- Award bookings are free to cancel for major US airlines, with the only exception of Delta Basic Economy.
- When a higher number of miles per passenger is required for multiple passengers than for a single passenger, open multiple browsers to make separate bookings for each passenger.
- In the case of AA, it is possible to use the miles in one account to pay for bookings made in different accounts. To do that, first hold the reservations when checking out, then log into the account that has miles and look up the held reservations, choose to pay for the trip.
- Although airline schedule changes can mess up one’s schedule, they can potentially be used to book highly priced flights. This is because, for any schedule change exceeding 1 hour, the passenger is allowed to change to a different flight, the same day or the week after, free of charge.
- Suppose one wants to fly on the labor day, but the price is high, while cheaper award flights can be found the week before, then one can book the cheap award flight, hoping for a schedule change, to have the opportunity to change to the desired flight. At the worst, there is no schedule change, but the award flight can be canceled for free.
- I haven’t tested yet, but perhaps multiple-stop flights are more likely subject to schedule changes. After all, more flights are involved.
Car rental tip: avoid late-day pickups
Rental agencies typically have more cars available in the morning. By late in the day, inventory often runs low, leading to two key issues:
- Higher Prices: Fewer cars mean limited selection and significantly higher rates—sometimes more than double the morning price.
- No Guarantee: Even with a reservation, you might not get a car. Agencies aren’t obligated to honor bookings if they’re out of vehicles. Given their tendency to overbook, the possibility of running out of cars is real, especially for local branches.
What if your flight is scheduled to arrive late in the day? Consider staying at a hotel near the airport and scheduling a morning pickup to avoid these risks and potentially save money.