How to Use Frequent Flyer Miles: The Mega FAQ - Extra Pack of Peanuts The goal of this FAQ is to serve as a guide for anyone (from total newbie to veteran) who has questions about how to use and redeem their frequent flyer miles to book a ticket. I’ve attempted to arrange the questions in an order from the most basic to the more advanced while also keeping some semblance of continuity between the topics discussed. I want this to be a “living document”, so if you have any other questions I’ve missed or things you want explained, please ask, either by commenting below or by emailing. 1. I start with this basic question because that is EXACTLY what I thought when I first heard about frequent flyer miles. For example, an economy class roundtrip ticket between Philadelphia and San Francisco will cost 25,000 miles but the distance you will actually be flying is about 5,000 miles roundtrip. 2. Each airline has different charts that determine how many miles you’ll need to fly to and from each place. 3. Yes. 4. That’s up to you. 5. No, not usually. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
9 niche travel sites to bookmark With the holidays rapidly approaching, it's hard to suppress those daydreams about booking a one-way trip out of dodge. But if the thought of braving long lines and cramped cabins is enough to make your stomach turn, we've found plenty of sites that do the hard work for you. Here are nine travel sites to bookmark this weekend: 1. ITA's Software Matrix As we've written before, there's plenty to love about Matrix. Memorize some of its routing codes and you'll have a field day finding fares that fall within your criteria for layover stops, airports and seats. The only downside to using ITA is that you can't book fares through its system. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Now see 23 secrets to booking cheap fares > More From Business Insider
How To Circumnavigate the Globe for Less Than $500: Wayne's Story - Extra Pack of Peanuts Posted By Trav Wayne’s Around the World Route Today, we welcome in Wayne, an EPoP reader extraordinaire who recently completed an amazing around the world journey using frequent flyer miles. A year ago, Wayne was a frequent flyer newbie and now, he’s putting together itineraries that would make any frequent flyer veteran jealous! Not only will Wayne’s story inspire you, but he’ll show you exactly how he did it so that you can do the same! Take it away, Wayne! Normally, for the Christmas/New Year’s Eve holiday season I spend a couple weeks visiting friends and family in Texas. I visited four countries and circumnavigated the world! I hear the muttering: “That must have cost a fortune”! Nope. I’ll tell you exactly how I was able to get the tickets for less than $500 (with a big assists from my friend Ryan Guzy and Extra Pack of Peanuts) and more importantly, how you can do the same! First, The Offers 100k Avios points? Isn’t life wonderful? I Have Miles. . . First Stop: Brazil…via Chile Boom!
The Flight Deal | Beginner’s Guide on How To Use Matrix by ITA Software. If you are a frequent reader of our site, you know that we use Matrix by ITA Software to validate almost every deal we publish. We like Matrix by ITA Software for its flexibility, speed and, most importantly, the ability to view monthly fare availability. The trade-off for flexibility and speed is complexity compared to the likes of Kayak or Hipmunk. Matrix by ITA Software was never intended to be a consumer-friendly solution, but if used correctly, it can find very low fares. Login to Matrix by ITA Software and there you are presented with a simple interface to search for fares. We like to enable “Advance routing codes,” have “See calendar of lowest fares” selected, and on the length of stay field, we like to use a date range. On the Advanced routing code field, we enter “aa+” to search only for American. We can easily see that there are only two Fridays with cheap tickets. For more of the latest cheap Flight Deals: Go to the The Flight Deal page Stay Informed on the Latest Deals
Track frequent flyer reward programs and plan your travel AwardWalletkeeps track of yourreward programs such as your frequent flyer miles, HOTEL and credit card points. Currently we are tracking a total of 101,730,378,749 miles and points for our members across 677loyalty programs. It’s as easy as: 1. It is, quite simply, a game changer. Seth Kugel The New York Times I decided the service that best met my needs was AwardWallet, so I’m going to stick with it! Scott J. Los Angeles Times Available on your favorite Android or iOS device Introductory video You have two options, you can connect with another person on AwardWallet, or you can just create another name to better organize your rewards.
The Flight Deal | How to Read Airfare Rules and Use It to Your Advantage We think one of the unique features for all the deals we publish is the “valid travel period.” We obtain that information from the fare rules from each airfare that’s published. Every airfare has a set of rules that governs its applicability. Learning to read it opens new opportunities to take advantage of everything the fare has to offer — things like valid travel periods, blackout dates, and stopovers. Understanding these conditions means you are more empowered to take advantage of it. An easy source for fare rules is Matrix by ITA Software. Clicking on the “rules” link opens up the rules for the fare. Date / Time restrictions: This fare allows travel Monday through Thursday. Seasonal restrictions: This fare is good for travel from the United States until May 2nd. Stopovers: This fare allows for stopover in Area 1 (in airline terms, that’s North America) for $100 extra in each direction. Purchase by: This fare must be purchased by March 31st. How to Take Advantage:
Start Here - Extra Pack of Peanuts I’m Travis, the creator of Extra Pack of Peanuts, and for the last three years, my wife Heather and I have been able to travel the world. We’ve: visited over 20 countries.scuba dived on the Great Barrier Reef.visited the Great Wall of China.rode camels through the desert of India.and, of course, found plenty of time to sip wine in Tuscany and drink beer in Prague. And all because we’re rich! (Take 2) And all because we’ve figured out tricks for how to travel more and spend less. $1,000 plane tickets5 nights at $200/night hotel.Expensive meals out.Maybe a $50/day rental car.One week, THOUSANDS of dollars spent. Since we don’t have all that money to drop, we do things like: Score $5 flights to Rio for the World Cup.Nab $125 tickets to Italy.Stay in 5 bedroom mansions in Breckenridge for freeEnjoy $500/month apartments on the Croatian coast. And if you’ve found our website, I’m guessing you want to do the same. Easy Way to Save Money When Traveling You Don't Need A Lot of Money To Travel Podcast
The Best Places To Hike Around Chicago: Chicagoist Hiking around Chicago is like time-traveling. The land has been heavily shaped, scarred and preserved by the forces of prehistoric glaciers, agriculture, industry and conservationists of the state's unique ecology. It's not unusual to see all of these storylines converging on a single trail. You're bound to run into an old farmhouse or riverside mill powered by a glacial river, no matter where you are. Two of the biggest projects to restore Illinois' tallgrass prairie occupy the same land as the Fermilab accelerator and an old army arsenal. You're never too far from history, but you can get away from the city to enjoy spring wildflowers, frozen waterfalls, grazing bison, towering dunes and lush forests along meandering rivers. A few words of warning for any trip to the outdoors: Always check the weather conditions, and call ahead or check online before you head out—Mother Nature can put a trail out of commission unexpectedly. Another way to lose yourself in woods: Ryerson Woods