Summary: Did you know that there are only three ways to earn points? Reading a thread on MilePoint a couple weeks ago, that was one of the views presented. As Gary has listed, the three ways to accumulate miles/points are thru' your own spend (both personal and any business owned), reimbursement of business travel expenses (if you have any) charged to your personal cards and CC churn. Imagine my surprise when I presented the suggestion that actually getting on a plane and flying somewhere might be a way to earn points, only to find out that's not considered reasonable by many. Apparently I've been doing it wrong all these years. That's just one of the topics we discuss in this episode of PointsHoarder. Also on the agenda, some big news from oneworld with Malaysian Airlines joining the alliance. Good news on the redemption front, especially with first class inventory on their A380s and decent regional coverage and Kangaroo Route options. Not so great when it comes to earning points on discounted fares though. We talk about TAM and their reasonably limited award inventory. The good news, however, is that it isn't quite as limited as I initially thought; I actually have another post about that with the raw data here. Finally, a bit more on the 787 grounding and out outlook on its chances of getting back up in the air anytime soon. Both Fozz and I are supposed to be on the inaugural DEN-NRT flight and that isn't looking too promising these days. Show notes: Malaysian Airlines Joins OneWorld - Mileage Accrual The 787s are still grounded, but Boeing is looking to run some test flights; uncertainty over the Denver-Tokyo inaugural TAM's Award Availability - Limited seats, but it could be worse Only 3 Ways to earn miles You can subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or to the podcast feed.
