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Flight Intel


To ensure that Milez.biz users are always well-informed with the latest industry intelligence and our site boasts the most up-to-date data possible, we collect anecdotal material about award flights, organized by destination pairings and frequent flyer program. We’re always looking for the following type of information:
  • What are the fees and surcharges that travelers needed to pay in order to book their award flight?
  • How was the availability of a given route(s) when it came to booking the award flight?
  • Are there tricks that program members used in order to optimize their redemption?
  • Which specific flights were used for the award ticket? Are some flights better than others?
  • How does this award ticket compare to other programs and how does it compare to a ticket bought with cash?
  • Are there specific sweet spots in the award tables that one should try to take advantage of?
  • Are there exceptions to the award tables where our calculations are not accurate?
  • What was your overall experience with a particular award ticket?
  • Was it worth cashing your miles in for a given flight?
Let us know if you have intel you would like to share. We’d also be more than happy to link to your trip reports and sources, too! Click on the "comment" button for any of the miles calculations or email us through the contact page.

New York (JFK) to Doha (DOH) with Miles from Privilege Club (Qatar Airways)

The North America to Middle East itinerary is a sweet spot in the Qmiles award chart. Not only is a round trip for 70 K in economy or 140 K in business very competitive for the New York to Doha flights, but the Qatar Airways on-board is also top-notch.

7 August, 2017

Toronto (YYZ) to Halifax (YHZ) with Miles from [OLD] Aeroplan (Air Canada) / Star Alliance

Depending on the connections that are needed to travel between Toronto Pearson and Halifax the fees charged by Aeroplan can very quite a bit. The direct flight incurs fees of about CAD 84, but the fee can go up to CAD 122 if connections are needed (not all connections incur the same fees).

Business class and economy class have the same fees. So the total surcharges for a round-trip flight could be anywhere between CAD 164 to CAD 244.

Flight to and from the Toronto Island Airport (YTZ) can actually be a little cheaper.

22 June, 2017

Toronto (YTZ) to Halifax (YHZ) with Miles from [OLD] Aeroplan (Air Canada) / Star Alliance

A connection in Montreal is needed to travel between Halifax and Billy Bishop Airport in Toronto (YTZ). The fees per one-way segment vary between CAD 78 to CAD 143, depending on the additional connections that are needed.

Business class and economy class have the same fees. So the total surcharges for a round-trip flight could be anywhere between CAD 163 to CAD 286.

Flights to and from Toronto Pearson (YYZ) have similar fees.

22 June, 2017

San Francisco (SFO) to Munich (MUC) with Miles from [OLD] Aeroplan (Air Canada) / Star Alliance

The one-way journey from SFO to MUC can be booked for only CAD 15 in surcharges if booked through Turkish Airlines and connecting in Istanbul.

Business class seats can be difficult to find in the summer months, but United Airlines recently opened a good number of seats for the direct flight between San Francisco and Munich in the summer of 2017.  The one-way fees from the US West Coast to Europe are only CAD 7!

See an article on milecards.com here.

20 June, 2017

San Francisco (SFO) to Berlin (TXL) with Miles from Flying Blue (Air France, KLM) / SkyTeam

Flying from San Francisco (SFO) to Berlin one-way for 25,000 Flying Blue miles is a pretty good miles redemption. The fees for the one-way journey are approximately USD 100

Read a short trip report here:
https://www.mightytravels.com/2017/06/air-france-economy-review-san-francisco-to-paris-af-85-and-air-france-klm-lounge-san-francisco-review/

20 June, 2017

Washington (DCA) to Frankfurt (FRA) with Miles from United Mileage Plus / Star Alliance

There is pretty good business class availability for flights between Washington and Frankfurt in the summer of 2017; this includes both United (UA) and Lufthansa (LH) flights. The Lufthansa award fee is  a little more than the United flights because they need to be booked as a Star Alliance redemption.

See an article on milecards.com here.

9 June, 2017

Newark (EWR) to Hamburg (HAM) with Miles from Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer / Star Alliance

Business class seats can be difficult to find in the summer months, but Singapore Airlines' Star Alliance partner United Airlines recently opened a good number of seats for the flight between Newark and Hamburg in the summer of 2017.  Hamburg is a convenient destination for Northern Europe and the Mid-West and East Coast are easily accessible from Newark. There is a small chances that you will be on a flight with the new Polaris seats.

See an article on milecards.com here.

9 June, 2017

San Francisco (SFO) to Munich (MUC) with Miles from United Mileage Plus

Business class seats can be difficult to find in the summer months, but United Airlines recently opened a good number of seats for the flight between San Francisco and Munich in the summer of 2017. 

See an article on milecards.com here.

9 June, 2017

Newark (EWR) to Hamburg (HAM) with Miles from United Mileage Plus

Business class seats can be difficult to find in the summer months, but United Airlines recently opened a good number of seats for the flight between Newark and Hamburg in the summer of 2017.  Hamburg is a convenient destination for Northern Europe and the Mid-West and East Coast are easily accessible from Newark. There is even a small chances that you will be on a flight with the new Polaris seats.

See an article on milecards.com here.

9 June, 2017

Boston (BOS) to Copenhagen (CPH) with Miles from [OLD] Aeroplan (Air Canada) / Star Alliance

Aeroplan members can redeem the direct flight on SAS between Boston and Copenhagen very inexpensively (CAD 45 one way). However, this particular route is served by an older Boeing 737 and does not actually have a business class cabin. So it is probably best to save your miles and book only economy. Most other destinations SAS flies to in North America (ARN-ORD or EWR-OSL) are served by the newer Airbus 330-300, which does have a business class cabin (and the fees are still low).

27 April, 2017