Glossary of points, miles and travel terms

This glossary explains every technical term used across the articles on this site in one sentence and without prior knowledge. Each entry also gives the German equivalent, describes in a section of its own how the thing works day to day, and separates the term from the one it is most often confused with.

200 terms, each explained in one sentence, with the German equivalent.

Terms by topic#

Points and miles#

Terms from the field of Points and miles.

Award availability · Award chart · Award ticket · Blackout date · Buying points · Carrier-imposed surcharge · Cents per point · Close-in booking fee · Devaluation · Dynamic award pricing · Elite qualifying miles · Fifth night free · Free night certificate · Hotel award category · Married segments · Mile · Mileage expiry · One-way award · Open jaw · Partner award · Peak and off-peak award pricing · Phantom award space · Points plus cash · Points pooling · Positioning flight · Redeemable mile · Redeposit fee · Round-the-world ticket · Saver award · Stopover · Sweet spot · Transfer bonus · Transfer partner · Transfer ratio · Transferable points

Cards and money#

Terms from the field of Cards and money.

5/24 rule · Airport taxes and charges · Annual fee · APR · Authorisation hold · Authorized user · Bonus category · Card fraud · Carrying a balance · Cash advance · Churning · City tax · Co-branded card · Collision damage waiver · Credit inquiry · Credit limit · Credit score · Credit utilization · Deductible · Dynamic currency conversion · Foreign transaction fee · Interbank rate · Interchange fee · Losing points when closing a card · Merchant category code · Merchant of record · Minimum spend · Once-per-lifetime rule · Pre-existing condition · Primary coverage · Product change · Resort fee · Retroactive credit · Service fee · Shopping portal · Statement credit · Travel medical insurance · Trip delay insurance · Welcome bonus

Status and lounges#

Terms from the field of Status and lounges.

Airline alliance · Being walked · Board basis · Contract lounge · Early check-in · Elite breakfast benefit · Elite qualification · Elite status · Hard product and soft product · Hotel elite status · Hotel star rating · Joint venture · Late checkout · Lifetime status · Lounge access · Lounge membership · Mattress run · Mileage run · Operational upgrade · Priority boarding · Qualifying spend · Room upgrade · Soft landing · Status challenge · Status match · Timeshare · Upgrade · Upgrade certificate · Vacation rental

Booking and flight search#

Terms from the field of Booking and flight search.

Aircraft type · Airport code · Ancillary revenue · Base fare · Basic economy · Booking reference · Cabin class · Codeshare · Direct flight · Drip pricing · Electronic miscellaneous document · Error fare · Exit row · Fare basis code · Fare class · Fare rules · Fifth freedom route · Free cancellation window · Global distribution system · Hidden-city ticketing · Hub · In-flight entertainment · Interline agreement · Layover · Load factor · Low-cost carrier · Maximum permitted mileage · Metasearch · Minimum connection time · New Distribution Capability · Online travel agency · Opaque rate · PAX · Pet in cabin · Point-to-point network · Premium economy · Rack rate · Rate parity · Revenue management · Seat pitch · Seat selection fee · Separate tickets · Split ticketing · Standby · Through-checked baggage · Ticket number

Rights and disruption#

Terms from the field of Rights and disruption.

Alternative dispute resolution body · Baggage allowance · Baggage liability · Cancellation · Carry-on rules · Chargeback · Conditions of carriage · Denied boarding · Document check · Duty of care · Electronic travel authorisation · EU passenger rights regulation · European Small Claims Procedure · Excess baggage · Extraordinary circumstances · Flight compensation · Involuntary downgrade · Irregular operations · Lithium battery rules · Misconnection · Montreal Convention · No-show clause · Operating carrier · Overbooking · Passport validity rule · Property irregularity report · Provider insolvency · Re-routing · Rebooking on another airline · Refund · Schengen 90/180 rule · Secondary security screening · Single reservation · Special drawing right · Transit visa · Travel voucher · Trusted traveller programme · Unaccompanied minor · US airline consumer rules · Wet lease

US accounts and identity#

Terms from the field of US accounts and identity.

Individual Taxpayer Identification Number

US credit cards#

Terms from the field of US credit cards.

Application rule · Payment due date · Statement date

Credit file and score#

Terms from the field of Credit file and score.

Credit bureau · Credit report · DACH region · Hard pull · Soft pull

US companies#

Terms from the field of US companies.

Employer Identification Number · Personal guarantee

Terms A to Z#

Jump to a letter: A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · L · M · N · O · P · Q · R · S · T · U · V · W · 0–9

A#

Aircraft type (DE: Flugzeugtyp): Aircraft type is the model operating a flight, and it determines seat layout, cabin fit and therefore what the journey is actually like.
Airline alliance (DE: Luftfahrtallianz): An airline alliance is a grouping of carriers that credit each other’s miles, recognise each other’s status and allow award bookings across the group.
Airport code (DE: Flughafencode): An airport code is the three-letter identifier used to designate airports in bookings, bag tags and schedules.
Airport taxes and charges (DE: Flughafengebühren und Steuern): Airport taxes and charges are government and airport levies contained in the ticket price and passed on to third parties.
Alternative dispute resolution body (DE: Schlichtungsstelle): An alternative dispute resolution body is a recognised organisation that settles disputes between travellers and providers out of court, usually free for the traveller.
Ancillary revenue (DE: Zusatzerlöse): Ancillary revenue is income from services stripped out of the ticket price and sold separately, such as bags, seats or changes.
Annual fee (DE: Jahresgebühr): An annual fee is the fixed yearly price of holding a card, charged regardless of how much is spent on it or which benefits are used.
Application rule (DE: Antragsregel): An application rule is an internal issuer policy that rejects an application regardless of creditworthiness, for example because too many accounts were opened recently.
APR (DE: Sollzinssatz): APR is the price of borrowing on a card account, expressed as an annual percentage rate.
Authorisation hold (DE: Vorautorisierung): An authorisation hold is an amount blocked on a card account that hotels and car rental firms use to secure a later payment.
Authorized user (DE: Zusatzkarte): An authorized user is a second person given a card on someone else’s account, whose spending the primary cardholder is liable for.
Award availability (DE: Prämienverfügbarkeit): Award availability is the number of seats an airline releases on a given flight for redemption with miles, which is usually far smaller than the number of seats still on sale.
Award chart (DE: Prämientabelle): An award chart is a published price list stating how many miles an award flight costs in a given region and cabin, independent of the cash price of that flight.
Award ticket (DE: Prämienticket): An award ticket is a flight paid for with miles or points instead of cash; taxes, fees and surcharges almost always still have to be paid in money.

B#

Baggage allowance (DE: Freigepäckmenge): The baggage allowance is the weight and number of bags a ticket includes without an extra charge.
Baggage liability (DE: Gepäckhaftung): Baggage liability is an airline’s obligation for delayed, damaged or lost luggage, capped at a maximum amount per passenger.
Base fare (DE: Nettotarif): The base fare is the pure transport price of a ticket, before taxes, airport charges and airline surcharges are added.
Basic economy (DE: Basic Economy): Basic economy is a network airline’s cheapest fare, with baggage, seat selection and changes stripped out of the price.
Being walked (DE: Verlegung in ein anderes Hotel): Being walked is the consequence of hotel overbooking: the property houses the guest at a different hotel because no room is available.
Blackout date (DE: Sperrtermin): A blackout date is a day on which a programme refuses a redemption or certificate as a matter of rule, no matter how many seats or rooms are free.
Board basis (DE: Verpflegungsart): Board basis states which meals the room rate includes, ranging from room only through half board to all-inclusive.
Bonus category (DE: Bonuskategorie): A bonus category is an area of spending where a card credits more points per unit of spend than its base rate, such as travel or restaurants.
Booking reference (DE: Buchungscode): A booking reference is the six-character code identifying a reservation record for the airline, the agency and the airport.
Buying points (DE: Punktekauf): Buying points is the direct purchase of miles or points from the programme for cash, usually at a rate above what those points are worth on redemption.

C#

Cabin class (DE: Kabinenklasse): Cabin class is the physical section of an aircraft, economy, premium economy, business or first, each with its own seating and service.
Cancellation (DE: Annullierung): A cancellation is the withdrawal of a scheduled flight; a diversion or substantial rescheduling can legally count as one too.
Card fraud (DE: Kartenmissbrauch): Card fraud is a payment made without the cardholder’s authorisation, for example using stolen card details.
Carrier-imposed surcharge (DE: Kerosinzuschlag): A carrier-imposed surcharge is a fee set by the airline itself and added to a ticket, payable in cash on award bookings on top of the miles.
Carry-on rules (DE: Handgepäckregeln): Carry-on rules are an airline’s limits on the size, weight and number of bags that may be taken into the cabin.
Carrying a balance (DE: Revolvierender Saldo): Carrying a balance means leaving part of a card bill unpaid so that it rolls into the next month and accrues interest.
Cash advance (DE: Bargeldvorschuss): A cash advance is withdrawing cash on a credit card, which counts as borrowing and therefore carries its own fees and interest rules.
Cents per point (DE: Cent pro Punkt): Cents per point is the measure of a redemption’s value: the cash price avoided, minus any co-payment, divided by the number of points spent.
Chargeback (DE: Rückbuchung): A chargeback is the reversal of a card payment through your own bank when a paid-for service was not delivered or not delivered as agreed.
Churning (DE: Churning): Churning is the repeated opening and closing of card accounts with the aim of collecting welcome bonuses more than once.
City tax (DE: Kurtaxe): City tax is a municipal levy per overnight stay that the hotel collects and passes on to the local authority.
Close-in booking fee (DE: Kurzfristgebühr): A close-in booking fee is a surcharge some programmes add when an award ticket is issued shortly before departure.
Co-branded card (DE: Co-Branding-Karte): A co-branded card is a credit card issued by a bank together with an airline or hotel chain that earns directly in that programme’s currency.
Codeshare (DE: Codeshare): A codeshare is a flight sold by one airline under its own flight number while a different airline actually operates it.
Collision damage waiver (DE: Haftungsbefreiung beim Mietwagen): A collision damage waiver is the rental company’s promise not to pursue the renter for damage to the vehicle, usually subject to a deductible.
Conditions of carriage (DE: Beförderungsbedingungen): Conditions of carriage are an airline’s general contract terms, setting out the rights and duties of both sides for every ticket it sells.
Contract lounge (DE: Vertragslounge): A contract lounge is a waiting area an airline does not run itself but buys in from a handling company or the airport.
Credit bureau (DE: Auskunftei): A credit bureau is a company that collects reports from lenders, matches them to a person and passes them on as a credit report when a lender asks.
Credit inquiry (DE: Bonitätsanfrage): A credit inquiry is a lender’s check of a credit file; a hard inquiry is recorded and visible to others, while a soft inquiry is not.
Credit limit (DE: Kreditrahmen): A credit limit is the maximum balance a card account may carry between statements.
Credit report (DE: Kreditbericht): A credit report is the collection of reported credit accounts held on a person by a bureau, with limit, balance, payment status and the inquiries other lenders made.
Credit score (DE: Bonitätsscore): A credit score is a number a bureau uses to express how likely a person is to meet their payment obligations.
Credit utilization (DE: Kreditausnutzung): Credit utilization is the ratio between the balance on a card and its credit limit, expressed as a percentage.

D#

DACH region (DE: DACH-Raum): The DACH region is the shared German-speaking market of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, named after the country codes D, A and CH.
Deductible (DE: Selbstbeteiligung): A deductible is the amount the insured person pays on every claim before the insurer covers the remainder.
Denied boarding (DE: Nichtbeförderung): Denied boarding is the refusal to carry a passenger who holds a valid booking and arrived on time, typically because the flight is oversold.
Devaluation (DE: Abwertung): A devaluation is a worsening of a programme’s redemption terms: the same award costs more miles afterwards, or it stops being bookable at all.
Direct flight (DE: Direktflug): A direct flight keeps one flight number and may still touch down on the way; a nonstop flight goes from origin to destination without landing.
Document check (DE: Reisedokumentenprüfung): A document check is the airline’s verification of passport, visa and travel authorisation before departure, based on an immigration requirements database.
Drip pricing (DE: Tropfenweise Preisanzeige): Drip pricing is a sales practice in which mandatory costs only become visible step by step during the booking process.
Duty of care (DE: Betreuungsleistungen): Duty of care covers meals, means of communication and, where needed, accommodation and transfers that an airline owes during a wait.
Dynamic award pricing (DE: Dynamische Prämienpreise): Dynamic award pricing is a mileage price tied to the cash fare of a flight, which is why it moves daily instead of sitting in a fixed chart.
Dynamic currency conversion (DE: Dynamic Currency Conversion): Dynamic currency conversion is the offer to settle a payment abroad in your own home currency, with the merchant side choosing the exchange rate.

E#

Early check-in (DE: Früher Check-in): Early check-in means taking the hotel room before the standard arrival time, generally subject to availability and without entitlement.
Electronic miscellaneous document (DE: Elektronisches Zusatzdokument): An electronic miscellaneous document is the separate receipt for paid extras such as bags, seats or change fees, issued apart from the flight ticket.
Electronic travel authorisation (DE: Elektronische Einreisegenehmigung): An electronic travel authorisation is an online pre-clearance for visa-free travellers that has to be in place before departure.
Elite breakfast benefit (DE: Frühstücksleistung): The elite breakfast benefit is a status perk that includes breakfast for the member and usually one guest at no extra charge.
Elite qualification (DE: Statusqualifikation): Elite qualification is the proof that enough flights, qualifying miles or spending have accumulated within a defined period to reach a status tier.
Elite qualifying miles (DE: Statusmeilen): Elite qualifying miles are miles that count only towards reaching a frequent flyer tier and cannot be redeemed for awards.
Elite status (DE: Elitestatus): Elite status is a tier in a loyalty programme that grants extra benefits for a limited period once a qualification threshold has been met.
Employer Identification Number (DE: Arbeitgebernummer): An Employer Identification Number is the nine-digit identifier under which the US tax authority holds a company and under which banks and partners identify it.
Error fare (DE: Fehlerpreis): An error fare is a fare published by mistake far below normal levels, typically through a keying error or a currency mix-up.
EU passenger rights regulation (DE: Fluggastrechteverordnung): The EU passenger rights regulation is the European law governing claims for cancellation, long delay and denied boarding, regardless of ticket price.
European Small Claims Procedure (DE: Bagatellverfahren): The European Small Claims Procedure is a simplified court route for cross-border claims up to a statutory ceiling, with no need for a lawyer.
Excess baggage (DE: Zusatzgepäck): Excess baggage is luggage beyond the allowance, charged by the airline per piece, by weight or by dimensions.
Exit row (DE: Notausgangsreihe): An exit row is the seat row at an emergency exit, offering extra legroom and subject to legal requirements on who may sit there.
Extraordinary circumstances (DE: Außergewöhnlicher Umstand): Extraordinary circumstances are events outside an airline’s control that remove the entitlement to statutory compensation.

F#

Fare basis code (DE: Tarifgrundlage): A fare basis code is the full tariff code on a ticket, encoding promotions, validity and restrictions on top of the fare class letter.
Fare class (DE: Buchungsklasse): A fare class is the single letter on a ticket that identifies the fare and decides mileage earning, change rights and upgrade eligibility.
Fare rules (DE: Tarifbedingungen): Fare rules are the conditions attached to a specific airfare covering changes, refunds, validity, stopovers and mileage earning.
Fifth freedom route (DE: Fünfte-Freiheit-Strecke): A fifth freedom route is a flight between two foreign countries operated by an airline from a third country as an extension of its own network.
Fifth night free (DE: Fünfte Nacht gratis): Fifth night free is an elite benefit under which an award stay of five or more consecutive nights is charged for four nights of points.
Flight compensation (DE: Ausgleichszahlung): Flight compensation is a flat statutory payment owed by the airline for cancellation, long delay or denied boarding, scaled by flight distance.
Foreign transaction fee (DE: Fremdwährungsgebühr): A foreign transaction fee is a percentage charge added by the card issuer on purchases that are not in the card’s billing currency.
Free cancellation window (DE: Kostenfreie Stornofrist): A free cancellation window is a short period after booking during which a flight ticket can be cancelled without fee and refunded in full.
Free night certificate (DE: Freinacht-Gutschein): A free night certificate is a voucher for one hotel night up to a fixed points ceiling, usually granted once a year as a credit card benefit.

G#

Global distribution system (DE: Globales Vertriebssystem): A global distribution system is the technical platform travel agencies and booking sites use to search flights, price them and send bookings to airlines.

H#

Hard product and soft product (DE: Hartes und weiches Produkt): Hard product means the physical fittings of an aircraft or hotel, while soft product means the service, catering and staff experience.
Hard pull (DE: Hard Pull): A hard pull is a check of a credit file made because a lending decision is pending. It is recorded, visible to other lenders and counts towards the score.
Hidden-city ticketing (DE: Hidden-City-Ticketing): Hidden-city ticketing means booking a flight beyond the intended destination and getting off at the connecting airport because the longer trip is cheaper.
Hotel award category (DE: Hotelkategorie): A hotel award category is the price tier a loyalty programme assigns to a property, from which the points price per night follows.
Hotel elite status (DE: Hotelstatus): Hotel elite status is a tier in a hotel programme that holds out benefits such as room upgrades, breakfast or late checkout.
Hotel star rating (DE: Hotelklassifizierung): A hotel star rating is the classification of a property in stars, describing facilities and service by the criteria of the country concerned.
Hub (DE: Drehkreuz): A hub is an airport where an airline banks its flights in waves so that passengers from many origins can connect to many destinations.

I#

In-flight entertainment (DE: Bordunterhaltung): In-flight entertainment is the onboard entertainment offer, delivered either through seatback screens or streamed to a passenger’s own device.
Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (DE: Steuerliche Kennnummer): An Individual Taxpayer Identification Number is the US number for people not eligible for a Social Security number, issued strictly for tax purposes.
Interbank rate (DE: Interbankenkurs): The interbank rate is the exchange rate banks trade at with each other, and it serves as the benchmark against which any markup abroad is measured.
Interchange fee (DE: Interbankenentgelt): An interchange fee is the share of a card payment that the merchant’s bank pays to the card issuer, and it is what funds points programmes.
Interline agreement (DE: Interline-Abkommen): An interline agreement is a contract between two airlines to accept each other’s tickets, transfer baggage and rebook passengers during disruption.
Involuntary downgrade (DE: Herabstufung): An involuntary downgrade is being carried in a lower class than booked, for instance when business class is oversold or the aircraft was swapped.
Irregular operations (DE: Irreguläre Betriebslage): Irregular operations describe a situation in which an airline’s schedule breaks down broadly, through weather, strikes or a systems failure.

J#

Joint venture (DE: Joint Venture): A joint venture is a deeper partnership between a few airlines that share revenue on defined markets and plan their schedules together.

L#

Late checkout (DE: Später Check-out): Late checkout is the elite benefit of keeping a hotel room beyond the standard departure time, in almost all cases subject to availability.
Layover (DE: Umsteigeaufenthalt): A layover is the wait between two flights on one journey, short enough to count as connecting rather than as a stay of its own.
Lifetime status (DE: Lebenslanger Status): Lifetime status is a tier granted permanently once a cumulative lifetime total is reached, without needing to requalify each year.
Lithium battery rules (DE: Lithium-Akku-Regeln): Lithium battery rules are safety regulations for batteries on aircraft: power banks and spare cells belong in hand luggage, never in checked bags.
Load factor (DE: Sitzladefaktor): Load factor is the share of available seats that have been sold, measuring how full a flight or a network is.
Losing points when closing a card (DE: Punkteverfall bei Kartenkündigung): Losing points when closing a card describes the forfeiture of a balance held in the issuer’s own programme as soon as the account is shut.
Lounge access (DE: Lounge-Zugang): Lounge access is the right to use a catered waiting area at an airport, obtained through cabin class, status, a card, a membership or a walk-up payment.
Lounge membership (DE: Lounge-Mitgliedschaft): A lounge membership is access to a network of independent lounges, usually provided as a card benefit with a capped number of visits or guests.
Low-cost carrier (DE: Billigflieger): A low-cost carrier is an airline whose model rests on a low base fare, unbundled extras and high aircraft utilisation.

M#

Married segments (DE: Verheiratete Segmente): Married segments are flight legs that a reservation system only releases in a particular combination; searched on their own, the seat does not exist.
Mattress run (DE: Mattress Run): A mattress run is a hotel booking made purely to collect nights towards a status tier, without any need for the stay itself.
Maximum permitted mileage (DE: Höchstflugstrecke): Maximum permitted mileage is the greatest distance a distance-based fare allows between origin and destination, detours included.
Merchant category code (DE: Händlerkategorie): A merchant category code is the four-digit code a card network uses to classify a business, and it decides which bonus points a purchase earns.
Merchant of record (DE: Zahlungsempfänger): The merchant of record is the party that appears on the card statement and is therefore the legal counterparty to the payment.
Metasearch (DE: Metasuche): A metasearch site compares prices across providers and hands the traveller on to an airline or agency to complete the booking.
Mile (DE: Meile): A mile is the currency unit of a frequent flyer programme: a credit in an airline account that can be exchanged for flights and other awards.
Mileage expiry (DE: Meilenverfall): Mileage expiry is the loss of a balance when an account shows no activity for a defined period, or when a fixed deadline runs out.
Mileage run (DE: Statusflug): A mileage run is a trip booked purely to collect the qualifying miles or segments still missing for a status threshold.
Minimum connection time (DE: Mindestumsteigezeit): Minimum connection time is the shortest connection a reservation system will sell at a given airport between two flights.
Minimum spend (DE: Mindestumsatz): Minimum spend is the amount that must be charged to a new card within a defined period before the welcome bonus is credited.
Misconnection (DE: Verpasster Anschluss): A misconnection is missing an onward flight because the previous one ran late; the legal consequences depend on whether both flights sit on one ticket.
Montreal Convention (DE: Montrealer Übereinkommen): The Montreal Convention is an international treaty governing airline liability for baggage, delay and personal injury on international journeys.

N#

New Distribution Capability (DE: Neuer Vertriebsstandard): New Distribution Capability is a data standard letting airlines send offers directly to sellers rather than distributing them only through legacy systems.
No-show clause (DE: No-Show-Klausel): A no-show clause is the condition that the rest of a booking is cancelled if a passenger fails to take one flight segment.

O#

Once-per-lifetime rule (DE: Einmal-pro-Leben-Regel): A once-per-lifetime rule is a condition stating that a given card’s welcome bonus can be earned only a single time per person.
One-way award (DE: Einfache Strecke): A one-way award is a redemption flight booked in a single direction, with no return flight on the same ticket.
Online travel agency (DE: Buchungsportal): An online travel agency is an intermediary that sells flights and hotels in its own name, sitting between the traveller and the airline or hotel.
Opaque rate (DE: Opaker Tarif): An opaque rate is an offer where the provider is revealed only after booking, such as an unnamed hotel of a given class in a given district.
Open jaw (DE: Open Jaw): An open jaw is a round trip on one ticket where the return airport differs from the outbound destination, with the gap covered some other way.
Operating carrier (DE: Ausführende Airline): The operating carrier is the airline that actually flies the aircraft, as distinct from the airline whose name sold the ticket.
Operational upgrade (DE: Betriebliches Upgrade): An operational upgrade is a move to a higher cabin made by the airline for its own reasons, because the booked cabin is oversold or the aircraft changed.
Overbooking (DE: Überbuchung): Overbooking is the deliberate sale of more seats than the aircraft has, because airlines plan for a predictable number of no-shows.

P#

Partner award (DE: Partner-Prämie): A partner award is a redemption in which one programme’s miles pay for a flight operated by a different airline.
Passport validity rule (DE: Reisepassgültigkeit): A passport validity rule is the requirement of many countries that a passport remain valid for a minimum period beyond departure, often six months.
PAX (DE: PAX): PAX is the industry abbreviation for passengers, used both for passenger volumes and for individual travellers in booking systems.
Payment due date (DE: Fälligkeitstermin): The due date is the day by which payment on a card statement must arrive so that no interest accrues on purchases made during the cycle.
Peak and off-peak award pricing (DE: Saisonale Prämienpreise): Peak and off-peak award pricing is an award chart with several price levels depending on travel dates, typically high, low and shoulder season.
Personal guarantee (DE: Persönliche Bürgschaft): A personal guarantee is the applicant’s promise to cover the liabilities of a business account if the company itself fails to pay them.
Pet in cabin (DE: Tier in der Kabine): Pet in cabin means carrying a small animal on board in a soft bag under the seat in front, booked in advance and charged as an extra.
Phantom award space (DE: Phantomverfügbarkeit): Phantom award space is an award seat a search displays but cannot book, because the operating airline’s system does not confirm it.
Point-to-point network (DE: Punkt-zu-Punkt-Verkehr): A point-to-point network is a model in which an airline links cities directly and does not plan connecting itineraries over a hub.
Points plus cash (DE: Punkte plus Zuzahlung): Points plus cash is a redemption format in which part of the price is settled with points and the remainder with money.
Points pooling (DE: Punktepooling): Points pooling is the combining of balances from several accounts so that an award can be paid for which no single account holds enough.
Positioning flight (DE: Positionierungsflug): A positioning flight is a separately booked flight to the airport where the real trip starts, often because that is where award space was found.
Pre-existing condition (DE: Vorerkrankung): A pre-existing condition is a health issue that existed before cover started or before departure and can limit what a policy pays.
Premium economy (DE: Premium Economy): Premium economy is a separate cabin between economy and business, with wider seats, more pitch and its own service.
Primary coverage (DE: Primäre Deckung): Primary coverage means a card’s insurance pays first in a claim; secondary coverage only pays what another policy has not already covered.
Priority boarding (DE: Vorrangiges Boarding): Priority boarding is the right to board ahead of other passengers, granted through status, fare, a card or an extra payment.
Product change (DE: Produktwechsel): A product change is swapping an existing card for a different one from the same issuer without closing the account and reapplying.
Property irregularity report (DE: Gepäckschadensmeldung): A property irregularity report is the record filed at the airport for missing or damaged baggage and the basis of every later claim.
Provider insolvency (DE: Insolvenz des Reiseanbieters): Provider insolvency is the financial failure of an airline, hotel or agency, leaving booked services undelivered.

Q#

Qualifying spend (DE: Statusumsatz): Qualifying spend is the ticket revenue a programme requires alongside flights or miles before granting a status tier.

R#

Rack rate (DE: Listenpreis): The rack rate is a hotel’s official undiscounted room price, used as the reference point from which all other rates are derived.
Rate parity (DE: Ratenparität): Rate parity is the agreement that a hotel offers the same room price across all distribution channels and does not undercut the agencies.
Re-routing (DE: Ersatzbeförderung): Re-routing is the airline’s obligation after disruption to get the passenger to the booked final destination, if necessary by another route.
Rebooking on another airline (DE: Umbuchung auf eine andere Airline): Rebooking on another airline is transferring a ticket to a different carrier so the passenger reaches the destination sooner after disruption.
Redeemable mile (DE: Prämienmeile): A redeemable mile is the spendable mile in a frequent flyer programme, the balance that pays for flights, upgrades and other awards.
Redeposit fee (DE: Wiedereinbuchungsgebühr): A redeposit fee is the charge a programme applies for returning already redeemed miles to the account after a cancellation.
Refund (DE: Erstattung): A refund is the repayment of the fare when a flight is cancelled or the passenger no longer wants to travel after a disruption.
Resort fee (DE: Resortgebühr): A resort fee is a mandatory daily hotel charge for bundled amenities, added on top of the room rate that was displayed.
Retroactive credit (DE: Nachträgliche Gutschrift): A retroactive credit is the later posting of points or miles for a stay or flight that did not appear in the account in the first place.
Revenue management (DE: Ertragssteuerung): Revenue management is the process by which an airline distributes seats across price levels in order to maximise total revenue on a flight.
Room upgrade (DE: Zimmeraufwertung): A room upgrade is the allocation of a higher room category than the one booked, granted as an elite benefit and usually subject to availability.
Round-the-world ticket (DE: Weltreiseticket): A round-the-world ticket is a single ticket for a journey circling the globe in one direction, with several stopovers inside a fixed set of rules.

S#

Saver award (DE: Sparpreis-Prämie): A saver award is the cheapest award level in a programme, the level that is tightly rationed and the only one partner programmes are able to book.
Schengen 90/180 rule (DE: Schengen-Aufenthaltsregel): The Schengen 90/180 rule limits visa-free stays to 90 days within any rolling 180-day period across the entire Schengen area.
Seat pitch (DE: Sitzabstand): Seat pitch is the distance from one point on a seat to the same point on the seat in front, used as a proxy for legroom.
Seat selection fee (DE: Sitzplatzgebühr): A seat selection fee is a charge for choosing a specific seat before departure instead of having one assigned at check-in.
Secondary security screening (DE: Sekundäre Sicherheitskontrolle): Secondary security screening is an enhanced additional check, flagged on the boarding pass, that takes extra time at the airport.
Separate tickets (DE: Getrennte Tickets): Separate tickets are two independent bookings covering one journey with a connection, where no airline is responsible for the transfer between them.
Service fee (DE: Servicegebühr): A service fee is the intermediary’s own charge for making the booking, added on top of the fare or room rate and not passed to the provider.
Shopping portal (DE: Einkaufsportal): A shopping portal is a programme-run page used to start an online purchase so that points are credited on top of what the card itself earns.
Single reservation (DE: Einheitliche Buchung): A single reservation is a journey whose sectors sit on one booking, which is the precondition for passenger rights to cover the whole route.
Soft landing (DE: Weiche Rückstufung): A soft landing is the rule that a missed status does not disappear entirely but drops to the next lower tier instead.
Soft pull (DE: Soft Pull): A soft pull is a check of a credit file with no lending decision pending. Only the person concerned can see it, and it has no effect on the score.
Special drawing right (DE: Sonderziehungsrecht): A special drawing right is an international unit of account used by the IMF, in which baggage liability limits are expressed.
Split ticketing (DE: Split-Ticketing): Split ticketing means dividing a journey into several separate tickets because the sum of the parts costs less than the through booking.
Standby (DE: Standby): Standby is being placed on a list for a flight without a confirmed seat, boarding only if space remains shortly before departure.
Statement credit (DE: Gutschrift auf die Abrechnung): A statement credit is an amount the card issuer refunds against qualifying purchases instead of awarding points for them.
Statement date (DE: Abrechnungsstichtag): The statement date is the day a card issuer closes the billing cycle, produces the statement and reports that day’s balance to the credit bureaus.
Status challenge (DE: Status-Challenge): A status challenge is a time-limited offer to earn status by completing a reduced number of flights or nights within a short window.
Status match (DE: Statusmatch): A status match is the transfer of status from another programme: a provider grants a comparable tier in order to win the customer over.
Stopover (DE: Stopover): A stopover is a planned break of journey on a single through ticket, longer than a normal connection, which effectively adds a second destination.
Sweet spot (DE: Sweet Spot): A sweet spot is a redemption where an award chart asks for far fewer miles than the cash price of the route would suggest.

T#

Through-checked baggage (DE: Durchgechecktes Gepäck): Through-checked baggage is luggage tagged to the final destination at the first departure, so it does not need collecting at the connecting airport.
Ticket number (DE: Ticketnummer): A ticket number is the thirteen-digit identifier of an issued flight ticket and the proof that a booking has been paid for and ticketed.
Timeshare (DE: Teilzeitwohnrecht): A timeshare is a contractual right to use a holiday property for a defined period each year.
Transfer bonus (DE: Transferbonus): A transfer bonus is a temporary uplift on the transfer ratio: the same number of points briefly arrives as more miles in the destination programme.
Transfer partner (DE: Transferpartner): A transfer partner is an airline or hotel programme that a bank or card programme can convert its points into.
Transfer ratio (DE: Transferverhältnis): The transfer ratio is the rate at which one programme’s points convert into another currency, such as one to one or three to one.
Transferable points (DE: Transferierbare Punkte): Transferable points are points held by a bank or card issuer that can be converted into the currencies of several airline and hotel programmes.
Transit visa (DE: Transitvisum): A transit visa is permission to pass through a country while connecting, even when no stay there is planned.
Travel medical insurance (DE: Auslandskrankenversicherung): Travel medical insurance covers medical treatment abroad, including repatriation, which state health systems usually do not pay for.
Travel voucher (DE: Reisegutschein): A travel voucher is credit with the airline offered instead of a repayment, redeemable only against that airline’s own services.
Trip delay insurance (DE: Reiseverzögerungsversicherung): Trip delay insurance is a card benefit that reimburses necessary extra costs during a long delay or an interrupted trip, such as hotels and meals.
Trusted traveller programme (DE: Vorabkontrolle): A trusted traveller programme vets passengers in advance and gives them an expedited lane at security or border control in return.

U#

Unaccompanied minor (DE: Alleinreisendes Kind): An unaccompanied minor is a child travelling without an adult, for whom the airline requires or offers a chargeable escort service.
Upgrade (DE: Upgrade): An upgrade is the move into a higher cabin or room category than the one booked, paid for with miles, cash or granted as an elite benefit.
Upgrade certificate (DE: Upgrade-Gutschein): An upgrade certificate is an elite benefit that lifts an existing booking into the next cabin, provided the airline has released upgrade inventory.
US airline consumer rules (DE: US-Regeln für Fluggäste): US airline consumer rules are Department of Transportation regulations covering refunds, baggage fees and denied boarding on flights in the United States.

V#

Vacation rental (DE: Ferienunterkunft): A vacation rental is an apartment or house let out short-term by a private or commercial host and booked through a platform rather than a hotel desk.

W#

Welcome bonus (DE: Willkommensbonus): A welcome bonus is a one-off points credit for opening a new card and meeting a minimum spending requirement within a set period.
Wet lease (DE: Wet Lease): A wet lease is the hire of an aircraft together with its crew by an airline that then sells the flight under its own flight number.

0–9#

5/24 rule (DE: 5/24-Regel): The 5/24 rule is a US issuer policy: an applicant who has opened five or more card accounts in the past 24 months is declined for certain cards.