September 2014: When Redeeming Miles Is Relatively Easy

[["Airline \/ Mileage Program","Route","Class","<strong>Departure Availability*<\/strong>","#colspan#","#colspan#","<strong>Return Availability*<\/strong>","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","Handful","Hopeful","Hooray","Handful","Hopeful","Hooray"],["American \/ AAdvantage and Dividend Miles","Chicago - London","Business","","","Jan. to March","Feb.","March","Jan."],["#rowspan#","Miami - Paris","Business","April","","Feb., March","","April","Feb., March"],["#rowspan#","New York - Barcelona","Business","","","Jan. to March","","April","Jan. to March"],["Delta \/ SkyMiles","Atlanta - Paris","Business","Feb., April","March","","","","Jan. to April"],["#rowspan#","Detroit - Amsterdam","Business","","","Nov. to April","March","Feb.","Nov. to Jan., April"],["#rowspan#","New York - Madrid","Business","Nov., Feb.","Dec.","Jan.","Nov.","Dec.","Jan. to June"],["United \/ MileagePlus","Chicago - Su00e3o Paulo","Business","Dec.","Feb., May, June","Sept. to Nov., March, April","Dec., Jan","Oct.","Sept., Nov., Feb. to June"],["#rowspan#","San Francisco - Toky","Business","Sept., Nov., Jan., March, May to July","April","","Dec. to April","Nov.","Sept., Oct., May, June"],["#rowspan#","Washington, DC - London","Business","Oct., Dec. to April","Nov.","","Oct.","Dec.","Nov., Jan. to May"],["US Airways \/ Dividend Miles and AAdvantage","Philadelphia - Dublin","Business","March","Dec.","Jan., Feb., April, May","Dec., May","Feb.","Jan."],["#rowspan#","Philadelphia - Madrid","Business","March","","Jan., Feb","","March","Jan., Feb."],["#rowspan#","Philadelphia - Manchester","Business","","Feb., March","Jan.","March","Dec.","Jan., Feb."],["<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:<\/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.<\/em>\n<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\"><strong><em>Hopeful:<\/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.<\/em>\n<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\"><strong><em>Hooray:<\/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.<\/em>","#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>