TAG E
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B R I T I S H A I R W AY S < 6 5 0 M I : 4 , 5 0 0 AV I O S
• SAN-LAX: $$$Avios: 4,500 (~$65)
• JFK-YYZ: $$$
Avios: 4,500 (~$65)
• LHR-CDG: $$$
Avios: 4,500 (~$65) + ~$20 Taxes
• Lots of places < 650 mi from AA hubs ORD, DFW, MIA
• US Airways now in OneWorld! Add PHL, PHX, CLT
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A A O F F - P E A K T O E U R O P E : 2 0 K
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P H L - D U B - P H L :
1 0 0 K U S A I R W AY S M I L E S I N B U S I N E S S
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M E X - F R A - Z R H ,
Z R H - B K K - C G K ,
C G K - T P E - L A X
L A X - P H X - M E X
L U F T H A N S A 7 4 7 - 8 U P P E R D E C K
S W I S S A 3 4 0 B U S I N E S S
T H A I 7 7 7 B U S I N E S S
E V A 7 7 7 B U S I N E S S
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S F O - N R T - S F O :
2 2 0 K U N I T E D M I L E S I N A N A F I R S T
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Y V R - M U C - F R A ,
F R A - B K K - H K G ,
B K K - H N D ,
N R T - I C N - J F K
L U F T H A N S A A 3 3 0 F I R S T
T H A I A 3 8 0 F I R S T
T H A I 7 4 7 F I R S T ( T W I C E )
A S I A N A 7 4 7 F I R S T
A S I A N A 7 7 7 P R I V AT E S U I T E
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M I L E A G E R U N N I N G
“ I T ’ S A B O U T T H E J O U R N E Y,
N O T T H E D E S T I N AT I O N ”
• Flights for sole purpose of earning miles & elite status
• Destination & dates irrelevant
• Hoping around airports, going nowhere
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B E N E F I T S G I V E N O N
M I L E S F L O W N , N O TP R I C E PA I D
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E L I T E S TAT U S
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A A
E X E C U T I V E
P L A T I N U M
• 100% Bonus on
Redeemable Miles
• Priority Everything
• International First Class
Lounges
• 8 Systemwide Business
Class Upgrade
Certificates
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M I N ( C P M )
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I TA M AT R I X
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S H A N G H A I F O R D I N N E R :
L A X - B N A - O R D - P V G - O R D - M I A - L A X ( 1 9 , 8 5 9 M I )
F O R $ 7 4 1 . 1 0 ( 3 . 7 3 C P M )
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P H I L A D E L P H I A F O R L U N C H ( C H E E S E S T E A K ) :
S A N - E W R - Z F V - E W R - S A N ( 5 , 3 5 0 M I )
F O R $ 1 4 0 . 7 0 ( 2 . 6 3 C P M )
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“ N E T C O S T ” A P P R O A C H T O A I R FA R E
$160 Transcontinental (~7,000 mi with indirect routing)
100% Mile Bonus with United 1K: 14,000 mi earned
14,000mi X ($0.017 / mi) = $238 in Mile Value
Net Cost = Paid ($160) - Mile Value ($238)
Net Cost = Negative $78
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S A M E - D AY C H A N G E S
• Route further out of the way for more miles
• Monitor F cabin loads for upgrade optimization
• Increase voluntary denied boarding changes
• Deliberate book days off with cheaper fares, intend tochange to day before/after
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F L AT- O U T B U Y I N G M I L E S
• US Airways Buy Miles Promo (1.9 cents)
• US Airways Share Miles Promo (1.1 cents)
• American Buy Miles Promos
• Buy Transferrable Currencies & Transfer
(Starwood Buy Miles Promos)
• United Mileage Multiplier when Flying
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R O U N D - T H E - W O R L D
$ 9 9 0 I N L I E - F L AT B U S I N E S S C L A S S !
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L O U N G E A C C E S S H A C K S
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A C C E S S
H O W ?
• Membership ($$$)
• International flights in
premium cabins
• International flights with
elite status
• “Club” or “Executive” CCs(high annual fee)
• Amex Platinum (American,
Delta, US Airways)
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A M E X P L AT
R E F U N D A B L E T I C K E T S
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B U T… T H E T I M E S A R E C H A N G I N G
• Award Chart Devaluations
• Minimum Spend Requirements for Elite Status
• Move to Fully Revenue-Based Mile Earning (Delta)
• American Airlines / US Airways Merger Uncertainty
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T H A N K S !
B E N H U G H E S | @ R U B I E T Y
H T T P : / / T R A V E L . B E N H U G H E S . N A M E | H T T P : / / F L I G H T L E V E R A G E . C O M
• FlyerTalk, MilePoint
• One Mile at a Time
• View from the Wing
• The Points Guy
• MileValue
• HackMyTrip.com