Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
I recently booked my friend a ticket from Los Angeles, where he lives, to Honolulu, where I’ve been this winter, to Washington, DC where he’s meeting another friend. He’s flying United flights, but instead of paying the 50,000 miles United would have charged for Saver award space booked within a few days of departure or […]
Author: Scott Grimmer
The Two Ways to Value Credit Card Sign Up Bonuses
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
A note from Sarah Page: Scott originally wrote this post years ago, but it is still very much valid and important today. Once a month we update a list of what, are in our opinion, the best travel credit cards on the market. We also update a similar list, but for small business credit cards, […]
Airbnb Cancellation Puts Me Up in Hilton Times Square for Free
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
Hey, it’s Scott Grimmer–remember me? I founded MileValue in March 2012 and sold it to longtime writer Sarah Page last year, so I could spend more time with my grandchildren and golfing, like all retired people. I asked SP if I could write a guest post about my recent Airbnb snafu-success because I thought the […]
How to Book a Trip to Fiji with Miles
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
Fiji is a year-round tropical destination, known for its beaches, diving, and hiking. Fiji Airways (formerly Air Pacific) flies from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Honolulu to Fiji. You can book Fiji Airways award space with American Airlines or Alaska Airlines miles. American Airlines charges: 40,000 miles each way between the United States and Fiji […]
Citi ThankYou Points Transfer to Avianca LifeMiles
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
Citi ThankYou Points have added Avianca LifeMiles as a 1:1 transfer partner. This is amazing news because Avianca LifeMiles can be used to book Star Alliance award space–the world’s most available–without fuel surcharges at fair award prices–often much better than the prices offered by United MileagePlus for the same awards. To transfer ThankYou Points to […]
How to See Two Months of United Award Space at Once (Instead of One Week)
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
In addition to United’s recent devaluation, United recently made its award searching worse. If you search on the home page for an award–like say New York to Paris next June– you’ll get one week of award prices in one cabin. You used to get shown two months of award space in economy and premium cabins. […]
Follow Me on Instagram @scottgrimmer
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
I’ve always been a terrible photographer, which you might have noticed from my reviews of First Class flights, but I’ve enjoyed others’ photography more than any other visual art. I finally decided to learn a bit about photography and bought myself a used full-frame DSLR and a good 50mm prime lens. This sets me up […]
Vote for MileValue as Best Miles & Points Blog
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
MileValue was nominated by USA Today as the Best Miles-and-Points Blog. Through November 6, 2017 at noon ET, you can vote for MileValue here. You can vote once per day, just by clicking vote without having to give any personal information. Winning this beauty contest would be nice, but I already feel like a winner. I’ve […]
All the 12,500 Avios Awards to Hawaii
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
British Airways Avios are fantastic for short, direct, economy flights on American Airlines and Alaska Airlines because the number of Avios needed for an award is determined only by the distance and cabin of each flight. One sweet spot with Avios that I’ve noted over and over is that flights from the west coast to […]
British Airways Visa 100k Avios Sign Up Bonus Ends Tomorrow
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
According to Reddit contributor epala89, this offer will end as of 9/30/17, which is tomorrow. If you were wavering on this card, now’s the time! Remember, the infamous Chase 5/24 rule doesn’t apply to this card. Even if you’ve opened more than five personal credit cards in the last two years, you are still eligible. […]
Three Credit Cards I’ll Never Cancel
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
There are a few reasons I would never cancel a credit card. I wouldn’t cancel a card: With no annual fee. There’s not much point, and eventually these old accounts will improve the average age of my credit accounts which will help my credit score. Plus presumably the card offers at least one benefit that has some value […]
Citi ThankYou Premier vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred: Better Card?
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
In a comment on a previous post about a calculator to determine how many ThankYou Points you’ll earn from using the Citi ThankYou Premier Card, DaveS asked: I’ve previously used the Chase Sapphire Preferred card as my “keeper” fee card for travel and dining. [The ThankYou Premier] looks like it duplicates much of what the CSP does […]
ITA Matrix: How to Search for Cheap Airfare with Flexibility & Other Tips
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
I often use the ITA Software Matrix, which is one of the most useful tools to search for available flights and low fares. Google has another aggregator now that is faster than ITA Matrix–Google Flights–which is also very useful with a smoother user interface. But if you know the tricks and codes to input into ITA […]
Congress: Please Don’t Try to Protect Us from Airlines By Limiting Fees or Increasing Seat Sizes
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
Dear Senators and Congressmen, According to a report Friday on thehill.com, after years of failing to pass seat-size regulations because of Republic opposition, seat-size language has now been added to House and Senate bills that are very likely to pass: The Republican-led Congress is warming up to the idea of creating new consumer protections for […]
Full Offer Analysis of the IHG Rewards Club Credit Card. What’s It Worth?
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
The Chase IHG Rewards Club Select comes with 80,000 IHG points after spending $1,000 in the first three months. That’s its highest sign up bonus ever. The card also comes with a free night certificate every anniversary, a 10% rebate on the IHG points you redeem, and automatic Platinum Status. What’s all that worth? Quick […]
Award Space on 20k Flights to Europe and South America, 25k to Asia
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
Recently I updated “You Can Still Book on the Old American Airlines with Alaska or Etihad Miles” with the amazing news that 16 months after American Airlines devalued its award chart, Etihad and Alaska still let you book American Airlines flights at the old rates. The best rates on the old American Airlines chart were […]
New: 80,000 IHG Points (Up to 16 Nights) and Anniversary Night Credit Card Offer
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
The IHG Rewards Club Select Credit Card just increased its sign up bonus to 80,000 points after spending $1,000 in the first three months. This is the highest offer ever, and a must have for several reasons. 80,000 IHG points are enough for 16 free nights at the PointBreaks rate. The card offers an anniversary […]
You Can Still Book on Old American Airlines Chart with Alaska or Etihad Miles
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
Still alive 16 months later. How long will it last? On March 22, 2016, the American Airlines devaluation struck. American Airlines DevAAluation is Live 🙁https://t.co/rBcWMHUvbz pic.twitter.com/2rYyEghhwV — MileValue (@MileValue) March 22, 2016 However, you can still book American Airlines flight at the old prices if you use Alaska or Etihad miles. I don’t know how long […]
Buy American Airlines Miles for 1.72 Cents. Good Deal?
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
American Airlines is offering up to 100,000 bonus miles + a 10% discount when you purchase American Airlines miles through July 31, 2017. If you buy the largest amount possible, you can get them for as little as 1.72 cents each. That’s the cheapest I’ve ever seen American Airlines miles for sale (we also saw them on sale for 1.72 […]
Hurry: New York to Copenhagen for $390 Roundtrip and No Bag Fees
Written by Scott Grimmer @ MileValue
I tweeted this deal first from @MileValueAlerts. Follow @MileValueAlerts on Twitter and follow these directions to get a text message every time I tweet from that account. I tweet from @MileValueAlerts only a few times a month because it is designed to be used only for the best and most limited-time deals–like mistake fares–so that you aren’t bombarded by text […]