Getting To Fly In Utmost Luxury Is Easy
Flying can be tiring, but not for people flying business or first class. With seats that turn into beds, plenty of legroom, an array of food and drinks, and a host of other comfortable amenities, you won’t even feel that you’re thousands of feet high traversing land and sea. With flight attendants at your beck and call, you certainly get a treatment like royalty. It is no wonder why flying in luxury costs a lot of money for the ordinary traveler. It takes a substantial amount of savings to cover the plane fare, which may as well be spent elsewhere. But thanks to the birth of credit card companies’ miles and points system, anyone with a credit card can now save up for that first class airline travel.
A crash lesson on miles and points
Miles and points are rebates given by a certain brand in return for your ‘loyalty’ to their company. Usually, these are airline companies and hotels. Each company prescribes the rates of earnings, points system, redemption values, and the guidelines. But aside from frequent flyer miles, you get to earn reward points with your bank or credit card company, particularly those cards that have tie-ups with airline and hotel companies. The points system have two kinds:
Fixed-Value Points
You can claim points towards a certain dollar amount of travel, which varies according to the program. The most common rate is 1-2 cents per point towards travel. Your goal is to redeem fix-value points for airline tickets that you could otherwise buy with cash. Fixed-value points are great for redeeming domestic economy tickets, but they won’t be able to get you international business class tickets which usually require at least a hundred thousand airline miles.
Transferable/Flexible Points
The program allows you to transfer points to the bank’s or credit card company’s airline or hotel partners. It provides you a lot of alternatives when it’s time to claim your airline miles because you can look for award availability across partnerships before deciding on a certain mileage currency.
So, how do you cash in on your miles and points to get that luxury travel?
If you have been actively accumulating tons of frequent flyer miles and points over the years, it is best not to use them to redeem cash cards or items that are much easier to save for. Rather, save your miles and points to allow you to eventually redeem business or first class tickets for your next dream vacation. If you don’t fly that often and therefore don’t earn frequent flyer miles, you can still build your points through your credit card purchases until you reach the equivalent points to get business class or first class award tickets.
Save your miles and points to allow you to eventually redeem business or first class tickets for your next dream vacation.
So, why exchange your miles and points for first class tickets?
We are giving you five solid reasons why you should redeem your miles and reward points for luxury airline tickets:
The finest airline service can you yours through miles and points
Top ranking airlines offer first class and business class services and amenities that rival the services and amenities that luxury resorts offer. And in such luxury hotels, you cannot use your miles and points in exchange for accommodations, at least not at a value of 2 cents per point.
Maximize the value of your miles and points
You should be aware of the redemption value you’re redeeming at. It is suggested by miles and points experts that you should redeem your rewards for at least 2 cents per mile or point, or even much more, considering that there are 2% cash-back cards and those that give 5% cash back categories. Though there may be those willing to pay retail value for business or first class ticket, the retail price should serve as a good reference to measure the value that you got. As an example, a roundtrip first class ticket can cost around $25K to $30K, so redeeming 110K miles for a one way first class ticket amounts to a redemption value of about 13 cents per mile.
What you save goes to your vacation
The money that you save from your tickets can simply be spent on your destination. Think about the fact that you get to travel in luxury and then have more than enough funds to cover your vacation – from your accommodations, tours, dining and shopping spree, and souvenir hunting.
You can afford to change bookings
People usually opt for non-refundable tickets because they are less expensive than refundable ones. But the downside, of course, is that you would end up spending more if there would be an emergency that would prevent you from using the ticket. The advantage of most frequent flyer programs is that it is often not expensive to change a ticket, and should you wish to cancel it, you would be paying a fee that costs less than the fee you would pay for a non-refundable ticket.
Get to your destination refreshed
Traveling in business or first class allows you to rest and enjoy your flight. With relaxing and very comfortable cabins and beddings, sleepwear, toiletries, and the fact that you can take a shower or wash up, you can be sure that you’d arrive at your destination completely refreshed and rested. You minimize experiencing a lack of sleep or jet lag because as you’re flying, you’re being pampered by the services the airline offers.
“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” ― Leonardo da Vinci
Plan your next vacation well and start by stacking up on those miles and points to get you your luxury travel tickets. The pleasure of vacationing should as you start flying.
