Ben Sorkin and Max Teirstein celebrated their anniversary with a week-long trip to New Zealand and Australia using award flights and luxury hotels at a fraction of cash cost. Sorkin built the itinerary around a single business-class award opportunity alerted by Thrifty Traveler Premium and topped up miles by purchasing points for Max to reach redemptions. The couple redeemed one-way American business class for about 60,000 miles and used Avianca LifeMiles for a return business-class seat. The strategy combined buying miles selectively, monitoring deal alerts, and prioritizing award availability to convert a $13,000-plus itinerary into a low-cash-cost luxury trip.
Instead of deciding where they wanted to go first, Sorkin built their trip around a single flight deal. When he got the email from Thrifty Traveler Premium, a subscription service that alerts users to award flight availability, he knew this deal was the one. "We saw a unicorn offer for American business class from LA to Auckland for about 60,000 miles one-way," said Sorkin. "I already had enough miles in my AAdvantage account, and we bought some miles for Max for around $1,600, which still felt like a steal for the experience."
Generally, purchasing airline miles or hotel points isn't worth it-with one major exception. "Topping up," or acquiring additional points or miles to reach a specific redemption goal, can be a sensible approach. "Buying miles can sometimes still be cheaper than paying cash, especially when redeeming for long-haul business class seats," Sorkin added. For the return business-class flight from Sydney to San Francisco, Sorkin redeemed 80,000 Avianca LifeMiles per person, thanks to another email alert f
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