Going on a points spending spree.. How to use them?
 

Sorry if this is in the wrong section.. well thanks to ft over the years a poor student such as myself has accumulated a decent stash of miles and points, with very little use. I know 'saving' points is generally a bad idea, but I've mainly jumped on cheap fares to get around the past few years so points haven't been utilized. Also with some recent devaluations (hotels mainly), I'd like to blow my stash (or most of it) on a large trip later this year on an as round the world trip as I can manage. I know how to effectively use a couple of the programs but not really sure the best way to tie them all together for an effective longer trip nor the best redemption values for international travel. It will be me and my girlfriend so I'm trying to figure out redemptions for 2. I got her in on a couple of bonuses recently and may can manage one or two more in the next few months. We're pretty much open to all itineraries, just trying to keep the destinations as diverse as possible for a shorter term vs longer at one place. Will be traveling out of atl likely..

AA: 170k, BA: 88k, Delta: 112k, Southwest: 57k, United: 55k, Amex MR: 190k, SPG: 135k, other hotels.. Marriott: 74k, Hilton: 123k, Carlson: 235k

Not the uber amounts that some of you have but its a start. Thanks in advance..

if you can, blow the hilton points right now... little getaway.. perhaps?

ehhh there was one or a few studies, taking a big trip vs a few small ones - the latter seems to be, lets say 'more fulfilling' in the long run.. just throwing the thought out there..

for the 80k BA you could get 2 roundtrip tickets in coach from the east coast to europe.. a really good redemption for those 'adios' miles. i would def. burn those for the airfare if you can.

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemil...el-surcharges/
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemil...-avios-points/
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemil...el-surcharges/

1) book Hilton points now. Rooms are cancelable. Just call and book an AXON award if you want (which has to be 4 days).
2) Get the Club Carlson credit card (if you haven't) and get a free night on every stay.
3) Do you not have UR points to transfer to United? If so, book stopovers AND open jaw tickets if you want to see more with less. Stopovers do not cost extra.
4) Consider transferring SPG points to AA or UA... but you can wait until you want to book your ticket. I would transfer to United and book trips with stopovers. Message me if you don't understand the stopover thing.
5) Research where you want to transfer Amex MR points to. BA does have those 50% bonuses on transfers every once in a while. Otherwise, singapore airlines for first class suites (if you care), or ANA for more stopovers, etc...

I mean call me crazy but... you could have enough British Airways Avios to go BOS - DUB - AMM - DEL - KUL - PER - SYD - HNL - SEA - BOS. With one program you have enough to circle the globe.
6) Before you do your Marriott stays do a challenge for Platinum status so you get lounge access. Then do status matches to the other hotels if you don't have status already.

I mean really... you should have enough miles to go anywhere so think it out and don't blow them. Feel free to contact me if you need anything.

Why is everybody saying that? just curious. In my case, I did indeed just blow all my hilton points for a stay in Australia. Is HH's award redemption going through the same devaluation that Marriott and IHG are doing? or worse?

To the OP: Check out American Airlines Explorer Awards. It's a fascinating concept with some interesting possibilities. If you can open one of those almost useless DL credit cards, you get access to turning every 10,000 Skymiles into $100 of flight credit that you can apply to almost any DL itineraries. You've got >$1000 of DL possibilities. Mind you that you never even have to activate or use that DL credit card. Just being accepted enables your DL account to see these possibilities, as well as hotel/car redemptions in the Skymiles Marketplace.

hope you blew all them before march 28

huge deval... highest category is now 95k instead of 50k/night... and thats just the beginning

Thanks for the suggestions. I will def check out the aa explorer awards. Unfortunately i didnt blow my hilton points yet. Oh well. When does MR usually do the bonus percentage on BA transfers?