{"id":31,"date":"2019-04-24T16:59:58","date_gmt":"2019-04-24T16:59:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/?p=31"},"modified":"2019-06-23T22:13:39","modified_gmt":"2019-06-23T22:13:39","slug":"guide-points-and-miles-basics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/","title":{"rendered":"Guide to Points and Miles: Basics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Points and Miles – Basics<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Note: This post is going to be a bit longer than usual, but I hope that you\u2019ll be able to use it as a resource and guide to points and miles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It doesn\u2019t matter whether you are just getting started in\nthe points and miles game, or if you have been working the system for decades.\nIt\u2019s important to understand what\u2019s out there and what works best for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the novices:<\/strong> Loyalty programs are a relatively simple concept. You purchase something from a merchant and, in return, they give you a rebate or reward. They\u2019re not doing it out of the goodness of their hearts, of course. These programs exist to influence your future purchases, not reward you for past ones. But hey, free is free.*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our world, loyalty currency comes in several different forms, but here is a very general overview of the most common.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Beginning – Frequent Flyer Miles<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Frequent flyer miles are among the best-known loyalty (points and miles) schemes in existence. Launched shortly after airline deregulation in 1978, the first programs were user-friendly. Each time you flew, the airline counted the number of miles that you traveled and put them in your \u201cbank.\u201d Once you had accumulated a certain amount (generally around 20,000), you could redeem them for a free flight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“A nice little extra” – Becomes Much More<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The airlines had assumed that miles would be a nice little\nextra of only moderate consequence. They were wrong. Interest in miles exploded\nbeyond their wildest imaginations, to the point where the frequent flyer programs\nbecame businesses in and of themselves. Airlines even began to sell miles to\nother companies, so that those merchants could give them out for their own<\/em> loyalty programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miles became so popular that inflation kicked in. There were\nsimply more miles in existence than the carriers could ever afford to redeem.\nAirlines raised the amount required for free trips. They put limits on when you\ncould use your miles. They established high and low seasons. Then, they raised\nprices again. Nothing seemed to slow down the consumers\u2019 desire to earn the\ncurrency. And the airlines were happy to generate a profit by selling them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spend versus Distance – Miles Earning Changes<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Over time, the airlines changed the way that they issued\nmiles. Now, almost every carrier issues your miles based on how much you spend,\nnot how far you flew. For years, the person who paid for an expensive,\nlast-minute ticket had earned the same amount as the one who had bought an\ninexpensive fare six months ago. One of the key topics that we will explore in\nthis forum is how to earn miles for the minimum amount of spending. They built\na better mousetrap, so we\u2019ll have to build a better mouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019ve also changed the way that you redeem. Mileage prices\nare higher than they ever have before, and prices vary widely based on where\nyou\u2019re flying, when you\u2019re flying and in what class of service you want to\ntravel. One of the keys to maximizing mileage value is flexibility, but that\ndoesn\u2019t mean that you have to fly coach on a Tuesday to use them. But that\u2019s a\ntopic for another day\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hotel Points – Earn While You Stay<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Easy enough. Hotel points are the lodging version of the frequent\nflyer mile, and are a direct result of the popularity of the mileage programs.\nThey operate similarly to how the airline programs do, although the various hotel\nprograms are much more consistent with each other than the airlines are. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earn from Spend <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Since the airlines\u2019 loyalty schemes came first, the hotels didn\u2019t\nrepeat the mistakes that the airlines made (That didn\u2019t stop them from making\nentirely new ones, of course.). From day one, you always earned points on how\nmuch you spent, rather than a manufactured number. Because the lodging\ncompanies knew how much these programs were costing them, they were able to\noffer better availability at more consistent prices than their airline\nbrethren. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, hotel points tend to be worth more than miles.\nGiven the way that airline networks are set up, you likely only have a few choices\nof carriers for any given destination. Not so for hotels. Once you are in the\ncity, you can choose your brand. They have to make it worth your while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hotel Points – Airline Mile Transfer Options<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Hotel points are also easily transferrable into miles. Since\nfrequent flyer miles are often seen as the \u201cbase\u201d currency, the hotel companies\nwant to make it as easy as possible to use the programs. Note: There\u2019s a\npenalty for exchanging points into miles. One hotel point is worth far more if\nyou use it at the hotel, rather than exchange it. They\u2019d much rather that you\nuse the currency \u201cin-house.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Points
Photo Credit:Alexandru Acea<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Proprietary Bank Points – A Points Currency<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Most credit cards have their own rewards programs linked to\nsome of their cards. For example, you may have heard of Citibank ThankYou\npoints, American Express Membership Rewards or Discover It Miles, among others.\nThese points are actually among the most valuable and, in a future post, I\u2019m\ngoing to attempt to convince you why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why “A Points Currency?” <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Banks who offer credit cards started their own rewards\nsystems because they got tired of buying miles and points from other merchants.\nIf Citibank is buying miles from American, for example, that\u2019s a bit of profit\nfor American and a bit of cost to Citi. It also means that they can\u2019t offer the\nconsumer as much value. Therefore, they decided to create their own currency.\nOf course, the option still exists to exchange into hotel point or miles, and\none of the advantages is that you often have your choice of which travel\nprogram to transfer them into. For example, a Citibank AAdvantage card only\ngets you American miles, whereas general Citibank ThankYou points can go to one\nof 15 different airlines (and, for some reason, Sears Shop Your Way points).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Points Currency – “Advantage Play” <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cadvantage play\u201d is if you use your points as a statement credit or to book travel through the bank\u2019s travel links. Because it doesn\u2019t involve an outlay to another company, they\u2019ll often give you a bonus to do so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flexibility and value of proprietary bank points make\nthem highly useful, and they\u2019re among the most valuable to earn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other Rewards (Points and Miles) Programs<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Everybody from AMC Theaters to Zappos seems to have a\nrewards program these days. It has almost become mandatory in a world of keeping\nup with the Joneses. We won\u2019t be spending as much time on those, but it\u2019s still\nworth it to sign up for those programs when you use them. The worst case\nscenario is that you wasted two minutes signing up, while the best case is that\nyou pick up discounted or free products. Remember Rule #1 of points and miles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Always sign up for every free program, no matter how infrequently you use it. You never know when it will come in handy for you.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Worried about spam? Don\u2019t be. Just create an alternative email\naddress that you use only for rewards programs. You can check it as (in)frequently\nas you like. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next post?<\/strong> A very<\/em> general overview of the four major US airline points and miles programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

*One of the most common questions that we get on our\nindividual blogs is whether miles are taxable. The answer is almost always no.\nCurrently, the IRS views miles and points as a rebate, not earned income. But\nplease remember: We are not accountants. Consult with your tax advisor for any\nquestions you have regarding tax questions. If your plan is to rely on advice\nthat you read at a travel forum on the internet, it\u2019s probably time to find a\nnew plan.<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Loyalty currency comes in different forms, but here is a overview of the most common. Use this as a resource and guide to points and miles basics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":75,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"middle","apple_news_sections":"[]","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[8,3,4,6],"tags":[20,12,24,34,16,33,18,11,17,32,15,13,31,26,21,14],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nGuide to Points and Miles: Basics - LVA Travel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Loyalty currency comes in different forms, but here is a overview of the most common. Use this as a resource and guide to points and miles basics.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Guide to Points and Miles: Basics - LVA Travel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Loyalty currency comes in different forms, but here is a overview of the most common. Use this as a resource and guide to points and miles basics.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"LVA Travel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/LVAtravel\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-04-24T16:59:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-06-23T22:13:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/travel-points-miles-basics-apple-watch.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@lvatravel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@lvatravel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mike Friedman\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Las Vegas Advisor\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/LVAtravel\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/lvatravel\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/lvatravel\"],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/#logo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/travel-logo-CIRCLE.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/travel-logo-CIRCLE.jpg\",\"width\":986,\"height\":119,\"caption\":\"Las Vegas Advisor\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/#logo\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/\",\"name\":\"LVA Travel\",\"description\":\"Deals, Savings, Earning & Burning Points\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/travel-points-miles-basics-apple-watch.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/travel-points-miles-basics-apple-watch.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1500,\"caption\":\"Points and Miles Basics Apple Watch\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/\",\"name\":\"Guide to Points and Miles: Basics - LVA Travel\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-04-24T16:59:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-06-23T22:13:39+00:00\",\"description\":\"Loyalty currency comes in different forms, but here is a overview of the most common. Use this as a resource and guide to points and miles basics.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Guide to Points and Miles: Basics\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/#webpage\"},\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/#\/schema\/person\/55517a47a3fd16823093b50c9a91aaf3\"},\"headline\":\"Guide to Points and Miles: Basics\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-04-24T16:59:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-06-23T22:13:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/#webpage\"},\"wordCount\":1344,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/travel-points-miles-basics-apple-watch.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Airline Points\",\"Award Travel\",\"Credit Cards\",\"Earning Points\",\"Frequent Flyer\",\"Frequent Flyer Miles\",\"Hotel Points\",\"Miles\",\"Miles and Points\",\"Miles Basics\",\"Points\",\"Points and Miles\",\"Points Basics\",\"Points Redemption\",\"Shopping Points\",\"Travel\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Credit Cards\",\"Airline Points\",\"Hotel Points\",\"Shopping Points\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/#\/schema\/person\/55517a47a3fd16823093b50c9a91aaf3\",\"name\":\"Mike Friedman\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a4c972e1f21ce27b2a1a288a214b0a88?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a4c972e1f21ce27b2a1a288a214b0a88?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mike Friedman\"},\"description\":\"Mike Friedman is the author of Frequent Flyer Miles 101, a blog for people who are new to the miles and points game. When he's not looking for new opportunities to earn miles, he's busy chasing his two kids or rooting for Boston sports teams.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/travelzork.com\/travel\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/author\/michael-f\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Guide to Points and Miles: Basics - LVA Travel","description":"Loyalty currency comes in different forms, but here is a overview of the most common. Use this as a resource and guide to points and miles basics.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Guide to Points and Miles: Basics - LVA Travel","og_description":"Loyalty currency comes in different forms, but here is a overview of the most common. Use this as a resource and guide to points and miles basics.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/","og_site_name":"LVA Travel","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/LVAtravel\/","article_published_time":"2019-04-24T16:59:58+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-06-23T22:13:39+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":1500,"url":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/travel-points-miles-basics-apple-watch.jpg","path":"\/var\/www\/html\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/travel-points-miles-basics-apple-watch.jpg","size":"full","id":75,"alt":"Points and Miles Basics Apple Watch","pixels":1500000,"type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@lvatravel","twitter_site":"@lvatravel","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mike Friedman","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/#organization","name":"Las Vegas Advisor","url":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/LVAtravel\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/lvatravel\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/lvatravel"],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/#logo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/travel-logo-CIRCLE.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/travel-logo-CIRCLE.jpg","width":986,"height":119,"caption":"Las Vegas Advisor"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/#logo"}},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/","name":"LVA Travel","description":"Deals, Savings, Earning & Burning Points","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/travel-points-miles-basics-apple-watch.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/travel-points-miles-basics-apple-watch.jpg","width":1000,"height":1500,"caption":"Points and Miles Basics Apple Watch"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/","name":"Guide to Points and Miles: Basics - LVA Travel","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2019-04-24T16:59:58+00:00","dateModified":"2019-06-23T22:13:39+00:00","description":"Loyalty currency comes in different forms, but here is a overview of the most common. Use this as a resource and guide to points and miles basics.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Guide to Points and Miles: Basics"}]},{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/#webpage"},"author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/#\/schema\/person\/55517a47a3fd16823093b50c9a91aaf3"},"headline":"Guide to Points and Miles: Basics","datePublished":"2019-04-24T16:59:58+00:00","dateModified":"2019-06-23T22:13:39+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/#webpage"},"wordCount":1344,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/travel-points-miles-basics-apple-watch.jpg","keywords":["Airline Points","Award Travel","Credit Cards","Earning Points","Frequent Flyer","Frequent Flyer Miles","Hotel Points","Miles","Miles and Points","Miles Basics","Points","Points and Miles","Points Basics","Points Redemption","Shopping Points","Travel"],"articleSection":["Credit Cards","Airline Points","Hotel Points","Shopping Points"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/guide-points-and-miles-basics\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/#\/schema\/person\/55517a47a3fd16823093b50c9a91aaf3","name":"Mike Friedman","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a4c972e1f21ce27b2a1a288a214b0a88?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a4c972e1f21ce27b2a1a288a214b0a88?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mike Friedman"},"description":"Mike Friedman is the author of Frequent Flyer Miles 101, a blog for people who are new to the miles and points game. When he's not looking for new opportunities to earn miles, he's busy chasing his two kids or rooting for Boston sports teams.","sameAs":["https:\/\/travelzork.com\/travel\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/author\/michael-f\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/travel-points-miles-basics-apple-watch.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paXdM9-v","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":382,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31\/revisions\/382"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}