As the Points and Miles community grows the language has become somewhat foreign for newbies or outsiders. No worries, we have your back with this basic guide to Award Travel Words & Phrases. Use this guide to break the code and become a true basic traveler!

A

• AA – American Airlines
• AAoA – Average Age of Accounts (FICO Credit Score Factor)
• AF – Annual Fee (Of a Credit Card)
• AOR – App-O-Rama (Opening Multiple Credit Cards at the Same Time)
• APR – Annual Percentage Rate
• APY – Annual Percentage Yield
• AS – Alaska Airlines
• AU – Authorized User (Of a Credit Card Account)

B

• B6 – JetBlue Airlines
• BA – British Airlines
• BCE – Blue Cash Everyday Credit Card
• BCP – Blue Cash Preferred Credit Card
• BF – BeFrugal (Cash Back Portal)
• BGR – Business Gold Rewards Credit Card
• BOA – Bank of America

C

• CA – Cash Advance (Credit Card Fee)
• CB – CashBack
• CBM – CashBack Monitor
• CC – Credit Card
• CF – Chase Freedom Credit Card
• CFU – Chase Freedom Unlimited Credit Card
• CFF – Chase Freedom Flex Credit Card
• CIC – Chase Ink Cash Credit Card
• CIP – Chase Ink Preferred Credit Card
• CK – Credit Karma (Not a Real Credit Score)
• CL – Credit Limit
• CLAWBACK – Term Used when a Bank Removes Points from an Account after Awarding them due to Program Violations
• CLI – Credit Limit Increase
• CP – Southwest Companion Pass (Buy-One-Get-One-Free-Flights)
• CPM – Cost Per Mile (Divide the cost using cash against the number of miles used)
• CPC – Chase Private Client
• CPP – Cents Per Point (Divide the cost using cash against the number of points used)
• CR – Credit Report
• CS – Chase Sapphire Credit Cards
• CSP – Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card
• CSR – Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card
• CSR – Customer Service Representative
• CU – Credit Union

D

• DC – Citi Double Cash Credit Card
• DC – Debit Card
• DD – Direct Deposit
• DD – Double Dip (Combining two promotions at once for double rewards)
• DED – Phrase used to indicate an offer or promotion is no longer available (Dead)
• DL – Delta Airlines
• DOB – Date of Birth
• DP – Data Point

E

• E&B – Earn and Burn (Earn the points/miles and redeem them)
• ECON – Economy Seat on a Plane
• ED – Amex Everyday Credit Card
• EDP – Amex Everyday Preferred Credit Card
• EK – Emirates Airlines
• EQ – Equifax Credit Reporting Agency
• EY – Etihad Airways
• EX – Experian Credit Reporting Agency

F

• F – First Class Seat on an Airplane
• FA – Flight Attendant
• FA – Fraud Alert on a Credit/Debit Card
• FACTA – Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act
• F9 – Frontier Airlines
• FCRA – Fair Credit Reporting Act
• FDIC – Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
• FHR – Fine Hotels and Resorts (Through Amex)
• FR – Financial Review (By a bank to review spending on a credit card versus income reported)
• FS – Free Spirit (Spirit Airlines Frequent Flyer Program)
• FT – Flyer Talk Chat Forum
• FTF – Foreign Transaction Fee (Credit or Debit Card being used internationally)
• FWIW – For What It’s Worth

G

• GC – Gift Card
• GCM – Gift Card Mall
• GE – Global Entry

H

• HH – Hilton Honors Rewards Program
• HP – Hard Pull (On a Credit Report)
• HSA – Health Savings Account
• H/T – Hat Tip (To thank someone for sharing a DP)
• HUCA – Hang Up Call Again (Sometimes different CSR’s provide different answers when calling a bank or organization)

I

• IHG – Intercontinental Hotel Group
• INK – Referring to Chase Ink Business Credit Card Options

J

• J – Business Class Seat on an Airplane
• JB – JetBlue Airlines (Technically is B6 but sometimes ppl use JB unofficially)
• JAL – Japan Airlines

K

• KE – Korean Airlines
• KLM – Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij Royal Dutch Airlines

L

• LHRC – Luxury Hotel Resort Collection (Chase Bank)

M

• MC – Mastercard Credit Card Issuer
• MCGC – Mastercard GiftCard
• Metal – Phrase used when flying on an airlines own planes versus a partner (Typically when using points)
• MO – Money Order
• MR – Membership Rewards Points (Amex Award Currency earned from Credit Cards)
• MS – Manufactured Spend
• MSR – Minimum Spend Requirement (Amount to spend in order to earn a SUB)

N

• NFCC – National Foundation for Credit Counseling
• NFCU – Navy Federal Credit Union
• NK – Spirit Airlines

O

• OD – Office Depot
• OLCI – Online Check-In (Referring to checking into a flight or hotel ahead of time online)
• OM – Office Max
• OOP – Out of Pocket Expense
• OP – Original Post (Someone’s post that ppl are referring to)
• OJ – Open Jaw (Roundtrip flight that arrives in one city and departs in another)
• OTA – Online Travel Agency (Like Hotels.com)
• OW – One Way Flight

P

• PC – Product Change (Typically changing a Credit Card with a fee to a non-fee Card)
• PO – Post Office
• PORTALS – Websites that can be clicked through to earn cashback and points/miles
• POS – Point of Sale
• PP – Priority Pass (Membership which provides access to Airport Lounges)
• PP – PayPal
• PPK – PayPal Key
• PRG – Amex Premier Rewards Gold

Q

• Q-Suites – Popular Business Class Award Redemption through Qatar Airways

R

• RAKUTEN – Cashback Portal
• RAT – Amex Reward Abuse Team (Often issues FR’s and Clawbacks)
• RC – Ritz-Carlton Hotels
• RECON – Calling a Credit Card issuer after being denied to appeal decision. (This often works!)
• REP – Representative
• RR – Rapid Rewards (Southwest Frequent Flyer Program)
• RT – Roundtrip Flights

S

• SM – Secured Message
• SP – Soft Pull (Personal Credit Inquiry that does not impact a score as opposed to an HP)
• STACK – Combining multiple offers/promotions by Stacking (Credit Cards, Portals, Amex/Chase Offers)
• SSN – Social Security Number
• SUB – Signup Bonus
• SWA – Southwest Airlines (Sometimes referred to as SW unofficially)

T

• T&C’s – Terms and Conditions
• TCB – Top Cash Back Portal
• TIA – Thanks in Advance
• TL – Trade Line (Record of Credit Issued to Someone)
• TR – Trip Report
• TR – Travel Rewards
• TSA – Transportation Security Administration
• TU – TransUnion (Credit Reporting Agency)
• TYP – ThankYou Points (Citi Credit Card Rewards Currency)

U

• UA – United Airlines
• USB – U.S. Bank
• ULCC – Ultra Low Cost Carrier
• US – US Airways
• USPS – United States Postal Service
• UR – Ultimate Rewards (Chase Credit Card Rewards Currency)

V

• VGC – Visa Gift Card
• VA – Virgin Atlantic
• VX – Virgin America

W

• WF – Wells Fargo
• WFP – Wells Fargo Propel
• WOH – World of Hyatt Loyalty Program
• WMT – Walmart

X

• N/A

Y

• Y – Economy Class (Also known as ECON)
• YMMV – Your Milage May Vary
• YQ – Fuel Surcharges