January 2014: When Redeeming Miles Is Relatively Easy

[["Airline","Route","Class","<strong>Departure Availability<\/strong>","#colspan#","#colspan#","<strong>Return Availability<\/strong>","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","Handful","Decent","Go For It","Handful","Decent","Go For It"],["American","Chicago - Beijing","First","Jan., Feb., April, June, Aug., Sept.","July","","Jan.","","Feb. to Sept."],["#rowspan#","Dallas - Tokyo","First","May, June","Aug., Sept.","July","","May","June to Sept."],["#rowspan#","Los Angeles - Shanghai","First","April, June","May, July, Aug., Sept.","","","","April to Sept."],["Delta","Atlanta - Frankfurt","Business","","March","Feb.","Feb., April","March",""],["#rowspan#","Detroit - Amsterdam","Business","June","","Feb. to April","","","Feb. to June"],["#rowspan#","Minneapolis - London","Business","March, April","Jan.","Feb.","Jan.","April","Feb., March"],["United","Chicago - Brussels","First","March","Jan.","Feb.","","March","Jan., Feb."],["#rowspan#","Chicago - Frankfurt","First","April, July, Oct.","Aug.","Jan., Feb.","May., July, Sept.","March, April","Jan., Feb., Oct., Nov."],["#rowspan#","Houston - Amsterdam","Business","Jan.","Feb.","","March","Jan., Feb.",""],["US Airways","Charlotte - Rio de Janeiro","Business","May","","Aug., Sept.","May","Aug.","Sept."],["#rowspan#","Philadelphia - Dublin","Business","April, July to Sept.","Jan.","Oct.","Feb., March, July to Nov.","June","Jan., April, May"],["#rowspan#","Philadelphia - Madrid","Business","July, Aug.","","","Aug.","",""],["<strong>Major Credit Cards and Their Airline Point-Transfer Partners<\/strong>","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["<strong><em>American Express Membership Rewards:<\/em><\/strong> Delta. <strong><em>Chase Ultimate Rewards:<\/em><\/strong> United. Diners Club: Delta. <strong><em>Starwood Preferred Guest:<\/em><\/strong> American, Delta, United*, and US Airways. *Not recommended due to 2-to-1 exchange rate. ","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\"><strong><em>Handful:<\/em><\/strong><\/span> Our most recent research shows that award space is available for at least one person about 4 to 8 days during the months indicated in the chart. Worth pursuing if you\u2019re flexible.\n<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\"><strong><em>Hopeful:<\/em><\/strong><\/span> Our most recent research shows that award space is available for at least one person about 9 to 12 days during the months indicated.\n<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\"><strong><em>Hooray:<\/em><\/strong><\/span> Our most recent research shows that award space is available for at least one person about 13 days or more during the months indicated.","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#","#colspan#"]]

<small><em><strong>*When more than two consecutive months are indicated in the chart above, it includes the entire last month. Thus, Jan. to April means “through April.”</strong></em></small>