Basic Guide to Award Travel Words & Phrases

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