Over the last several years I've used frequent flyer miles to travel the globe and explore incredible new places. In the course of my wanderings I've discovered that there are a lot of misconceptions surrounding frequent flyer and airline points programs. Now I'm here to set the record straight.
1) You don't fly enough to make miles worth it.
Untrue. It's free to join frequent flyer programs, so there's no reason you shouldn't. Plus, sites like AwardWallet.com now let you track all your balances in one place. You can also keep track of expiration dates on your miles so you don't have to worry about losing them unexpectedly. Even if you are an infrequent flyer, you can still get in on the game. Even though I fly over 150,000 miles a year, the majority of my points and miles are non-flight related, meaning I accrue a ton via the best credit card sign-up bonuses and my daily credit card spending. I take advantage of the top promotions, which are constantly being updated. So as long as you spend money -- and we all do -- you can start stockpiling miles and points.
2) Miles expire too quickly to use.
False. On some airlines, like Delta, miles never expire and most credit card points never expire as long as an account is active. This means that most airline programs will reset the expiration date just because you bought a song on iTunes. It does take some effort, albeit minimal, to make sure your untouched miles don't disappear, but you should treat them as assets and take the one minute necessary to keep the accounts active.
3) Even if I have miles and points, I'll won't be able to use them due to black out dates.
Wrong. Most airlines don't even have blackout dates anymore. While they might charge more for traveling during peak periods like the holidays, you can still fly home for Christmas on points. Once you familiarize yourself with some key tools and methods of checking award availability (most airline websites are useless and only show you a tiny fraction of actual availability), you'll be surprised at what is actually out there. More on that in a future post.
4) The glory days of frequent flyer miles and travel are over.
Au Contraire. This has been an unprecedented year for huge credit card sign-up bonuses and many industry insiders are saying the best is yet to come. Airlines have been creeping back to profitability (thanks, in no small part to those nickel-and-dime charges for checked baggage and economy plus seating), and with the economy leveling out -- despite obvious turbulence -- airlines are competing more than ever to gain loyal customers. Many are even giving bonuses for highly competitive routes: United, American and Virgin America have been showering San Francisco to Chicago fliers with bonuses all year and Delta is offering 1,000 free miles for checking in once using their app. Now is as good a time as ever to put together a smart points strategy. A better time really.
5) The whole concept of free travel is too good to be true.
Incorrect. You should see my passport. While it is hard for many people to believe, traveling the world on the cheap is very possible for those enterprising enough to have a strategy in place. Remember: Airlines sell billions of miles to partners like credit card companies and car rental agencies every year, so they need that gravy train to continue running. Companies also know that miles motivate consumers, so they are seen as effective marketing tools. That means you can get airline miles for pretty much anything, including signing up for new credit cards, paying your phone bill, ordering flowers and refinancing your mortgage. Start paying attention to the offers that are out there and you will start racking up more miles than you ever thought possible. Send me a postcard.
My future posts will outline key ways not only to earn points, but to redeem them effectively.
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AmEx will charge you about 2 or 3 times the points for the same travel as OnePass. But when you transfer your points, you can do so 1-for-1. You won't lose anything, you'll only gain.
One area you can get a good deal, though, is with hotel points. After only a year with Marriott I have enough points for a week long stay someplace sweet. Now THAT's worth my time. You can keep your pesos.
The culmination of this is when US Airways didn't count a flight to Europe (their error) and I didn't catch it until they took my miles away due to "inactivity". When I contacted them, they said I didn't do it in the allocated time and would have to pay over $100 to get my miles back, minus any credit for the flight. It's ridiculously. Meanwhile, Delta didn't record a transatlantic flight that got changed last minute, I contacted them after this whole snafu with US Airways, and they took care of it right away.
So in theory, I told US Airways that I wasn't going to be using their mile program anymore, but their program was the only one that includes (almost) all the different airlines I fly.
If I try to book a business class seat using miles and hit the button for "Star Alliance seat" I can get a business class seat for 100,000 miles for lax to lhr on the United website.
I think United have given away too many miles, therefore charging more miles for the seats and making people go through 2 to 4 connections.
I have been their passenger for over 20 years using their credit card but I think it's time to move on and see what other airlines have to offer.
On my last flight from Vancouver in July they left my bags there sent them the next day to me and they had big cracks down the sides I am still waiting for a replacement.
Sure, If I want to go to a very small community on a Wednesday at 6 am or 10 pm I could use them. Where I wanted to go..... not so much.
I fly with AA regularly, and while I have encountered difficulty getting my preferred routing/scheduling from time to time, with the availability provided by alliances, I am rarely inconvenienced. Indeed, in general I get what I want 95% of the time...but I also understand that I am using miles, and that there are a limited number of seats on a plane at any given time that are made available to awards.
Two final points...it is often easier to travel to larger cities on award tickets than smaller towns because the airlines have more flights, more seats, etc. Also, if you want to reinstate your miles, you can contact AA and request this. They may charge you a small fee, but possibly not.