Last updated 11.13.2022 (before, 01.01.2020, 09.02.2017) 

It's magical, so there's a lot of jargon.

However, it seems like a lot of first-timers get stuck on a lot of terms they've never heard before and can't get any further. 

So we've compiled a list of the most common terms related to airlines, hotels, and credit cards.

I wish I could organize it alphabetically, but I wrote it in a stream of consciousness, so I hope you'll just chalk it up to that 🙂 . 

Aviation

* Dan Gong: Korean Air. Also known as Peanut Airlines. 

* 法师Asiana Airlines' acronym is OZ, which reminds us of the Wizard of Oz, so we call it Bowsane. There is also a story that Asiana's tight equipment operation schedule is said to be magical. In late 2020, Korean Air announced a merger and acquisition, leaving the company's future unstable. 

* LevinhoRevenue ticket: A ticket that is purchased for money. It can be said to be the opposite of non-revenue ticket or non-rev, which are tickets received by airline employees or family members. Mileage tickets are also called revenue tickets in principle, but in the case of wear and tear, mileage tickets are mainly used to purchase tickets for money because mileage tickets do not pay for wear and tear. In other words, it is a contrasting concept to mileage ticketing.  

* Reservation / TicketingThese days, booking and ticketing are often seen as the same thing, but they're actually separate processes. Some airlines, such as Asiana, Korean Air, AA, and others, allow a few days for booking first and ticketing later when issuing mileage tickets. 

* Yuhan: Fuel surcharge. Sometimes called YQ. A fee that airlines started charging when oil prices were high, using the excuse that fuel was expensive. Many airlines continue to charge it for other reasons even though the price of oil has come down significantly. European airlines are still charging murderous fuel fees.

For flag carriers, flights from the U.S. to Korea are subject to a fee, which means that if you buy a round-trip ticket from the U.S., you have to pay two fees (one for a round-trip and one for a round-trip), whereas if you buy a round-trip ticket from Korea, it is slightly cheaper. Therefore, depending on how expensive the penalty is, it may be possible to reduce the penalty by splitting the mileage ticket into two one-way and two one-way tickets, such as a round-trip ticket from Korea and a US-Korea or US-Korea-US ticket from the US. Not always. 

* PNRCommonly referred to as a reservation number, it stands for passenger name record and is a six-digit alphanumeric combination. It looks like this: 67K421. For partner airline tickets, there may be two PNRs. For example, if you redeem AA miles for a Japan Airlines JAL ticket, you have one PNR for AA and a separate PNR for JAL. So if you want a JAL seat assignment, you'll need to ask AA to provide you with JAL's reservation number and PNR. (Note that Asiana and Korean Air have a 7-digit reservation number separate from the PNR). 

* Separate ticketingThis refers to the ticketing of an entire itinerary as two or more separate tickets rather than one ticket. For example, if you are traveling from Boston to New York and then to Incheon, Boston-New York is booked on JetBlue and New York-Incheon is booked using Asiana Miles, this is called a split ticket. Separate ticketing means that the second airline is not responsible if the first flight is delayed/delayed and you can't catch the second flight. Therefore, you should always be careful when ticketing. 

* TATLTrans-Atlantic. refers to a flight from the United States to Europe. 

* TPACTrans-Pacific, a flight from the United States to Asia or Australia via the Pacific Ocean. 

* Positioning Flight: When traveling to Europe, Korea/Japan, etc. on miles, it would be nice if there was a direct flight from the airport where I live, but this is often not the case. In that case, I have to fly to an airport with a direct TATL or TPAC flight, which is called a positioning flight. These are often separately ticketed and paid for. Also, if there are certain hot deals, for example, if there is a hot deal to Seattle, someone who lives in Boston needs to buy a separate Boston-Seattle ticket, which can also be called a positioning flight. 

* Split peak tickets: How Korean Air uses Asiana's two-leg rule to avoid peak season. The one-way stopover feature that's now gone since 2020. 

* Eurasian herbal medicineI'm traveling through Europe on my way to Korea. I used to use United miles, but they changed the rules and it's not as easy these days. It's almost non-existent now. 

* RTWRound-the-World. Some mileage programs offer round-the-world tickets, but they're not as popular as they were in the 2000s. 

* NonstopSometimes confused with direct flight, which are two very different concepts. A non-stop is literally a flight that goes straight through without stopping, while a direct flight can have more than one stopover. For example, a non-stop flight from New York to Incheon would be non-stop, while a direct flight from New York to Incheon could have a stopover in Alaska. 

* TransitTransit: A layover that is not a stopover. Less than 4 hours for domestic flights and less than 24 hours for international flights is considered a transit. Even airlines that don't allow stopovers often allow transits. For example, a JAL ticket with AA miles will not allow a stopover, but will allow a transit. This means that if you fly from the US and arrive in Tokyo at 5pm on the 15th, if you catch a flight from Tokyo to Korea the next day before 5pm on the 16th, it's considered a transit, not a stopover, and you don't have to pay extra miles. 

* Stopover (stopover): What is not a transit. Anything longer than 4 hours for domestic flights and 24 hours for international flights is considered a stopover. For mileage tickets, the rules vary by airline. Some airlines allow two stopovers on a round trip, some allow one on a one-way trip, and some allow none. But some airlines don't allow them at all.

* open-jawThere are destination open-jaw and origin open-jaw, but I'm most familiar with destination open-jaw. For example, if you organize an itinerary such as New York to LA, LA to SFO, SFO to New York, and SFO to New York, the LA-SFO section is called an open-jaw section. For more information, see our previous article Wind. 

* segment: A unit for a single airplane ride. If you take two flights, such as Boston-New York-JFK-San Francisco, you have two segments. 

* Region-basedMileage deduction based on region, regardless of distance. Korean Air and Asiana were basically regional (i.e. Incheon-Hawaii, Incheon-New York, Incheon-New York is obviously much farther, but the mileage deduction is the same), For Korean Air, starting with tickets issued on April 1, 2021, the distance system will be changed to a distance system.  

* Distance-basedDistance-based mileage deduction, where each segment is calculated separately and deducted separately. British Airways BA does this. If you fly New York-LA-Tokyo-Incheon, you will be deducted according to the distance from New York to LA, LA to Tokyo, Tokyo to New York, and Tokyo to Incheon. Regional mileage programs deduct mileage once for the New York-Incheon region in this case.  

* Distance summationThe distance of each segment is summed up and the mileage is deducted accordingly. This is how ANA Airlines' round-the-world ticket works, i.e., New York-Frankfurt-Tokyo-New York: the distance of each segment is added up and miles are deducted accordingly. 

* Ticketing carrierThe airline that issued the ticket.  

* Operating carrierThe airline that directly operates the flight. Normally, the ticketing agent and the airline are the same, so if you book an Asiana ticket with Asiana miles, the ticketing agent and the airline are the same. However, if you book an Asiana ticket with United miles, United is the ticketing agent and Asiana is the operator. In this case, you'll need to call Asiana for seat assignments, but you'll need to contact the ticketing agent at least 24 hours (some airlines now say 48 hours) before the flight for any changes, cancellations, etc. This is usually not a problem, but if something goes wrong, it can be quite frustrating. 

* Code-shareThere are complications with revenue-sharing and so on, but the important thing is that when you board a code-share flight, you have to check in with the operator. So if you have an Asiana Airlines code, but the actual operator is United, you have to check in and board with United. 

* Co-terminalsIf there are multiple airports in the same city, they are sometimes treated as the same airport for ticketing, transit, and stopovers. For example, when ticketing with AA, Tokyo Narita (NRT) and Haneda (HND) are considered to be the same airport, so it's just a transit. 

* IRROPWhen normal operations are not possible due to irregular operations, bad weather, aircraft abnormalities, etc. 

* OP-UPoperational upgrade. When a certain class is full due to overbooking or airplane change, passengers are upgraded to a higher class according to priority. It's not just because you look good, but everyone has a protocol, so expensive airlines, elite members, etc. have priority. 

* F, C, Y: F for First Class, C for Business, Y for Economy. 

* CabinF-Cabin First Class section, C-Cabin Business section, Y-Cabin Economy section. 

* Biz, BIZ: Business Class

* Ikon: Economy Class

* Coach: Economy Class 

* Boarding PassA long piece of paper that you check in with and receive. Nowadays, there are many mobile boarding passes, so you don't need a physical one. 

* Booking class / fare classEven for the same economy ticket, there are huge price differences depending on the validity period, changeability, etc. and these differences are usually labeled with alphabets. That is, Y is full-fare economy, B is flexible economy, and so on. It also depends on the airline, and sometimes the lowest booking classes don't earn miles. Unless it's a low-cost airline, once you're in the cabin, you're in the same cabin (although this is starting to change, especially with US airlines, and you may have to pay for carry-on luggage if you buy a cheap ticket). 

* carry-onMy carry-on bag. Usually a 21-inch carry-on + a small personal item, but it's becoming more of a bundle. 

* checked baggage: Bags that you send while checking in. Baggage. 

* ThruCheckThrough check, which usually refers to sending your luggage to your final destination when you check in at the airport for the first time when you have a separate ticket or a ticket for flights with different airlines. Sometimes you get a boarding pass, sometimes not. For baggage to be checked through, the airlines must have a baggage interline agreement. 

* InterliningInterlining. Airlines' agreements regarding e-tickets, baggage, etc. 

* GEGlobal entry, which costs $100 and is valid for five years, and if you get GE, you also get TSA PreCheck. You can enter your Known Traveler Number (KTN) when you purchase your ticket. 

* Skull: Star Alliance: One of the three major airline alliances. Members include Asiana, United, and ANA.

* Skyteam: Korean Air, Delta, Air France, etc. 

* OneWorld: oneworld. Members include American Air, JAL, British Airways, and more.

* Airline Key AcronymsAA (American), DL (Delta), UA (United), AS (Alaska), WN (Southwest, often known as SW), AC (Air Canada), CX (Cathay Pacific), AF (Air France), LH (Lufthansa), BA (British Airways), LX (Swiss), TK (Turkish Airlines), KE (Korean Air), OZ (Asiana), NH (ANA), JL (Japan Airlines). 

* LifemilesMiles for money. TACA, Avianca's mileage program. You can buy them for $135-150 per 10,000 miles if you're a Skrill member and buy them during promotions. It costs about $1200 for a one-way business trip between the US and Korea.   

* Aeroplan: Air Canada's mileage program. 

* XN: One of United's fare classes. Only accessible to United's elite members or partner cardholders. You can think of XN as the equivalent of a convenience store owner who sells Pokémon Bread stashing away a few loaves to give away to their regulars. Access to XN can make a huge difference in mileage deductions. 

Major airport codes 

* Eastern Region Major Airport Codes: BOS (Boston), JFK (New York JFK), LGA (New York LaGuardia), EWR (Newark, NJ), NYC (simultaneous search for 3 New York area airports), PHL (Philadelphia), BWI (Baltimore), IAD (Washington Dulles), DCA (Washington National), WAS (simultaneous search of 3 Washington area airports), RDU (Raleigh), CLT (Charlotte), MCO (Orlando), MIA (Miami), FLL (Fort Lauderdale), ATL (Alana)

* Western Region Major Airport CodesSEA (Seattle), PDX (Portland), SFO (San Fran), OAK (Oakland), LAX (Los Angeles), SAN (San Diego), LAS (Las Vegas), PHX (Phoenix) 

* Central Region major airport codesDFW (Dallas), IAH (Houston), DEN (Denver), ORD (Chicago), MDW (Chicago Midway), MSP (Minneapolis),STL, (St. Louis), CLE (Cleveland), CVG (Cincinnati) 

* Hawaii: HNL (Honolulu), OGG (Maui), KOA (Kona - Big Island), LIH (Kauai) 

* Major Asian airport codesICN (Incheon), GMP (Gimpo), SEL (simultaneous search for Gimpo and Incheon), PUS (Busan), CJU (Jeju), NRT (Narita), HND (Haneda), TYO (search for all Tokyo), KIX (Osaka), ITM (Osaka Itami), CTS (Sapporo), HKG (Hong Kong), PEK (Beijing), PVG (Shanghai), TPE (Taipei), BKK (Bangkok) 

* Major European airport codes: LHR (London), CDG (Paris), FRA (Frankfurt), MUC (Munich), FCO (Rome), VIE (Vienna), VCE (Venice), BCN (Barcelona), MAD (Madrid), PRG (Prague), IST (Istanbul)

* Major airport codes in Mexico, CaribbeanCUN (Cancún), CZM (Cozumel), SJD (Los Cabos), AUA (Aruba), MBJ (Montego Bay, Jamaica), NAS (Nassau, Bahamas), SJU (San Juan, Puerto Rico), LIR (Costa Rica), SJO (Costa Rica) 

Hotels 

* SPGStarwood Preferred Guest, which was Starwood's loyalty program with Sheraton, Westin, etc. that is now defunct because they merged with Marriott. 

* MarietteMarriott, which merged with SPG and became very large. Especially in Korea, it has the largest number of affiliated hotels among the three major hotel chains (Hyatt, Marriott, and Hilton). The loyalty program is called Bonvoy. 

* BonvoyMarriot's hotel loyalty program. 

* IHGIt used to be Priority Club, then renamed IHG. InterContinental hotels and Holiday Inn are part of this chain. 

* Hyatt, Haiyat, Hyatt: Hyatt, but it's spelled differently every time because it's how it's pronounced at the time. The name of the loyalty program is World of Hyatt.

* GOHGuest of Honor, one of the perks of Globalist, Hyatt's highest elite status. The idea is that if you use your points to book a hotel reservation in the name of a family member or friend, they can enjoy Globalist benefits (breakfast, upgrades, late check-out, etc.). 

* Tiertier, which refers to the elite level of a hotel itself. For example, at Hilton, the highest tier is Diamond, and the next tier is Gold. 

* Hilton MillionGoldIt's not like you have to collect a million points to become gold, but it's called 1 million gold because it's relatively easy to get Hilton Gold elite status, so it's called Hilton Gold anyway. This does not mean that the benefits are inferior, but it can be said that it is an average hotel status because breakfast is solved, which is lacking in most Hilton hotels.

* BRGBest rate guarantee. Different hotel chains have different names for this, but it's usually called BRG. If you find a cheaper rate on the hotel's own website, they will not only match it, but also add points or gift certificates as a reward. Doing a BRG well is an art form. 

* Amenity: Things like shampoo and conditioner in a hotel bathroom/toilet are usually called amenity. Generally, good hotels use good brands of amenity, but this is not always the case. 

* no capacity controlledUnlike airlines, hotels have all changed to letting you use points to book rooms if they are available. However, this doesn't work for all rooms, and often only for the lowest tier regular rooms that the hotel has designated. So it's important to remember that there are rooms that you can pay for, but not with points.

* Cash and points: Different hotel chains have different names, but it's the same thing. It doesn't mean paying all points and getting a 'free' stay, but part cash + part points, like seasoning and frying. It used to be a good value for money, but it's getting worse and worse. Hyatt is the only good one.  

* late check-outHotel checkout is usually at 11 or 12, but elite members may be able to get a late checkout at 2 or 4. Some chains will honor this, others won't, so be careful. 

* VendomeThe Park Hyatt Vendome in Paris. It's usually almost $1,000 a night, but it's so easy to get a stay with a Hyatt affiliate card that it's often referred to as the Parisian Park Hyatt by magicians. 

* 20 XingongA technique that works in Las Vegas. When checking into a hotel, sandwich a $20 bill between your ID and credit card and say, "I was hoping to get a better room today" and smile. It also works in Mexico and elsewhere, but in Europe, it's a surefire way to get yourself in trouble. 

* FHRFine Hotels and Resorts, a perk for Amex Platinum members that gives you breakfast + $100 worth of other perks when you stay at their hotels. So it's worth it to stay at FHR for this price. If you don't have the Amex Platinum card, you can book a similar deal at classictravel.com. 

* LHRThis program is run by Chase and is called Luxury Hotels and Resorts. It's similar to FHR but with fewer perks, but it's still worth checking out when booking because you can get anywhere from $25 to $75 worth of perks like breakfast.

* Fondant FondantThis refers to the practice of switching hotels from night to night for elite status benefits. For FHR stays, if a couple each has an Amex Platinum card, they can book one night in each name and get the benefit twice. 

* QN / QSUnits for calculating hotel elite status. QN stands for Qualifying Night and QS stands for Qualifying Stay. If you stayed at one hotel for 3 nights, it's 3 QNs and 1 QS. If you stayed at 3 different hotels for 1 night each, you'd have 3 QNs and 3 QSs. 

Credit card 

* 5/24Oops. A rule that makes it nearly impossible to get a Chase card if you've opened five or more cards in the past 24 months at the time of card application. Because of this rule, you should open a Chase card first whenever possible. 

* Family Card / AU CardAU: Another way of saying authorized user. You don't have to be a family member to get an AU card. In Korea, these cards are called family cards, so we just call them family cards for simplicity.

* UR: Abbreviation for Ultimate Rewards, Chase's own loyalty program. Also known as URP. If you have a Dorrance card, you can convert your points to airlines like United and points from Hyatt. 

* Dorrance CardCards with the ability to transfer UR points to airline miles and hotel points. Personal cards are the Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve cards are the Dorrance Card. Business cards are the Ink Business Preferred and the Ink Business Preferred are the Dorrance Card. The Ink Plus and Ink Bold, which are no longer being issued, also work with the Dorrance Card. 

* Sharp cardsShort for Sapphire Preferred, which is a good first card.

* Sari Card: Short for Sapphire Reserve, the best deal of 2016. The card you have to run for when the 100K offer comes back.

* Freedom CardThe term used to refer to Chase's Freedom card, which itself was rebranded as the Freedom Flex in 2020. Called a lifetime card because it earns UR points and has no annual fee. 

* Sister cardChase Freedom Unlimited card. Earn 1.5 points for every dollar you spend. Card with no annual fee. 

* Cherry Card: Nickname for the Chase Ritz Carlton (Ritz-Carlton) card. A card that is no longer issued. 

* Chill: Phonetic pronunciation of chase, rarely used these days. 

* BOA / BofAShort for Bank of America. 

* MRANA: Short for Membership Rewards, Amex's loyalty program. Best for US-Korea business roundtrips for 95,000 miles when transferred to ANA. 

* Sick: Amex's Advanced Platinum Card Short for Platinum Card. 

* FRShort for Amex's financial review. Amex will take a second look at your account if they suspect that you've applied for a lot of cards in a short period of time or that your spending history is significantly different from your income, etc. To get an accurate picture of your income, you'll be asked to sign a form called 4506-T, which gives Amex permission to get a copy of your tax file and verify it. If you get caught, it's pretty grim. 

* TYPTYP stands for ThankYou Points, the city's own loyalty program. UR, MR, SPG, and TYP are the four types of points that can be transformed, but TYP is the most crowded. 

* SMShort for: secure message. It refers to the email sent while logged in to each card company's homepage.  

* Mermaids: instant approval, short for instant approval.

* Pending: Sometimes, when you apply for a card, you don't get an immediate approval or decline, and you're told to wait 7-8 days or 30 days while your application is reviewed. This is called pending.  

* Whole fish: Authorize call 

* DefenseThis means that the application was left unattended and was approved after a few days. Very rarely, it can also refer to an in-person approval, which is rarely used. 

* ReconShort for Reconsideration. The act of calling a card company and asking them to take another look at your card application if you've been pending or declined. 

* Sign up: Refers to a set number of bonus miles or points that you can receive after you've been newly issued a card and have met certain conditions. Also known as a welcome bonus. 

* Spending: The spending requirement that must be met to receive the card's sign-up bonus, commonly referred to as spend. 

* Churning / Chinning: Getting a card, getting a sign-up bonus, canceling the card, and then getting a new card with the exact same sign-up bonus and getting the sign-up bonus all over again. Card companies naturally don't like this, so most banks/card companies are in the process of introducing new regulations to prevent churning.  

* Product change / Product conversion: To switch / convert a card to another kind of card. Usually without a hard pull, but sometimes with a hard pull. (For hard pulls, see the description of that topic below). In case of product change, it is common to lose the signup bonus. 

* Retention: When a new annual fee is charged for a credit card, the act of asking for something in return for remaining a member of the card without eating it. From the card company's point of view, it can be called retention because it is to keep the customer (retention).  

* Secure Card: secured card. The act of giving a credit card to someone with no credit. So they put up cash as a deposit and give them a card with a credit limit equal to or less than the deposit. This is a good way for people with no credit history to build credit history. Think of it as the Korean equivalent of the old security deposit cards. 

* KikaShort for: gift card. 

* Hard pull / soft pull: When you apply for a card, loan, mortgage, etc., the bank pulls your credit history, which is called a hard pull. A hard pull = you've applied for a card = you're asking for debt, which temporarily lowers your credit score. Soft pulls are when you pull your own credit, or when a bank, card company, etc. sends you a trick offer or pulls your credit just to make sure you're on track, and they don't affect your score. 

* TransUnionOne of the three major credit bureaus

* EquifaxOne of the three major credit bureaus 

* ExperianOne of the three credit bureaus

* FICOFICO: The most popular of the various credit scores, although FICO also has several scores. 

* The Caves: An imaginary space to put yourself in if you feel like you've made too many cards. 

* Dynamic: Escape the cave = apply for a card. A neologism coined by a message board shitter. 

* Ripper: referral, refer a friend. Cardholders receive a referral bonus when they generate a link and refer a friend. Chase, Amex, Discover, and others are implementing. 

Other

* Masungi: Miles + Value. 

* The Mages: Short for mile stealers. Someone once asked me if it was a demonic group because they just stole miles, but it's not violent like that, it refers to people who visit Milemoa. 

* Enchantment: The act of writing and doing for the sake of filial piety and good will. 

* Waffle: When a post on a message board gets 100 comments, it flips to the next page, which is called a waffle because it flips like a waffle. 

* FT: Flyertalk.com. A treasure trove of mileage information, points information, everything. If it's not here, it's not there. Nowadays, reddit is also an important source of information. 

* Kebake: case-by-case, meaning that your results may vary.

* YMMV: your mileage may vary, which is the same as case-by-case, meaning that your results may vary.

* AYOR: At your own risk

* Lee Hyung Sam Gui: 二行三歸, two go together and come back as three. A good wishing for the honeymoon babe.

* AM/BM: After MileMoa / Before MileMoa, after knowing MileMoa, before knowing MileMoa. 

* Power generation: Computing (computer processing) with your feet instead of your hands. Rather than being the subject of ridicule, this term is usually used when a computer mistake has resulted in something beneficial. An example sentence might be, "I got points on TABLO thanks to Hyatt's power plant!" 

* DP: Data points. Examples.