So, you've started to travel the world on someone else's dime – congrats! But hey, you're not done yet. There's still so much more out there to get the most out of your finite stash of points/miles.

Now, let's get real about flying – it’s sucks. Especially long, international flights, packed in like sardines for hours, barely able to find real sleep. Worse, is if you need to make 3 connections, spending hours in the airport on top of multiplying your time in the air.

This section is about finding that primo award availability—the good stuff! Minimizing your connections, finding non-stop awards, and otherwise not taking giant detours around our planet while stuck inside a more confined version of a homeless shelter in the air.

HOw to find Award Availability

So, you've finally got the miles, and you're dreaming of an easy breezy online flight just like when you paid with your hard earned $? It’s not quite that simple…at least for some airlines. For domestic flights, just click that miles/award option. But for international flights, especially outside United, it gets a bit more complicated.

They key here is to learn your way around airline alliances. There’s only 3 of them, they cover the world, and they let you use miles in one to fly on all the others. This, is where you get creative.

Most airlines (except for the discount ones) belongs to an alliance. See More on Airlines Alliances here. It's important to know this, because this opens up much more international award availability and destinations than what the US carriers can offer on their own planes. The harder it is to find these flights, the better the chances that there will be open award seats. 

Now, let’s say you’ve exhausted all your options, and you're still having trouble finding tickets for a particular date. Try nearby cities either at the departure or destination. For example Amsterdam and Brussels are solid alternatives to Paris due to the high speed trains that link both airports to Paris. If you live in the northeast, New York (Newark, JFK) often has far more international options than other airports in the region.

Feed Your Thirst for Miles

So, you’ve got your first big bonus, and cashed in a free flight or two? Nice move. But let me tell ya, this ain't a one-time thrill ride – it's the opening act to a world of free travel adventures just waiting for you.

Now, I'm not here to shove referral links. This is just a preview of some of the usual bonuses that have graced the scene over the years. Just a sampling, to expand your horizons. Take a look, and buckle in for a wild ride.

Note:

JetBlue and Southwest use very straightforward flight award, where each mile is equal to a certain value for a regular ticket. So all tickets are available for award flights, with no funny business on the busy dates. Take the cost in dollars, convert it into miles. Usually, a mile is worth between 1 to 1.5 cents for these carriers. 

What about hotels? 

Personally I don't think hotel cards are worth it compared to the airline freebies, but there are situations when it makes sense, especially when you would otherwise be splurging cash on fancy hotel, or a busy time of year.

Similar to airlines, in the US, the hotel industry is dominated by 3 leading chains with numerous sub-brands that span the world: Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt. Note that hotel points can vary a LOT in value. Take the two extremes: a Hyatt point is worth almost 5X a Hilton one. 

With the demise of Starwood, at the time of this writing, Hyatt is the last one standing to offer fixed price awards for hotels. This can be valuable, when you’re getting off-season rates while everyone else is paying double.

Treat Yo’Self!: Savor the journey, pick up a card that provides not only more bonus points, but also gives you unlimited lounge access at airports around the world. Imagine a little oasis of calm, away from the crowds passing through the airport, where you can enjoy free snack and beverages while you wait.

Lounge access is one of the great little perks of this hobby, and you don’t need to be some double-platinum elite member of an airline to get it. CapitalOne’s VentureX card is your lowest cost ticket right now to get access to a global lounge network. While it won’t let give you access to the American/Delta/United lounges, it does have really fancy options abroad, plus a decent network in the US.

On top of that, there are new CapitaleOne specific lounges opening, and they are fancy. Especially for those who often out of Dallas, DC (Dulles), and soon Denver + NYC (LaGuardia), this one’s a no-brainer.

Current Offer: 75,000 points, 2X earn on everything, $399 annual fee that is fully offset by two rebates: (1) $300 annual credit for any travel (hotel/airline) purchased through CapitalOne Travel (which uses Hopper, a great booking experience) and (2) a 10,000 point anniversary bonus that cancels out that last portion of the fee.