The Extra Mile, July 15: Pick Up the Phone to Book Business Class & More

📞 When (& How) to Call an Airline to Book Your Flight

Look away, fellow millennials. You’re not going to like this …

To get the best deal on award flights, you sometimes have to *gulp* pick up the phone and actually call someone to book your flights … *gasp!*

I’ll admit I don’t like picking up the phone, but I’ll do it for the right deal. Luckily, live chat tools from many airlines are getting better, allowing you to chat with an agent instead of making the dreaded call.

For example, to book Hawaiian Airlines First Class seats to Hawaii for 26,000 miles each way (nearly half the price of booking with Alaska/Hawaiian directly), you have to call or chat with a Finnair agent to do so, because those rates aren’t available online.

The same goes for booking American or LATAM flights with Finnair Avios or Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, or booking Aeromexico, LATAM, or ANA flights with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, too. In all of these cases, the savings are massive … but you have to pick up the phone.

Before you call, make sure you have all the information about the flight you want to book (i.e. flight number, date, departure time, passenger information, and more.)

Then, use this script (using the Hawaiian–Finnair example) to get booked!

📞 1. Call or chat with a live agent.

Hello. I need help looking for availability to book an award flight using my Finnair Avios, please.

🔍 2. Ask the agent to check for availability.

Can you check for availability to fly Alaska Airlines, first class, using Finnair points?

🌎 3. Give the agent the exact route and dates you want. Have those flight numbers and departure times handy, too.

I want to book two passengers onto AS 121 from Seattle (SEA) to Honolulu (HNL) on Sunday, Jan. 10, departing at 7:00 am in first class. Can you confirm the rate, taxes, and fees, please?

➡️ 4. Transfer points only after you’ve confirmed the flights are available with Finnair. Transfers are usually instant; just ask an agent to stay on the line until your points hit your account.

OK. I would like to book this availability. I am going to transfer the points to my account right now. Can you stay on the line with me and confirm when the points are credited to my account?

✅ 5. Have the agent confirm your booking and ask for confirmation numbers from both Finnair and Alaska/Hawaiian.

Can you reconfirm the flights I’m about to book? (Flight number, route, date, number of passengers, rate, etc.)

OK, go ahead and book those flights, please.

Could you please provide me with my confirmation numbers for both Finnair and Alaska/Hawaiian, please?

And that’s it! You’ve got your flight booked with an agent. Not so bad, right?

Check out our full guide to when and how to call an airline to book flights for a full pre-call checklist and other helpful tips.

– Gunnar Olson (flight deal analyst & travel reporter)

🤝 Deal of the Day: Rare Business Class Availability to Peru!

Heat scale (out of 3): 🔥🔥🔥

Why we love it: We’ve never seen business class availability from Los Angeles (LAX) to Lima (LIM) before!

Flying LATAM this winter – including Christmas and NYE! Transfer your points to book with JAL, Virgin, or Finnair Avios.

Sign up now to get all the details on this deal & don’t miss the next flight deal alert.

Already a member? Log in to see all your deals. (Not seeing it? Remove your airport filters to see every deal.)

– Gunnar Olson, Thrifty Traveler Premium deal analyst

⏳ Last Call: Delta’s Huge SkyMiles Bonuses Disappear Tonight

If you’ve been eyeing a Delta SkyMiles card, this is your last chance to take advantage of the huge, limited-time welcome offer bonuses currently available.

These offers are gone tonight – and we don’t know the exact cutoff time, so don’t wait until the last minute.

Amex and Delta just made their SkyMiles cards better without raising the annual fees, then piled on some of the biggest welcome offers we’ve ever seen.

Here’s what’s on the table:

• 🥇 *delta skymiles gold card*: bonus_miles_full
• 💎 *delta skymiles platinum card*: bonus_miles_full
• 🏆 *delta reserve card*: bonus_miles_full

Business versions of all three cards come with their own offers, with the Reserve Business card topping out at 125,000 miles after spending $15,000 in your first 6 months.

You’ve been warned!

Read our full story here

– Nick Serati, Thrifty Traveler co-founder

📖 Gettin’ Booksy: Sonya’s Nonstop Flights to Curaçao

Welcome to Gettin’ Booksy, a celebration of our favorite feeling: Booking something awesome! Book something lately? Let us know at [email protected] to be featured in a future edition of the Extra Mile!

What Did Sonya Book?

A nonstop flight to Curaçao (CUR) from Charlotte (CLT) for her anniversary in January.

How’d She Book It?

Sonya spotted a deal to fly nonstop from CLT to CUR for 9,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles each way per person.

What Makes it So Awesome?

The cheapest rates in January I could find for these coveted nonstop flights was $659 roundtrip per person … in basic economy! Sonya’s AAdvantage miles booking automatically put her in Main Cabin, which would have cost her at least $779 roundtrip!

From Sonya:

My husband and I are flying roundtrip to Curaçao at the end of January to celebrate our anniversary for $145 and 36,000 AA miles (thanks to a transfer from our Citi Strata Card). I think this is a pretty good deal!

We do too, Sonya! The cash rate on these fares would have been $1,500 for the two of you. 🤯 Now take your savings and do something extra special for the anniversary celebration!

– Gunnar Olson, flight deal analyst and travel reporter

🎙️ On the Pod: Top 10 Deals of 2026 (So Far)

✈️ We’re halfway through 2026, so we check in on Gunnar’s list of the top 10 flight deals (and top 3 hotel deals) of the year so far … and give Kyle ample opportunity to roast Gunnar’s list. That, plus more Taco Bell Cantina DEN talk!

Tune in now on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!

💼 Come Work With Us: We’re Hiring a Hotel Expert!

Are you a diehard traveler and bona fide “sicko” (that’s a term of endearment around here) when it comes to hotels and award travel?

Do you love nothing more than scouring for the next great hotel redemption? Want to help others do the same? Loathe the prospect of another devaluation but relish the thought of breaking that news?

We don’t just want you. We need you.

Here at TT HQ, we’re hiring again – this time for a dedicated hotel deal analyst & reporter. It’s a hybrid role, split between the two worlds of what we do here at Thrifty Traveler:

• You’ll spearhead and even expand the hotel deal alerts that make our Thrifty Traveler Premium+ service so special, and
• Help us cover the news and must-knows of all things hotels on our site, social media, and in this very newsletter!

There’s tons of additional details, responsibilities, qualifications, and basics about the job on our site, but here’s a big one: We’re specifically looking for someone who can join us in our Minneapolis office.

Fit the bill? Be sure to apply by the July 19 deadline!

… and see you soon in the office?

– Kyle Potter, executive editor

✈️ Other Travel Tidbits

• 📡 Frontier Joins the Starlink Club … but it’ll cost you. The airline will add Starlink WiFi starting in early 2027, joining United, American, Hawaiian, and Alaska. Unlike those carriers’ free access for loyalty members, expect Frontier’s ultra-low-cost model to charge for it. (Frontier Airlines)
• 🪃 Rove Adds Qantas as its 20th transfer partner, with a 50% bonus through Aug. 14. Transfers are 1:1. (AwardWallet)
• 💻 Rakuten is offering 100% cash back (or 100x Amex or Bilt points) on Surfshark VPN purchases, capped at $133 in spend – good for a free year of VPN or a shot at buying points cheaply. (Danny Deal Guru)
• 🛋️ There’s a new Escape Lounge coming to Philadelphia (PHL) later this year. (r/prioritypass via Reddit)

A Parting Picture

A word of warning: If you’re traveling with a whiskey-drinking raccoon like Norwegian soccer star Erling Haaland, TSA says it won’t fit under the seat in front of you.