Delta award search trick, deals of the decade, a new SQ route, and more

This week in Frequent Miler’s week in review around the web, read about a hack you need for searching Delta partner awards, the deals of the decade in miles and points, a new Singapore Airlines route to the US and more.

Is Delta Hiding Some Partner Awards When Booking with SkyMiles?

Kyle at Thrifty Traveler points out an unfortunate development that means an extra step when searching for award availability via SkyMiles. I find it particularly disappointing that these nonstops don’t even show up on the individual date detail pages unless you force the nonstop search option. This is not only a great nugget of wisdom for SkyMiles enthusiasts, but also a good reminder that tweaking small things in award searches can sometimes yield unexpected results.

Is Singapore Airlines Launching A New York To Tokyo Flight?

One Mile at a Time reports on a very interesting development: it looks like Singapore Airlines is planning fifth freedom flights between New York and Tokyo. Equally surprising is that it is at least possible that these could start not only ahead of the 2020 Olympics but even as soon as cherry blossom season. I don’t know if my excitement is misplaced, but I love the idea of another great premium option to Japan — and I’m at least somewhat hopeful that the existence of Singapore on this route could lead to more ANA award availability. Time will tell.

MASTERCARDS AMAZING TRAVEL BOOKING PORTAL & WHY IT’S BETTER THAN FHR AND LHRC

Bethany at Bougie Miles writes about a travel portal that has flown under the radar. Given that so many readers likely have a Mastercard that qualifies, this is definitely worth a look given the examples that Bethany points to in this post. It did take a few hours for my activation email to arrive when I signed up yesterday and as a result I haven’t yet had a chance to play with this tool — but I look forward to some more great finds.

Holy Toledo – Get 100,000 Points & 4 Nights For Only $349! (And You Don’t Have To Stay In Toledo)

Danny the Deal Guru writes about what looks like a terrific timeshare offer from Hilton. I had every intention to call and book this yesterday and then write a quick deal post about my attempt to negotiate a better deal, but my immune system of steel had a rare security breach and an acute case of laryngitis set in within an hour of filming Frequent Miler on the Air (and that has hampered my hopes of bargaining for a better deal). However, I plan to get my wife to call in and book this ASAP. The short story is that I’m a buyer on the points alone at this price or I’d potentially be a buyer for 4 nights at this price — getting both is almost a no-brainer if you’re contemplating travel to Orlando or Vegas (though for Vegas you could stay much cheaper by matching to Caesars Diamond and booking one of the lower end properties with no resort fees for Diamond members).

The 10 Miles & Points Deals of the Decade

I was instantly skeptical when this list from Prince of Travel didn’t include Turkish Miles & Smiles domestic Star Alliance awards for 7.5K each way. Sure, Prince of Travel is a Canadian blog — but still, flying from, like, Halifax to, let’s say, Whitehorse for 7,500 miles seems to me like a steal. But then I don’t know if there are any rewards programs available in Canada apart from Marriott that transfer to Turkish. Still, this list was a fun read with info on what were certainly some of the best deals of the decade. Whether you’re an old-timer reminiscing or a newcomer wondering what you’ve missed, this is a trip worth taking.

That’s it for this week around the web. Check back soon for this week’s last chance deals.

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