Guides

In-depth guides to award travel - how loyalty programs work, how to find and book award seats, how to avoid phantom availability, and how to get real value from your points and miles with AwardFares.

Latest Guides

Airline Loyalty Trends for 2027: What Airlines Told Us in Lisbon

Award seats are no longer free, even for the airlines that give them away. That was the clearest message from the loyalty track at World Aviation Festival 2026 in Lisbon. A former Miles & More managing director said award seats used to be worth zero to revenue managers, and Flying Blue showed a slide giving its most loyal members first access to the cheapest seats.

October 21, 2026 · by Germán

Google Flights With Points? AI Mode vs. AwardFares

Google can now show flight prices in points or miles through AI Mode in Search. You can describe a trip and ask what it costs using a supported rewards program. Google announced the feature on August 27, 2026.

September 4, 2026 · by Germán

Best Award Flight Search Tools in 2026

Without an award search tool, finding an award flight can mean opening several airline and loyalty program websites, entering the same route, date, cabin, and passenger count again and again, then trying to compare the results yourself.

September 22, 2026 · by Germán

Malaysia Airlines Enrich Status Match: oneworld Emerald for $349

Malaysia Airlines has just launched a new status match campaign into its Enrich loyalty program. The offer is only for Air India Maharaja Club and Garuda Indonesia GarudaMiles elite members. If that’s you, this is one of the cheapest ways to get top-tier oneworld status we’ve seen: $349 for Enrich Platinum, which maps to oneworld Emerald.

July 7, 2026 · by Germán

Phantom Availability: Why Award Seats Vanish and How to Avoid It

You find the perfect award seat. Business class, the right date, bookable with the miles you already have. You fill in the passenger details, hit confirm, and the page shows an error. You search again, and the seat is gone. It was never really there.

June 3, 2026 · by Germán

Rove Guide (2026): How to Earn, Redeem, and Search Award Availability

Rove lets you earn transferable miles without applying for a new credit card. Launched in 2025, it now combines hotel and flight bookings with shopping, dining, and gift cards. You can spend Rove Miles on travel through Rove or transfer them to 22 airline and hotel loyalty programs, including the newest addition, JetBlue TrueBlue.

October 19, 2026 · by Germán

Bill Kill's New App Is Live: AI Invoice Scanning, the Zen Path, and More AwardFares Perks

Bill Kill has just rolled out a major new version of the app in both Norway and Sweden. The update brings AI invoice scanning, a redesigned card vault, a travel goal tracker, and a full reward program called the Zen Path. Alongside the launch, the AwardFares perks have been refreshed: more free months of Bill Kill Master for AwardFares users, and a new set of codes for the +Biz program.

April 30, 2026 · by Germán

Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles: 4 Paths to SkyTeam Elite Status (2026)

Lotusmiles elite status has always been a flying-only achievement. You earned Titanium, Gold, or Platinum by piling up Qualifying Miles and Sectors, end of story. But that’s no longer true: Vietnam Airlines now runs four separate products with Loyalty Status Co. (company behind StatusMatch.com) that let you skip the work. One matches your status from another program. Another multiplies the miles you earn flying. A third sells you temporary status outright. The fourth lets you gift status to someone else.

April 28, 2026 · by Germán

Best Airline Rewards & Frequent Flyer Programs of 2026 (Ranked)

2026 is shaping up to be the most transformative year in airline loyalty history. Massive mergers are reshaping alliances, dynamic pricing is becoming the norm, and airlines are doubling down on turning their loyalty programs into billion-dollar financial engines. Alaska Airlines is flying 787 Dreamliners to London and Rome. United has partnered with JetBlue. American Airlines now offers free Wi-Fi to all AAdvantage members. And the beloved SAS EuroBonus program is on borrowed time as Air France-KLM tightens its grip.

March 6, 2026 · by Germán

Qatar Airways Privilege Club Guide (2026): Award Charts, Sweet Spots & Avios Value

Qatar Airways Privilege Club is one of the most powerful (and underrated) loyalty programs in aviation. It runs on the Avios currency, gives you access to Qsuites (widely considered the world’s best business class), and lets you transfer points freely between five different airline programs. Yet most travelers overlook it because Qatar’s own search tools make finding award flights frustratingly difficult.