Friendlier Skies
Blackout dates? Confusing fine print? Don’t get overwhelmed by your airline miles program. These tips will help you master the art of leveraging your airline miles so you spend less and fly more.
Blackout dates? Confusing fine print? Don’t get overwhelmed by your airline miles program. These tips will help you master the art of leveraging your airline miles so you spend less and fly more.
Airlines often partner with credit card companies to offer cards that let you earn airline miles with every purchase. Usually, when you book a flight, you get double or higher miles for the purchase. Look for cards that offer other perks, like free checked bags and priority boarding.
Note: Many of these cards have a fee, though it’s often waived in the first year. If you’re a frequent flyer, it may be worth the expense to get the perks and opportunity to earn miles. If you’re not a frequent flyer, consider a general reward credit card that lets you redeem points for all kinds of travel with any company.
It can be tempting to shop around to find the lowest-price ticket for your upcoming trip, but by changing airlines every time you fly, you miss out on maximizing your airline miles. Instead, try staying loyal to one particular airline if you can, even if it means spending a little bit more. You’ll make it up by racking up points you can use to fly for free.
If there’s not a flight with your preferred airline, see who its partners are. You can book a flight with any airline in its network and still earn miles with your favorite airline. This is especially helpful when you’re flying with a smaller airline company (like WestJet) or are flying to an unusual location on a local airline (like China Eastern). Usually, you can enter your frequent flyer number for the primary airline when booking.
Sometimes, airline partners offer better deals for using miles to fly. Check both your preferred airline’s website as well as its partners that fly to a given destination to compare mile offers.
Some airlines discount the number of miles they require to fly to a destination during certain seasons. If your travel plans are flexible, you could snag a deal to fly internationally at a fraction of the high-season mileage requirement.
You can also take advantage of low-priced flights as a way to boost your miles while spending less on the flight. Look at the shoulder seasons of April/May and September/October for discounts.
It can be overwhelming to scour the internet for the best strategies to redeem miles, but the good news is: you don’t have to do it on your own. There are sites dedicated to helping you get the most out of your airline miles, including The Points Guy and AwardWallet.
These sites announce when credit cards offer boosted mile-earning opportunities, as well as when airlines drop the requirement for redeeming miles for flights.
Don’t want to waste hours trying to find ways to maximize your airline miles when booking a flight? Some services can help. Point.me helps you book the best flight with the fewest miles and can assist you in optimizing how you earn miles. There are three membership levels with Point.me, ranging from free to $260 a year.
Another option is Point Hacks, an Australian company that can help you find reward seats on flights. The company offers a free assessment; you only pay when you have an itinerary that you’re happy with. Prices range from $400 (AUD) to $1,200, depending on the itinerary and class level.
If you can commit to putting all your purchases on your airline rewards credit card, you’ll rack up miles even faster. The key is paying off what you charge immediately so you don’t accrue interest fees. Some rewards cards offer more points for spending categories like groceries, gas, travel, or dining out, so make sure you use your card whenever spending on these categories.
If you’re traveling with kids, make sure to open frequent flyer accounts for each one. That way, when they fly, they earn too, and you can use those miles for future travel together.
Business and first-class international tickets can be astronomical, but with a little creativity, you can book a standard ticket and use your miles to upgrade. Just pay attention to the details: some airlines only allow mile upgrades for certain categories of flights (check the letter of the flight against which ones allow upgrades).
Upgrades with miles aren’t always guaranteed. You may be put on a list for requested upgrades, since, naturally, the airline will want to sell those first-class seats to those willing to pay. You’ll be put in a queue with others and prioritized based on status. The higher your airline status, the more likely you are to get that upgrade without paying more than taxes.
Some airlines have started making airline miles expire if not redeemed within a certain timeframe, or if an account isn’t active. Log into your airline website at least a few times a year to ensure that your points won’t disappear due to inactivity.
If you’re in danger of losing your miles, consider booking a short flight to use your miles … and earn even more!
If it’s taking forever for you to accrue enough miles to fly, you can also buy them. Some airlines offer discounts per mile when you buy larger quantities, and some may even hold sales for mile purchases. Stay tapped into your airline's promotions by signing up for emails, and snag those deals when they come around. Just make sure the cost of buying the miles you need doesn’t exceed what you’d pay if you bought the ticket outright.
You can redeem miles for expenses other than flights, such as checked bags, but you’re better off being patient and redeeming more miles for flights. So if you’re dreaming of flying to Italy, start saving those miles!
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