Miles... and Miles... and Miles... and Miles... and Miles... and Miles... and Miles... and Miles... and

Hi everyone!

Yesterday, I thought I really have to book tickets to go home for Christmas.
I know this might seem a bit random in the middle of summer, but... well, I confess I love to travel : )
I had a look at the likes of Ryan Air and Easy Jet but then saw on Swoodoo that actually Air Berlin is kinda cheaper.
And that was the beginning of the end... To cut the story short:

• I booked the flight
• I saw that they are part of OneWorld
• I was hooked and indulged in the amazing world of mile collecting

You might think....WTF... she is not part of that yet???
The answer is Yes, I wasn't and Yes, I am part of both of the big ones now. : )

I literally spend hours to figure out what you get when, where and if and either way.
These are my learnings and tips:

• Use miles to book "free" flights or upgrades they yield up to 7 times more value
• Free flights are not actually free you have to pay the taxes (which easily come up to hundreds)
• Never buy miles...cos that's just sick
• If you want to collect extra miles from 3rd party companies have a look at OneWorld's/ Skyteam/ Staralliance partner websites (e.g. www.dkb.de) and check if they might give you more credit directly with them
• Sign up for the Newsletter, sometimes you get awesome deals for your collected points
• as a beginner don' t start reading the forums they are full of people just concerned if their HON`s card will gain them access to certain lounges and how these compare to others they been to - BORING
• Do the maths and check if the upgrade you want is actually worth the Miles you spend -
  if the flight would cost a lot more than the upgrade, it is worth it for sure but lots of times this is not the case. :(
  
  
  Cheers!
    Miss von Böhlen Travel Blog