Win a trip to Australia!
Thanks to the generosity of American Express and Boarding Area, I am pleased to offer this contest to readers of Pearls of Travel Wisdom. You have an excellent chance to win a 7-day trip for two to Down Under. Total value of this contest is about $13,000.
To enter, simply post a comment here answering this question: What’s your top tip for travelers who want to earn and use their loyalty points?
Increase your chances of winning by posting a comment on all of the 20 participating blogs. Each blog offers great content with a different perspective on travel, all worth a regular read. Keep an eye out for their posts about the contest.
Also, you can follow the blogs with an RSS feed. If you use Twitter, a great source to keep up to date on all the Boarding Area blogs is @BoardingArea and feel free to follow me on Twitter, @smartwomentrav.
Please hurry, the last day to enter is Sunday, March 28, 2010.
The contest is open to anyone who is a US resident at least 18 years old. Very sorry, but this does not apply in Canada, US Territories, or the rest of the planet.
One lucky random winner will be chosen from all qualifying entries. Complete rules and details are here.
Again, many thanks to American Express and Boarding Area for offering this opportunity to my readers. Best of luck to each and every one of you winning what will be the trip of a lifetime!
Ryan said,
Choose one airline and credit all your miles to the one account instead of spreading them all around. You will have a hard time accumulating enough miles to redeem them for an award in they’re spread around in different account.
Adam said,
Bookmark a site like evreward.com, and anytime you make an online purchase, check it out. It lists all airline/hotel points available for shopping at a particular site. The little miles add up, and are also great for keeping accounts “fresh.”
David said,
Don’t be scared off by credit card annual fees. Look at the bonuses and the possible accrual, and most of them may be worth the potential earn.
Chris said,
Top Tip – Read the blogs on Boardingarea.com. The bloggers on the website do a fantastic job gathering and synthesizing all of the information out there in order to keep you up to date on ways to maximize earning rewards. On the “using” side of the equation, they stay abreast of all of the best deals to use points, and also provide detailed advice and comparisons on using your rewards.
AirShadow said,
Life is short, use those miles!
Brent said,
When using any airline, hotel, or car rental, try to earn the miles on a carrier whose program you’re already a member of. Consolidate your earning on one or a couple of carriers rather than spreading out the points.
Frank said,
Don’t forget the additional bonus ways to get miles and points. Never know when you might be justthismuchshort.
sdm1130 said,
Earn the miles/points in the cheapest possible ways and then burn them for the most luxurious travel!
Scott said,
The grass is always greener on the other side of the aisle!
Angella said,
When traveling Europe, don’t immediately think a Eurail pass is the cheapest and easiest way to travel. I
rarely planned ahead, but was still able to travel cheap by flying on budget airlines. Beware that they do have a weight requirement. This can keep you packing light and buying things you don’t need.
Win a trip to Gold Coast Australia - Musings of The Global Traveller said,
[...] Pearls of Travel Wisdom [...]
neal carpenter said,
Use your Amex to earn points (especially the places that give double points) and then use them for the longest flight posible. A transcontinental flight is the same as a flight to the next state.
David said,
Know the rules of your frequent flier program. You’d assume that the airline’s customer service representatives know what they’re talking about, but sometimes they’re just plain wrong. Don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself if you’re correct.
Melody said,
Fly one airline or one alliance, and make sure your points get credited!
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Emily J said,
Use ANA to research award travel and expert flyer/KVS for other airlines. Do NOT rely on the agent to find you a routing!
Guggu said,
When redeeming your miles it is always better to avoid school holidays and to travel off season to get the best value for your miles with airlines and hotels.
gobluetwo said,
Don’t just credit flight miles to your FF program, but also take advantage of partner offers where they make sense – credit cards, dining, etc. This can go a long way to earning those rewards, particularly for infrequent fliers. Through credit card use and partner offers, I earned enough miles to fly myself and my wife to Hawaii for our one year anniversary. Although I’m now mid-tier (Premier Exec) on United, I was a 3-4 times a year flier at the time.
Iceman said,
To use your loyalty points when you want to use them, plan ahead. Way ahead.
Katie said,
look for hotels offering discounted point stays. That way, you make the most of your points. For instance, on certain dates 25k Marriott points can be used for a night at a Ritz-Carlton.
Craig said,
All miles are not equal. Know the strengths and weaknesses of the programs you participate in so that when it comes time to redeem an award, you’re using the currency that gets you the most bang for your buck (or mile or point).
Steve said,
Two tips for the price of one entry! I know this doesn’t increase chances of winning, but I surely hope it doesn’t break the rules
1. If you think you might lose elite status the following year due to changes in travel patterns, focus more on paid (point/mile-earning) flights and stays while you still have status. Two reasons this helps: (A) you take advantage of the elite benefit of bonus earning (10%, 25%, 50%, 100%, etc) that should more than compensation for the risk of devaluation in the coming year, and (B) you will continue to take advantage of upgrades associated with your status in the paid flights/stays. This means avoiding redemption of miles, points, and “free” vouchers (e.g. VDB) that do not earn miles — use these for your family and friends instead, or maybe offer a tit-for-tat exchange (you’ll pay for someone else’s trip using points, and they’ll pay for your similar or less expensive trip using money).
2. Don’t overestimate the value of your miles/points or be overzealous of spending money just to collect rewards, since this is counterproductive to your more important personal finance goals (that will fund more travel!). For example, if you would never pay $20,000 for an international first class flight, don’t benchmark your miles based on that cost! If you do the math, you might find that cashback cards will be more beneficial to your pocketbook than mile or point-earning cards. For example, the Schwab InvestFirst Visa gives 2% cash back on all purchases; would you rather have 2 cents in your pocket for every $1 you spend, or one mile/point? If you always redeem for domestic flights for 25k miles, are those limited-availability flights worth $500 to you?
jan said,
American Express Membership Rewards is a good place to consolidate a lot of miles for use on a good selection of partners, and they have some good double/triple point promotions from time to time. Bonus idea – read blogs like this one for excellent tips and reviews – I’ve earned a lot of points from just a couple of easy ideas – information is your friend.
Jonathan said,
It never hurts to ask… just for asking I’ve recieved status matches, waived CC fees, gotten agents to round up total miles to book a flight or hotel when I was short. If you have a bad trip/stay be vocal, write a letter and an email, I’ve been well rewarded for my valued consumer feedback.
VEGASDEALMAN said,
Take advantage of 2 stays=1 free night promotions by staying in 2 cheap local hotels and splurging on a high end luxury one for your free night (Hyatt and hopefully SPG again)
Ben said,
Starwood Amex indeed on every single purchase you do. Not only can you use those miles on hotel stays but you can also use them for flying to your dream destination!
Patrick said,
Focus on one or two programs to maximize your benefits, then be flexible and plan ahead to get the most use out of the miles/points you’ve accumulated.
Chris K. Costanza said,
Earn points with American Express 3x gold card or the starwood Amex for more flexability.
Then try to get your award with the following information.
If you don’t get what you want the first time, hang up and call again. Always be informed about where you want to go and what routes you can take to get there and use the ANA website and expertflyer to be informed about what availability is out there.
Use your points for Business or First Class to get more bang for the buck.
Isaac said,
Set award goals to help prioritize earning and redemption programs.
Ken said,
Keep everything in one family: Hotel stays, credit card usage, car rentals, airlines. Always ‘take the points,’ never the gifts.
Siobhan said,
Have a goal in mind for those miles; it keeps you motivated to accrue and stay on top of it.
ed said,
If you earn hotel points, spend them on that hotel. Same for airlines. Never spend on a partner award.
imm2b said,
Use your BA miles to Buenos Aires with a stopover on Easter Island for 80K BA miles in Business or 40K in Economy on LAN. Best use of BA miles IMHO.
Carson said,
Scour the web and pay attention to program e-mails for promotions such as double points/miles, etc. I’ve found this to be a great way to increase my account balances for very little effort (often clicking/entering your account number)!
Matt said,
Be consistent. Why spread your points around and never have enough to do anything with? Find what works for you and stick with it. We recently found a nightly price on a hotel room that we felt we couldn’t pass up, but we really should have gone to the adjacent Intercontintental Hotel in order to get some Priority Club points while we were at it.
Ashley said,
Adopt a multi-faceted approach in order to earn the most miles possible! Sure flying on the airline will get you miles but so can a host of other activities! Check out what airlines your bank or credit union has aligned with and get the mileage debit and/or credit card. When shopping online, check out your airline’s website first as many of them link to the e-commerce sites you shop most and allow you to earn miles as well. Check out sites such as http://www.e-rewards.com and http://www.e-miles.com to take quick and simple surveys to earn miles. Also, sign up for your preferred airline’s e-newsletter as they will send you chances to earn more miles when you fly or buy. Most of all, have fun and use those hard-earned miles on something great!
prncess674 said,
question: What’s your top tip for travelers who want to earn and use their loyalty points? Points can be earned on all kinds of purchases. If a merchant accepts credit then use it, no purchase too small!
Ed said,
Save the things you read and learn on your computer. There is so much information out there, sometimes I find that I have to go back and review something that I’ve seen previously.
StacyWash said,
Find the best reward program that best fits your needs. Try to keep everything within one reward program. Starwood offers great hotel points and bonus points when you convert your points to miles. Stay on top of things and make sure you always check your balances to ensure proper credit.
jumpcut said,
Check airline partner websites for seat availability to international destinations. Then call your airline and suggest the dates that you found available on the partner sites.
Dave said,
Concentrate your efforts on one or two programs. Use the Boarding Area blogs and FlyerTalk to find great deals and tips on making the best use of your miles/points.
Lorraine Aubert said,
Allow free transfer of points to other programs! That way, I can use the points for my airline of choice.
connor said,
My top tip for earning and using rewards points: focus, focus, focus! There’s no sense in spreading out 60,000 points to different airlines, credit cards, and hotels plans. Focus on the plan that makes the most sens for you, and work it. Check the plan’s site frequently for bonus opportunities, credit card signup bonuses, and other earning opportunities, and — if they make sense — take advantage. Secondary tip: don’t become so enamored with points that you spend uneccesarily just to earn points
Henry Mac said,
stick with one airline and one alliance at first so one can achieve status faster.
Rick said,
Be loyal and loyalty will reward you. Use a card for your top airline or hotel, and always fly the same airline (or alliance) and stay at the same hotel.
jerry said,
Checkin with boardingarea.com and Flyertalk daily, don’t miss out on the 100000 mile deals when they come around.
Kevin said,
Using an airline specific miles credit card for all purchases and monthly revolving bills allows building of miles without flying and then booking flights with that card often provides double (or higher) miles.
Erik said,
Pick your airline and/or alliance and stick with it. Then read all about the inside details in FlyerTalk forums and the various BoardingArea blogs!
Jeff D said,
try to concentrate your travel, hotel and credit card usage to programs that can be tranfered between, that way if you need to boost point in one for a particular aware it is easier to do.
Jason said,
Chose one airline programs and get their credit card which will earn miles. Charge everything you can to the card and pay off at the end of the month. My favorite is AA.
Lindsay said,
Focus spend on SPG credit card
mowogo said,
Be flexible with your plans, and sometimes consider traveling somewhere near your intended destination
Brandon said,
I’ve always tried to work out deals with friends where I’ll pay for their travel via awards, and then they give me the money for what they would’ve paid (within reason). That way, you can essentially convert your miles into cash (at a rate acceptable to you), and you don’t lose out of miles that you could’ve earned by paying for trips that you would’ve spent miles on.
Chris said,
Think about which account to use when flying partner airlines.
Daniel K said,
Points = Money
Earn’em, Track’em, most importantly Spend’em!
Brian Futterman said,
If you fly with several airlines, maintain loyalty with only one carrier per alliance. Consolidate those miles so awards come faster and easier.
YD said,
When booking award travel, be flexible and be EARLY!
The magic number is 330. Most airlines load new inventory into their reservations system 330 days prior to the flight date. If there are any award seats on the flight you want, they will be available right after that flight is loaded into the system.
Of course, popular travel days (i.e. holidays, spring break, etc.) and popular travel routes/destinations may cause these seats to disappear nearly immediately after release, but be patient, plan well in advance, and mark (and double-check) your calendar for the correct day to start your search.
Happy travels!
Gregory said,
Always sign up for loyalty programs, even if you don’t think you’re going to fly with the airline/alliance a lot. They’ll collect over time, and you never know when your situation might change (along with your primary carrier or alliance).
marc said,
1)never use cash
2)go against the conventional wisdom of participating in only one FF program–join those in which you anticipate mergers(much like stock investing), get the credit cards when there are a minimum of 25,000 bonus miles for sign-up, and hold those like a long term investment, using them on the occasions that your primary carrier is not attractive.
3) churn wherever possible
Russ said,
Join Flyertalk.com
Kevin said,
Focus on a single airline alliance and hotel chain as much as possible, having 50,000 miles in one program is infinitely better than having 10,000 in 5 different programs. It sounds basic (they’re loyalty programs after all) but the first decision as to which program to focus on is the most important.
Go ahead and collect the scrap miles/points for the others too, but donate them to charity or order magazines or other cheap redemptions.
Also – burn those points as soon as they reach a significant value you can use! Saving money today is better than maybe saving slightly more in six months.
gba said,
Try to consolidate your points/miles in as few programs as possible, that way its easier to save up for the big award. I use Alaska and United as my two airline programs and I can earn (and redeem) miles on ALL of the major domestic airlines and many, many major international carriers. Where possible, use a program like starwood or american express membership rewards for your credit card so you can move the points easily into many programs. When booking an award, plan as far in advance as you can, and be flexible, never, ever, ever redeem miles for a non-”saver” award – if you’re going to be paying that many miles the game just isn’t worth playing.
eric m. said,
it’s not that exciting, but my top tip is to be sure you’re in the mileage dining program– it makes it easy to quickly top off points and keep accounts “alive” while you’re building the balance.
EagleClass said,
Keep a log of ALL points earned and any promotion associated. Regularly reconcile your earnings. So many points are just lost because they were never awarded. Think about hiring one of your children to help you keep track.
Victor said,
Practice using the reward booking engine, so you have an idea of what kind of flights you can get both within a few weeks and a few months out. This helps when you are discussing possible vacations times with others!
Jen said,
If you travel for work, see if your company will let you charge air fare on your card, and reimburse you. That way, you’ll get the miles without actually having paid for the flights in the first place.
Chuck said,
Don’t just travel, be an adventurer. One year while booking reward travel to Athens, the agent told me she could get us to Athens, but couldn’t find a return flight. I asked, is there anything available from a nearby city. She responded, “Two days later, I can get you out of Bucharest Romania.” Without thinking how I was going to make it work, I told her to book it.
That trip to Greece ended up taking us through Turkey to Romania. We traveled on boat, bus, prop airplane and taxi to complete the trip. It became one of the best vacations of our lives.
Ripper3785 said,
Explore ALL your options when booking Award flights. Pull up the route maps for airlines in your alliance and look for the obscure/unusual, and then check availability. Never trust a phone agent to help you find a creative award routing. Do the legwork if you want to find that dream trip, and be flexible.
bunsai said,
Use miles for redeeming premium class air ticket. Economy is just a waste of miles.
oah said,
Keep updating the promotion so you can get the first class ticket without flyong with them.
For some frequent flyer program keep calling until you get what you want
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Allen said,
Don’t use your miles for domestic trips, save up for a big international trip in First or Business class and your miles will be worth much more.
Margaret said,
Combine your airline and align your hotel rewards card with it. If you travel frequently and can manage to stay in the hotel that grants airline miles, what a way to go and grow your miles more rapidly.
Melissa said,
Pick one airline and one hotel chain and use them all the time. Once you have preferred status on the airline and at the hotel you get the most bonuses possible.
Laura Garbacz said,
When trying to reserve a room with hotel pointes remember that while all dates might not be available for points most days might be. Be careful to ask the question.
Kyle said,
If you have status on one airline you have them on them all. Just call up the participating airline and tell them you want to switch over. The will usually match your status on the other airline.
Brian said,
Being a novice to the whole FF miles game I have come to rely on advice from the intelligent crowd that frequents http://www.flyertalk.com/. I try to use my miles to upgrade to the front of the cabin rather than free flights.
George Pap. said,
My tip is to avoid Delta Skymiles since it is impossible to use those miles for awards at the lowest tier level!
Peter said,
Read FlyerTalk every day.
James Bernie said,
If you can swing it, use your own credit card that gives you the miles for the purchase which gets reimbursed by your employer, then get miles from the flight.
Also, make sure the FF program you sign up for is actually useful in your region so you can actually use the points from your location.
hiu said,
Try to focus your miles/points to a few programs (don’t spread yourself too thin). Get a mileage earning cc and charge all your bills/expenses to it to earn miles/points towards vacation travels!
Michelle Barkdoll said,
This is easy – I use one card for everything
Keeps track of all my points and when it’s time to use – so easy! 
PLUS I’m always looking out for specials where I can get double the points or even free along the way!
Safe travels and Happy flying!
Jen said,
If you’re a business traveler, ask if your company would allow you to charge your air fare to your own card, and reimburse you. That way, you get the frequent flier miles without having paid for the initial (work travel) air fare in the first place. Then, when you cash out your frequent flier miles, it is truly a “free flight.”
What a great incentive to take a vacation!
George Holub said,
Fly within one global airline alliance and credit all of your miles to one FF account. That way, your miles aren’t spread around to different accounts, making it hard to ever accumulate enough to redeem them for anything!
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Jack said,
If you have a family mileage account, make sure that your dad doesn’t dip into your balance and steal miles for his business class upgrades
MT said,
Pick your primary plans carefully and don’t forget the expiration policies.
Julie said,
For someone just starting out, figure out which airlines you would be flying most. Then choose one that has the most flights and most partner airlines available for your desired routes. No matter which partner airline you fly, make sure to always credit your miles to the one frequent flyer program that you signed up with. Eventually you will have enough miles for your first award, whatever that may be.
Don’t let anyone tell you how you should use your miles. In my opinion, your miles are worth whatever they are worth to YOU. Use them to fly coach, to fly premium, for upgrades, for merchandise, or for magazines. Redeem them however you wish, and enjoy your hard-earned work!
wei said,
Plan ahead of time and grab the deal before figuring out what it is! Stay tuned and be loyal.
nbdona said,
USE A SPG CARD!
Jill said,
be flexible on your award boodings
DavidWesley said,
I can only speak for Air loyalty programs, but my best advice is to pick one carrier and aim for Elite status. Once you travel as a top tier elite, you will never want to go back.
If you are elite in multiple airlines, make sure they are in seperate alliances so that all of your bases are covered for trips that your one carrier may not fly to. Eg… Oneworld and Skyteam.
Udi said,
Burn as you earn…
Martin said,
Sign up for a couple of credit cards and get all the sign-on bonuses!
Megan said,
use a mile-earning credit card for everything you buy!
deltaPMflyer said,
Use your Delta AMEX earn lots of miles!
Rob said,
Actually be loyal – within monetary, time, and location constraints, shift your spending to concentrate on a small number of brands. This also allows you to read up on promotions that are specific to your brands and learn the ins and outs of redeeming from that brand, instead of spreading yourself thin to the point where you never have enough points in a single program to redeem anything, nor any idea what the good values are and how to get them.
Uniter said,
I hate to say it, but if there’s something wrong (legitimately), complain about it. The Airlines will likely give you miles or credit as compensation.
Paul said,
Do your homework. Read as many travel blogs as possible and register for as many promotions as possible, those points will add up!
Damon Billian said,
I use the American Express Starwood Card to earn points. I also have a mileage card from an airline, which I rarely use, because the rules and restrictions to actually earn a flight have taken a turn for the worst.
Key benefits of the American Express Card through Starwood:
1. Unless I am mistaken, you’re automatically upgraded to Gold Status if you spend xx amount of dollars per year. I’ve received a ton of room upgrades, even governor suites, simply by being a Gold Preferred member with Starwood using the Starwood Amex. The bonus is that I have always been offered a free upgrade & haven’t had to ask. If I don’t get one, that’s fine…I’ve received more than enough.
2. I earn even more points when I stay at a Starwood property.
3. Starwood has multiple redemption options (cash + points, or just points).
I spend a great deal of time in Southeast Asia, which means I can get some rooms for as little as 2000 points per night. If I want to stay at a great 4-5 star resort as an option, I can generally stay for $45-60 USD per night if I use some of my points towards the rate (this can drop the price from 100 USD + per night up). I also tend to get special offers from the hotels/resorts simply be being a member.
You can also earn extra points by shopping on the American Express site and/or earn additional discounts:)
Rob said,
Don’t let points or miles expire unused! You can easily credit a car rental that you’re already going to make to extend the life of miles in most programs, or use many programs’ online shopping malls to buy a giftcard or something as small as a single iTunes song.
Jill said,
Make sure that you are receiving notifications from the airlines rewards service. Too many people lose their points before they get a chance to use them, because eligibility rules change and points unexpectedly expire.
Margie said,
Make sure you register for all the extra promotions. I just got 50,000 extra Marriott points for an extended business trip that also qualified for a promotion!
Christy said,
Keep an eye out for bonus promotions from airline credit cards or frequent flier programs sent in email or snail mail. Don’t forget to register for the promotion. Once I bought a $2 cookie on a flight with the airline’s credit card and received 1000 miles.
Hayley said,
Stick to your favorite companies (airline, car rental, hotel) to really rack up the miles! Sometimes they will offer their most loyal customers really great bonus mile options.
snoozzzzz said,
My tip is to have the credit card with the program you are in. This will be most efficient in earning points per spending. For instance, if you are platinum, Marriott credit card allows you to earn 20 points / $1 spent at Marriott (10 base pts + 5 Plat pts + 5 credit card pts); Amex Starwood allows you to earn 5 points / $1 spent (2 base pts + 1 Plat pts + 2 credit card pts), etc…
My tip on spending is to be flexible and make use of the benefits offer by each program, such as staying 4 nights and get 1 night free, pointsaver stay. Plan and make reservation early since more options are available and the reservation can be cancelled should your plan changes.
Jim H said,
My tip. If the offer seems too good to be true, consider the source. If you trust it , act fast. It may not last.
iahphx said,
Always consider an airline’s partners when trying to book award travel. More likely than not, this will open up new possibilities to redeem at the lower mileage levels.
Bianca B said,
Stay organized and document every promotion you enter/sign-up for.
Andyandy said,
Don’t overlook earning opportunities that may not be obvious. Sometimes all that is required to earn miles is a single purchase (e.g., 750 miles from deluxe.com through e-miles.com). While the cheapest items on websites may be hard do find, our friend Google will allow you to search a single domain (e.g. deluxe.com). Try searching for terms like “$1.”, “1.”, “$2.”, etc. to find cheap items. With this method, I earned 750 US miles for buying a $3 check cover shipped free. .4cpm!
Samir said,
Be loyal to one of the global airline teams (which has the many flights from your point of origin) and try to have all of your miles credit to one Frequent Flyer account. Also, try finding different credit cards/ programs that give you non-flying miles/points bonuses on that account This will ensure that your miles are always dumped to one account, making it easy to accumulate enough miles/points to redeem anytime and anywhere.
elizabeth said,
Concentrate your miles and flights on one Alliance and exploit it for all its worth: car rental, dining, flying, purchasing toilet paper from drugstore.com…
Be sure you also sign up for all the bonus mileage offers that your airline of choice offers, even if you aren’t planning to fly the route immediately. You never know where IRROPS will take you. Subscribe to ExpertFlyer. Check Flyertalk obsessively.
Stephanie said,
Don’t be afraid to use airline/hotel credit cards to accumulate points in order to prevent older points from expiring. Sending a bouquet of flowers to someone can be an easy way to prevent thousands of points from disappearing.
Matt said,
Use a spreadsheet to keep track of your miles/points. You never know when the company might make a mistake, and it will help you plan your travel to make sure you get the most out of each trip.
Also utilize online tracking consolidator websites like http://www.yodlee.com to keep track of multiple travel accounts in 1 convenient location.
Diane said,
Use your points-accumulating credit card(s) for every possible purchase including household bills and the entire meal bill with friends (hopefully they’ll pay you back in cash or by check!).
Don said,
learn from those who write these blogs and post on flyertalk. the information available can put you on your way to frugal, while luxurious, travel
Allison said,
If you have miles that are about to expire, it’s usually pretty easy to extend them my purchasing something small (preferably something you would have purchased anyway) in the airline’s online mall.
Tanya Craig said,
SPG…The best points program ever! Earn points through American Express and then use them for a lot of different programs. I use mine to get discounted hotel rooms, for example, I’m staying using a few points and only $60 bucks to stay a night in Hawaii! And they convert to a lot of airlines miles programs. I gave 20K SPG points to Hawaiian Air and got 25K miles!
Kitty said,
1)Make sure your miles program matches your
award goals.
2)If you have a mileage credit card make sure it
allows you to redeem awards with numerous
carriers.
3)Start looking for your award seats 6 months in
advance of your trip.
4)Don’t forget to check code-share partners for
award seats.
5)Look for award seats on midweek days.
6)Since carriers change their award inventory on
Friday & Saturday nights at midnight, check then
for award seats.
7)Try BookYourAward.com. Worth the price to get
the seat you want.(According to Wendy Perrin at
Conde Nast Traveler.)
Paul W said,
For non business and retiree travelers, remember to check Twitter and the blogs as well as your web mail. There might be a sale or promotion that you have been waiting for.
holycow said,
*** Learn the intricacies of status matching ***
Occasionally there are promotions with hotels and airlines that temporarily boost elite status in their program. Take your new elite status level and match to competing programs! With some careful planning you can quickly attain elite status in several programs with an opportunity to
“challenge” to further upgrade or keep your new level of status.
Dan said,
Buy a subscription to Mileage Manager and use it to keep track of all of your balances. If you want to redeem for a trip to a specific destination, it will do a daily check of all your qualifying programs to see what’s available, when, and in what class and keep you up-to-date by email.
Xyzzy said,
Don’t rely on airline web sites when booking award trips. They almost always show only a portion of the available seats. If you can’t find what you want, call in and ask the airline to check for space on partners.
flyingfish said,
Don’t always choose the frequent flyer program of the airline you fly on. Check their alliance partners, another program may be better suited to your needs and wants.
Happy Flying!
-Fish
ian said,
Use a miles credit card for purchases you make for clients. If you buy a couple laptops for a client, for example, you can earn thousands of miles.
Jeff said,
I use Yodlee MoneyCenter to keep track of my miles. It’s free.
Terry said,
When the CSR says no, don’t give up!
tivoboy said,
Set a goal and work towards it. This year, my goals was free travel in F to Africa. Best way for that, is BA mileage card from CHASE and spend my 30K a year on that card. Badabing, we (yes, two is better than one) will have two F tickets to SA.
Rick said,
Take advantage of credit card sign-up bonuses for new card applications.
Summer Cook said,
Use Southwest Airlines and Hilton HHonors. You can double dip with Hilton (earning hotel and flight credits) and earn quick tickets on Southwest through partners and flying. Then, vacation virtually for free!
Nathan said,
Make sure to provide your frequent flier numbers when you go to a hotel, especially when you stay in hotels often. The points add up FAST!
Jess Gibson said,
Ask my friend Sandy Y. She knows everything about frequent flying. That, and read FlyerTalk.
Amazing Larry said,
What’s your top tip for travelers who want to earn and use their loyalty points?
The value of points tends to decrease with time, so burn ‘em rather than earn ‘em…. when you have enough for a nice premium intercontinental award.
Sapan said,
Focus. Do you research and figure out which cities you visit often and what airlines you tend to take the most. Then try to rack up as many miles as you can with those airlines by flying and through their credit cards. Don’t spread yourself too thin by having couple thousand points in different accounts, but not enough to get a trip or qualify for a status. Limiting yourselves to two or thre alliances will do you a lot of good.
Iolaire McFadden said,
Always apply for credit cards when they have high mileage promotions for opening a new account.
Brett Hooyerink said,
Pay attention to special offers for bonuses, double miles, etc. Try and stay loyal to one brand.
Zora said,
Get a credit card to go with the program–even if only for the signup bonus. It gives you a big head start on miles, and makes the whole game seem a lot more worthwhile.
KC said,
Have fun with it and help your co-workers discover deals, this way you’ll get a team spirit going and the chances of finding great deals increases! If you don’t have fun earning the points and actually using them, it’s not worth the hassle!
adastra said,
Always read the fine print. Save the terms of every booking to PDF and make sure you know the rules. It’s amazing what you’ll find in those contracts – restrictions on earnings, ridiculous rebooking fees, etc. Read before you buy, and protect yourself.
Aaron said,
Top tip is to make sure you choose one airline partner and stick with the program. If you really want to maximize points, make sure that partner is one which has partnerships with hotels.
Nelly said,
Consolidate your miles
Jason Demby said,
Don’t use your points on low cost/distance trips! Save them for the expensive ones!
Aaron said,
With respect to airlines – Learn how to redeem the points. Learn the partners, the different types of awards available for your given program etc… Just because the online search tool only gives you limited availability, doesn’t mean your award isn’t available. Even calling in isn’t a sure bet. If you know the rules and the booking classes, you can help guide a helpful phone agent to craft the itinerary you want.
Parag said,
If you are a student or under age 26, use sites like student universe for cheap fares. Also if you are a college or graduate student, enroll in college plus and get 10,000 free United miles after you graduate!
Carol said,
Pay Attention!!! Watch your statements to catch any errors or missing trips, keep an eye out for promotions to increase your miles/points or standing, don’t forget to check for cross-promotions…
Jason Steele said,
Think outside the box. Accrue miles on the best partner of the airline you are flying, not the necessarily the airline itself.
Jonathan Heckman said,
Pick a milage program and stick with it. The milage program you chose depends on the type of traveler you are – what kind of hotels do you like? Rental cars? etc. If you ever have questions about milage programs, checkout flyertalk.com.
Jonathan
Ann said,
Read flyertalk and blogs like this one! Don’t redeem miles for flights (except BF upgrades, natch) until you’ve reached your desired elite status for the year.
Cassyt said,
I don’t always get to choose who I fly, so I make sure to maximise my miles by using companies with partnerships.
Be sure to keep an eye on those expiration dates! Sometimes simply renewing a magazine or buying flowers online will extend your FF miles expiration dates.
Peter said,
One useful trick is to register for very promotion you come across on these blogs. Even if you think it cannot possibly apply to you (it may in the future), or if it’s just 50 miles (wouldn’t it suck to be 50 miles short for an award?), or for a program you don’t participate in (there are ways to transfer miles)… one never knows.
Wen said,
Read blogs like this one and grab the deals when they are there. Be sure to only apply for the most rewarding credit card and combine offers with your travel plans. If you don’t have one, just create.
Jim said,
Pick a program that you like and stick to it, even if it ends up costing a little more. They’re not called loyalty rewards for nothing.
Biggles209 said,
Pick the best alliance for your travel needs, and back that up with another airline. For me, in Seattle, United (Star Alliance) and Alaska offers a good mix of earning and redemption choices.
Spencer Spellman said,
I believe it’s important to not spread yourself thin, but take advantage of points programs that let you apply it to hotels, airlines, car rentals and the like and not just one, such as only airlines.
bmvaughn said,
It may take a long time to save the miles for two international premium class awards, so if you’re just a casual flier don’t worry about spending the miles on a domestic coach ticket – just make sure you’re getting a good value for the miles, such as using them for a late booking or a holiday period!
beltway said,
Use car rentals (which often earn pitifully small miles bonuses) to reset the clock on expiration of miles accounts in which you lack activity. This works not only mile accounts in your name, but for family members too: the rental companies report only the FF account number you give them, and not the renter’s name. I’ve used this many times without a hitch.
dcfan said,
You can transfer SPG points to over 30 different airlines at a 1 to 1 ratio. Transferring 20,000 SPG points gives you a bonus of 5,000 miles, for a total of 25,000 miles — enough for a domestic award ticket.
Chris said,
Churn credit cards and bank sign up bonuses
Daraius said,
Every mile counts so try to get every mile possible from dining, shopping etc. Use SPG as your primary credit card for easy ability to convert to other programs.
Britgirl_12 said,
The way I usually go about this is have one credit card that is for miles and one that is affiliated to a hotel brand and then I put everything on either of those 2 cards. It is amazingly easy to spend the limits in order to get status on these cards without actually travelling.
Also make sure you keep up to date on awards and new cards offering great rewards. I am a United Mileage Plus account holder and am about to get 30,000 miles just for spending $250. This will put me in the next level of status for this year and I haven’t even flown yet!!!
Rachel said,
Decide on an airline/alliance, get the miles/points credit cards + PLAN AHEAD!!!!!!
Novsf said,
Airline miles are usually more valuable than hotel points, in addition to all the perks reserved for elites. So the quickest way is to get an airline-branded credit card and shoot for the bonus miles.
Chris said,
Concentrate on one of the airline alliances, and funnel all of miles to one frequent flier program within that alliance. This way, you don’t “orphan” miles over several different programs.
Joe B. SFO said,
Take a few minutes to research current promotions before booking travel. You can exponentially increase your rewards.
astroGG said,
My travel tips:
For airlines:
Get to elite status as soon as possible. Do Mileage Run if needed.
For hotels:
Use the promotions as much as possible. Do Mattress Run if needed.
Richard B said,
(1) Never miss an opportunity to earn points, no matter how small; (2) Earn and burn — miles and points are only going to lose value with time.
James said,
There are so many ways out there to earn miles to get activity credit. Don’t let those hard earned miles expire. Use the shopping malls to earn with minimal purchases. Just remember to use the airline specific links to ensure you get credit for the spend.
mineola said,
Sign up for your points provider’s newsletter- and actually read it! You’ll often be pleasantly surprised by chances for bonus points. Consider buying points in small denominations when they are sold at a discount- I see them often listed at 20-30% off.
And follow your faves on Twitter, @IHG_Deals (I won 50,000 Priority Club points this way!) & @Lufthansa_USA for example have in the past offered points or flights as promotions- but there are tons of travel & points providers breaking into social media- if you have a good experience with a travel provider, talk them up on social media sites since they all like to build their reputations up with positive comments, etc.
And it’s a good way to keep up with special offers.
Andrew said,
Read FT and these blogs for good tips, like 10k for car rentals and 20k for free hair appointments. Will definitely keep you updated as to the latest opportunities.
Julie Vessigault said,
Network with frequent fliers.
Scott said,
Be sure and make all purchases with a mileage earning credit card and purchase as much as possible through a mileage earning shopping portal also.
Jean Wilson said,
Get a Hilton Surpass Amex and stay at lots of Hiltons, so you’ll earn 9 points to the dollar on every stay. Put $20,000 on your card in a year and score Gold VIP status with Hilton. Then, when you have 225,000 points, redeem them using one of Amex’ VIP Hilton special booking codes, GLONP, which will get you six free nights at a top of the line hotel in London – where the exchange rate isn’t favorable to U.S. travelers. You’ll wind up scoring a stay worth something like $3600, and it’ll only cost you about $8500 in spend if you stay at Hiltons a lot and earn the 9:1 rate.
Also – when you book the trip, use your Premier Rewards Gold Card to book your flight and get 3:1 Membership Rewards on the purchase. You can top up lots of airline and hotel programs using Membership Rewards, which makes PR Gold an extremely valuable card to carry (although I for one am very sorry to see Southwest Airlines leave Membership Rewards in June of this year.) You can even use MR points to transfer to Hilton at a great rate – more than 1:1 – so you can use them for another 225,000 point reward.
Also, don’t forget to add on Amex’ awesome baggage claim and trip delay protections, which will stop you from sightseeing in dirty clothes or having to sleep overnight in the airport – flights delayed more than three hours or past 9 P.M. mean you get generous rewards with these policies, up to $250 per night for a hotel. Enjoy!
Lisa at Wanderlust Women said,
It’s getting so hard to actually use them to fly. So if if they are with an airline, I would use them for frequent first class upgrades or luxury hotel rooms.
Carol Margolis said,
Wow, such great tips from everyone!
Thanks for entering and best of luck to each of you!
Carol
Billy Suratt said,
Bonus offers from airline partners, like hotels. Some offer double miles for multi-night stays, etc.
Joe said,
Burn your miles for a few nice vacations with your better half. This way, you’ll at least find your keys still working when you get back from a MR.
Ruilin said,
Get a mile-earning credit card and use it for everything
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Andrew C. said,
Make sure your miles aren’t expiring.. redeem for a magazine or use the iDine service
Dieter said,
My tips are simple: First, make sure you are earning miles/points on the major airline serving your home airport. Secondly, do the research on the best credit card for earning miles/points for the way you travel. There are many websites that will help you compare the various credit cards programs
Ron said,
Pay for everything, no matter how small the amount, with a mileage earning credit card.
Larry said,
Keep track of your credit score and if it can stand the small hit, apply over time, for a steady stream of credit cards that give you a sign-up bonus. Those bonuses are the foundation for building miles in many programs. You can easily earn 150,000 miles a year doing this, with no appreciable affect on your credit score. And you can do this for several years before exhausting all of the card possibilities.
Earl Christie said,
Save your boarding passes. After your travel is finished, check your frequent flier account for the miles you traveled to show up. Once they do, you can toss the boarding passes. I use my boarding passes as bookmarks since I often travel with one or more new books. See, there’s two tips for the price of one!
Mike Kenneavy said,
Points have a cash value. Don’t get so blinded by earning a few more points that you spend way more that you may have. Sometimes a different brand may be a better value, even after loyalty.
Cheryl said,
Loyalty is rewarded in the travel world! Stick to one airline, one hotel chain and one rental car vendor if at all possible! And not just to reach the published ‘max’ levels. They notice loyalty beyond the max. I rarely stay in anything other than a suite or fly in coach or drive the class of rental car I pay for. Even when using miles / points to pay for my trip! Loyalty, Loyalty, Loyalty!
ofer said,
My top tip is to try and accumulate miles in Membership Rewards by American Express since it allows you maximum flexibility to redeem the points and you can earn points for purchases, up to 10X points in the membershiprewards.com earn section and earn 3X points when you shop through the Bonus Points Mall® website.
Mary Pat said,
My husband and I try to focus racking up our miles on one or two airlines. We pool our miles and each year try and send his sister and family who live in Australia, tickets to visit the rellies in the States.
JoshUK said,
My tip is always be aware of partnerships for both earning and burning. I know a number of people who have lost out because they’ve collected in multiple placed when they would have done better by collecting in one location–i.e. collecting on both United and USAir, or not knowing about Alaska’s various partnerships. Status in one progam is better than halfway to status in many programs.
Michelle Adkins said,
Stick with one airline and hotel and even car company. It will be worth it when you can take a complete trip for free! Also, make sure you are signed up for all newsletters so you are aware of double miles/points, etc.
Alex said,
Read read read! Educate yourself! Learn the ins and outs of the mileage and award programs so you can get the best bang for your buck. Only a savvy customer gets the best deal!
Gale said,
Go with friends! It’s amazing how far you can get if you pool group resources — one person’s hotel upgrade with another’s free car rental etc. Works on three levels (1) You can often score a “stay with your friends” freebie (i.e., two of you have access to the first class lounge, the third can usually come along) (2) Friends who don’t have miles are often happy to pay any cash portion of a status change etc. as their contribution (3) Travelling companions!
Grace White said,
I have a separate email account set up just for my
travel accounts. It makes it much easier to find
register for promotions and track mileage accounts.
A travel list on Twitter is my other tool to monitor
what is happening in the travel world.
Jim said,
Use some of your miles for magazines and newspapers you enjoy. Dollar for dollar, this is one of the best ways to maximize the “real world” value of those miles!
Bikeguy said,
Come to the Ann Arbor Art Fair DO this July 24 and 25th. You’ll get great tips, including how to book elusive award tickets. Past speakers include Viajero Joven, gleff, Ingy, Lucky9876Coins and wanaflyforless. Details in CommunityBuzz forum on flyertalk.com.
Haralee said,
Bring Several pairs of Ear plugs for small flights, for noisy flights, for sleeping on flights, for sleeping in noisy hotels, and for wrapping your necklaces around so the chains don’t get tangled.
Elaine J. Masters said,
My best tip: Pay your divorce lawyer with your mileage accruing credit card! I used my accrued points to visit Alaska with my 10 year old son. It was a great adventure that wouldn’t have happened any other way. It was the best part of the divorce!
michael k said,
Use miles only for upgrades. It’s the biggest bang for the buck. It’s a total waste of miles for hotel nights etc. as well redemption reward tickets.
Aitchly said,
When looking to book, use a dollop of ITA, gobs of patience, plenty of flexibility and a good dose of bull headedness.
monkey3367 said,
Don’t overreach. If your travel is moderate, stick with one program and milk it all you can.
Cindy said,
Save your miles for big trips – don’t burn them on small ones. I have used miles for trips all over the world and have always had great luck getting flights when I want to where I want. Don’t believe those who say you can’t book flights anymore with miles.
Criddy123 said,
Try to fly only one airline most of the time. It is more likely that you will earn elite status than choosing the cheapest flights. It does eventually pay for itself.
yosithezet said,
Read BoardingArea blogs!
dbf8oster said,
Pay all your household and bills with one credit card that provides you points or miles, including your house payment, taxes, insurance etc. Also make sure to that your other memberships cross over, i.e. hotel points also go toward airline points. Don’t forget to sign up for every bonus avaialble.
AndyTLe said,
Stay loyal to one airline alliance or hotel brand. That’s the quickest and easiest way to accumulate points/miles and reap the benefits.
Kristin said,
Do your research to find the alliance that best meets your needs. Also, subscribe to blogs such as this one for tips and advice on maximizing points!
chitownflyer said,
Concentrate your loyalty to one hotel or airline program and try to earn the highest status level as possible in that program.
Louise Truman said,
If you have the opportunity to use hotels/cars/airlines which allow inter-changing of miles, you can earn more quickly and then use the miles as you choose. Also use a mileage credit card to keep adding up those points!
PWCulp said,
I charge everything to American Express, you can use if for travel, merchandise and my favorite, gift certificates.
PWCulp said,
I charge everything to American Express, you can use the points for travel, merchandise and my favorite, gift certificates.
Reb said,
Dont forget to keep a record of the credit cards sign-up bonus page.
Rhonda said,
An excellent way to earn maximum points is to layer or couple as many as possible. For instance join your airline of choice frequent flyer program, thier airport (Presidents) club membership, utilize their credit card. All these earn points and increase your loyalty points.
cheep said,
Use airline & hotel shopping portals for online purchases.
nun said,
If the flight you want isn’t available, before paying double miles to get what you want, check business and first class, even for flights where the cabin makes little difference. Sometimes there’s unexpected availability for no extra miles.
alisinna said,
Research what destinations you would like to travel to the most, and figure out which carrier/alliance will get you there for the best/easiest redemption.
pavel said,
Collect miles as cheaply as possible in one program and redeem on partner travel.
Sharon La said,
I agree with Ryan: Do a bit of research and decide which alliance network is best for your travel style. Join and work to put all your flights through that alliance. This way all your points are put into one source. Additionally, finding a credit card with the main airline of this alliance increases your base of points and sometimes your status. When you purchase tickets make sure that the tickets count towards your miles.
tootalltofly said,
In my experience there are 2 types of travelers who collect and use miles; 1. those that are very occasional travelers and collect for a long time and 2. those who are frequent travelers and collect and use often.
My advice would be to those who collect for a long time, to either use large chunks of miles to travel in business or first class (choose your airlines carefully as the products vary greatly!) or save up and use 1/2 the miles for an upgrade. For those who travel frequently I would use my miles almost exclusively for upgrades as your value for the money is much greater. It only costs twice the miles to book a reward business over economy but the cost in money is more like 4-6 times more. So for the same miles you can upgrade instead.
Above all do your research and know that you can get 2 completely different answers on availability from 2 different agents.
If you combine your loyalty program with a credit card then you will quickly earn enough points to use.
Lastly, it is always best to collect and use miles with airlines that are part of an alliance. That way you have much more seat availability at your disposal.
Alexander said,
stick to one airline and aim for elite status!
Tim said,
Collect miles and points only for airlines and hotels that you really like and that are readily available for use.
R K said,
SPG AMEX
Tim said,
always use your miles, do not hesitate. Miles are constantly being devalued, so the earlier you use your miles, the more value they will have.
Scott M said,
Focus on one hotel program to concentrate your loyalty point earning. Oftentimes, once you reach top tier status, other hotel loyalty programs will match status with a minimal night/stay requirement. Some hotels say they will only match status once, but in the past few years, status matching has been easier than ever…follow-up and don’t take no for an answer.
Jeff said,
Check your account regularly to make sure all miles get posted. Keep your boarding passes to retroactively get any miles to post that slip through the cracks.
Chris Metzgar said,
I’d suggest reading up on all programs offered by those you most frequently use, and spend points smart…get the most out of it, but also be aware of all the rules involved with spending the points.
mechteach said,
Top tip: Flexibility. Be willing to be a little bit flexible when it comes both to dates and destinations. Also, be flexible about using the points at all – keep an eye on the costs of booking the hotel or flights that you have chosen, and be willing to cancel if the economics are reasonable.
Andy said,
Focus your travel in a single program, but always be open to earning bonuses and taking advantages of great promotions in other programs you don’t typically use.
Son said,
Just read the flyertalk forums and the boardingarea blogs!
Craig said,
Set up your bills to be paid automatically using your American Express Card.
Susannah said,
Choose a loyalty program that allows you to earn points over a wide variety of opportunities, airline tickets, hotels, car rentals, meals, shopping opportunities, as well as bonus offers.
Mrs_H said,
Share a credit card that gives reward points with your spouse, and any teens or young adults in the family. By putting everyone’s spending on a single credit card with reward points, you put more points toward your rewards than if each family member has a card of their own.
Buy items that offer reward points for purchase — and also use your reward credit card to buy them. For instance, you can buy mint sets of U.S. coins directly from the U.S. Mint, and get reward points for buying them in quantity — and they ship to your home for free. So if you buy $1,000 in U.S. coins from the mint, you get points from the mind for buying the set of coins — you get points from your credit card — and you can cash the coins in immediately at the nearest bank, so there is no cost for thousands of reward points.
If you are close to elite status on an airline from business travel, spend the money (on your reward card, of course) to take some “puddle jump” trips that will help you qualify. My husband and I have taken Thanksgiving and Christmas vacation trips that let us hop around (Dallas to Santa Fe, Santa Fe to Las Vegas, Las Vegas to LA, and back, for example) — on airlines that offer “minimum” award points for short-hop flights to help people qualify for elite status. Your frequent-flier club newsletter and emails are the source for this.
Stay in hotels that offer airline miles instead of hotel points.
Use two basic credit cards — an American Express Platinum card that allows you to put your miles on ANY airline for major purchases, hotel stays, and daily purchases like groceries, medication, gas, etc. By paying the balance in full every month you (a) earn mileage points on any airline (b) avoid interest fees and bank fees and (c) build a stellar credit rating. Use a travel rewards card (like one of the Amex cards that allows you to pay over time, or an airline mileage card — credit or debit) for purchases that you want to pay over time. This gives you the ability to pool your points on one airline, but the flexibility of a high-limit Amex card that costs a lot less than even the lowest-interest bank card.
Last, but not least, don’t waste your points. A lot of people never get enough points for travel, because they spread themselves too thin. So they wind up wasting their points just before they expire on things other than travel. Watch the expiration date — and save them for travel. (If you can’t use them for travel, consider donating them to a worthwhile charity like transporting sick kids and their families. ;->)
beaubo said,
Suppose you need to fly from Cleveland to Venice. Never ask whether award seats are available from Cleveland to Venice. Instead, start with the hub-to-hub routes flown by the carriers in your alliance. Say it’s the Star Alliance: Look for availability on flights from Chicago, Newark, Philadelphia, Toronto, or Washington, D.C. (hubs for Star Alliance partners Continental, United, US Airways, and Air Canada) to Frankfurt, Vienna, Munich, or Copenhagen. That gives you more than 20 possibilities. Once you’ve found a hub-to-hub flight with award seats, tack on the short-haul spoke-to-hub or hub-to-spoke options (Cleveland to Chicago or Dulles, for example, and Frankfurt or Vienna to Venice).
Kristin Vanoni said,
Periodically check for special promotions and sign up….you can miss out on a lot of “bonus” points if you’re not registered.
scott said,
My tip is to plan early and be persistent. In order to maximize your miles, you have to be patient and organized.
Tracie said,
Don’t let more than a couple of days go by without checking into boardingarea.com, flyertalk.com and your favorite carriers to see what offers are currently available and then sign up and/or take advantage of what you find!
Elin Pierce said,
Earning miles quickly is easier than you think. Every time you go to pay for something, think of gaining mileage points. Get a credit card (like AmEx) that gives the most mileage points for your favorite airline every time you use the card; I use that one card for just about everything. Then, check out what companies your airline partners with and shop through them (for i.e. hotel stays, car rentals, and even for significant things like home loans, larger purchases, loans, insurance and even home purchases). Many airlines have “dining for miles” programs (linked up to your credit card), and also online shopping sites (like Delta’s SkyMall) where you get points for money spent (that’s in addition to the miles your credit card will give). You can also rack up the points by completing online surveys for companies linked up to your airline (like erewards.com for Delta miles). Also, check your airline’s frequent flier webpage every now and then for specials offering points. It all adds up quickly! Once you have enough miles on an airline, plan to use them, but give yourself good planning, like 2 months advance reservations, to ensure availability of your preferred travel dates. Remember: once made, the reservations cannot be changed. Lastly, enjoy your free trip to the max!
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Zach said,
Many semi-frequent flyers don’t realize that they can often credit their flown miles to a different airline miles program within an alliance or through other reciprocal agreements. Doing so can keep all your miles in one place (or at least just a few places), with a potentially significant impact on how soon you’ll have enough miles for award travel.
Alissa said,
Don’t let your miles expire due to inactivity! To keep them active, either buy some token miles or redeem a small amount for a magazine subscription. Or better yet – use them for a flight!
Chris (Amateur Traveler) said,
1) Pay the $40 a year for a mileage reward card. We earned two round trip tickets to Europe last year.
2) Then watch that airlines site and subscribe to their newsletter for mileage deals. In the winter, for instance, you might be able to go farther or get more tickets than in the busy Summer. Watch for mileage deals.
3) Book in advance. Rewards seats fill up very quickly.
JasonJ said,
read boarding area blogs; browse flyertalk discussions; use Starwood Preferred Guest Card from America Express.
Ada said,
Log onto Flyertalk.com every day and learn.
Grativis.com said,
[Full Disclaimer: I am one of the founders of the site, so consider this a shameless self-promotion!]
My hint is to use Grativis.com to manage all your frequent flyer program information – it’s like Mint.com for points.
It will pull in all of your points (flights, hotels, car, and others) and show it to you in a 1-page dashboard, while also showing the detailed information just 1 click away. What makes it different (and better) than other point management sites is that, in addition to showing your points, it will show what you can buy (eg “how many round trip coach tickets to Europe can I buy?”) with your points!
It’s in private beta right now, but I’ve set up 100 invites for BoardingArea.com users so that they can test it out themselves and see how it makes managing points easier than anything else out there.
To Sign Up:
https://www.grativis.com/index.php?step=newuser
Referral Code: BOARDINGAREA-FRIENDS
Thanks for a great site!
Michael Komarnitsky
Grativis.com
April said,
My two power strategies are to select a few travel partners and be loyal to them to maximize your benefits. Secondly, use a single credit card with a good reward program for everyting. Yes I mean everything. You should have heard me and the Acura salesman negotiating over a $42,000 purchase being put on my American Express card!
As for the travel partners, I have a friend who has used Hyatt hotels exclusively for 25 years. He hasn’t paid for an exotic luxury hotel detstination vacation in 12 years and he can get a great room at any Hyatt anytime – they never tell him they are sold out!
Debbie K said,
If you get an agent that is unhelpful – hang up and call back until you get an agent who is knowledgeable and willing to help.
Mark said,
Be flexible in planning award travel. The best
redemption rates almost always for off-season
trips. Keep trying !
Gloria Lin said,
My top tip for using airline points is to be ready to plan several months in advance, pick a few dates and surrounding airports to chose to fly to, and if you’re unable to find a flight by yourself online, try calling a points representative. You may have to pay a small fee but often they are able to search with partner airlines and get you where you want to go! You may want to check back a few times if you aren’t able to get it on the first try, as sometimes ther is an extra special agent that will go out of their way to help you a litte more. Be nice!
Scott said,
My miles-earning tip is to frequently try to use the shopping portals offered through airline and hotel sites (for example, Mileage Plus Mall for United Airlines, or Priority Club Shopping for Priority Club Rewards) to buy things that I need. Not only do I earn miles on my airline or hotel affiliated credit card, but also an additional minimum of 1 mile per $1 spent. Even better though is when you come across an item that you might not particularly need, but after the free shipping and mail-in rebate, the item is free. I then immediately post it on ebay and walk away with more money in my pocket that I started with, and a bunch of miles or points.
Andy said,
If you are just starting, focus on one or 2 programs to learn the tips and tricks as well as building up points or miles.
Chris said,
Sign up for your airline’s Dining Rewards program and sign up for every bonus there. It’s an easy way to make miles on stuff you’d do anyway. Always offer to pay the bill, you’ll look like a nice guy and get the miles, you can double dip if you have a mileage earning credit card.
Jon said,
Be very flexible. Be willing to travel to another airport on your own dime to get an international flight to your desired destination.
Jon said,
Be flexible and if you are planning to travel internationally, be willing to fly to another gateway city to take advantage of availability there.
Jiangning said,
Establish a habit to check flyertalk.com at least Twice a day!
shoegarqueen said,
Try to consolidate travel and therefore mileage earning into one airline program and make sure that the airline is convenient to your home location. That way elite status is more within reach.
Sandy said,
Consider buying miles when US Air has the 100% bonus offer. You can get two business tickets way under cost!
Monica said,
Sign up for every hotel/airline/train loyalty program out there. Just because you think that you aren’t going to actually fly on a particular airline or stay in a particular hotel chain, does not mean that’s a reason not to sign up for these programs. After that, make sure that you participate in every bonus, sign-up promo or opt-in promo available (think Continental’s frequent 100 mile promos). You never know when those couple hundred miles or points will come in handy for a larger promotion that is being offered. Often you can transfer points or miles to other programs via points.com to get that last necessary partner participation.
Karen said,
Details, details, check the details!
Cheri said,
Use a single credit card for everything you purchase including travel, household and personal expense, utilities, and paying your taxes. The card you use should be the one that has the best rewards program and flexibility for your personal lifestyle.
Lina said,
Jumpstart your miles by getting status. AA offers a Platinum challenge. Once you get status, many other airlines are willing to match. After you have status, you earn twice as many miles for every trip.
Lisa said,
follow travel sites on Twitter for bonus offers and make sure to check for point partners to your loyalty program…those flowers you send or items you buy could earn you points
K20 said,
Read the various blogs and follow their tips. I’ve added thousands of miles this way.
Bernadette said,
Bundle, bundle, bundle — have hotels, cars, credit card, etc., all point to the same airline to reap a lot of rewards quickly.
Ryan said,
Always be sure to keep up to date with promotions and special offers of your favorite loyalty programs. These promotions allow you to earn points, miles, and rewards at greatly accelerated rates. Read the T&C’s carefully and be sure to follow up with Customer Service if any bonuses do not post.
Victor Y said,
Check alternate days for availability and even partner airlines if you desired date/itin isn’t immediately available through awards.
Lina said,
Jumpstart your miles by getting status on one airline. AA offers a Platinum challenge that can help you get status very quickly. Once you have status with AA, many other airlines are willing to match it. When you fly with status, you get more miles. Now you just have to earn it the hard way next year.
Robert said,
Enjoy reward flights sooner with a Household Account.
You and up to six other members of your household, including children, can earn and spend British Airways Miles together. Each member has an individual account, which is linked with the others so you can pool BA Miles, making it easier to take reward flights sooner.
Loran said,
When trying to redeem miles for an award ticket plan on doing all the leg work yourself – most airline phone agents will search the simplest routings, find no availability, and stop. Know all your airline’s partners (both in and outside the alliance) and all hub and gateway cities, and tell the agent exactly what you want.
For example, Delta had no availability for a West Coast to Israel award. But the agent only checked Delta flights. By knowing ahead of time that Air France serves Seattle, SFO, and LAX, and that Alaska serves my city and the AF gateways, I got the outbound on the exact dates I wanted.
Similarly, secure the international flight first. There is only one SEA-CDG flight a day. Find availability for that, then work on getting to SEA – there’s likely many more options for the domestic flight. Many agents will not even search the international flight on a particular day if your first domestic segment doesn’t appear to be available.
mike said,
Wow, apparently a new tip for me is to read the other Boarding area blogs, some of these are good.
YJ said,
Research the spring break week of every state and do MR within these dates to increase your volunteer opportunities.
Morris said,
EARN- Sign up for a credit card affiliated with miles,(if possible CHURN!); always makes sure that your hard earned miles actually post; travel when double miles are being offered; and look around at boardingarea.com, and FT, for the many bonuses out there.
SPEND- If you’ve got the miles, USE AND ENJOY THEM, unless the price to pay is the same value as the points or cheaper, when then you might as well save your miles for a different occasion, and actually earn miles on your current flight or stay.
Dallasanne said,
My husband and I dump all of the points from our credit and debit cards into a single frequent flier accout — mine, since I travel the most and have the highest “elite” status.” This lets us accumulate miles MUCH faster than if we were each dumping our spending miles into individual point accounts.
Bob said,
If you aren’t a business traveler who flies a lot, I tell my friends in the US to gravitate towards Continental’s Onepass program. It’s the only program where miles never expire, so you can slowly but surely build towards a reward over however many years you need. Nothing is more discouraging for an aspiring frequent flyer than to have their miles erased for no good reason.
Pyrotek said,
Focus your travel on one airline and one hotel chain as much as possible. Use your points-earning credit card for every possible purchase and pay it off religiously (pre-pay each month for bills you know you’ll accrue. And decide ahead of time how you’ll use your points, then go ahead and follow-through.
jeremy g said,
See if your company has a status granting or status matching agreement with an airline; this will enable you to immediately start earning bonus redeemable miles, which make it much more lucrative to collect miles.
Pete said,
Pay attention to promotions within your chosen program and consolidate your travel within the time periods of the promotion
Shaun said,
Use the credit card partner for your airline of choice and any related utility offers. Miles collect extremely quickly this way.
Alison said,
Always have a spouse/partner/friend take part in the promos and deals so you don’t have to fly first class all alone!
Shellie Anne said,
Use a the same credit card for ALL OF YOUR PURCHASES and the same for travel – you will say DANG! I EARNED ALL THOSE MILES!?
Don’t limit yourself to a hotel chain…there is no worse way to travel…be free…go where the road leads you. It is about the journey not the destination!
Cecilia Rose said,
Just calling in to a live person always works best for me. Unfortunately, the websites never seem to show the same availability that you can get dialing in directly. It is a hassle, but worth it when you need to get complex trips for multiple people
Brenda said,
When booking a hotel in a busy city location or at a busy time of year, hotels are less likely to let you use points for free nights or upgrades. Many programs,like SPG (Starwood) allow you to pay cash + points. I’ve found this a great way to book a nice room ( usually the free rooms are by an elevator, ice machine, lower floor etc). But by using the points and cash option, the rooms are usually upgrades. You still earn points on the portion of the room paid in cash so it’s a win/win.
jeffyl said,
Tip: Start a mileage program only with the major airline serving your area, and search online for free mileage contests and promotions! (and check this site frequently, from some really knowledgeable flyers)
Kathryn said,
Sign up for the promotions that link two travel partners together when taking a trip, like get bonus Delta miles for staying at Marriott or get bonus Hertz points for staying at Hilton. That way you get extra points from the promotion with one company and regular with the other. It’s a win win for sure!
Matt said,
If you accumulate points mostly on spend and can’t decide on a card—- the American Express charge cards and the SPG Amex offer flexible points that can be redeemed for hotels, merchandise or highly sought after upper class international airfare.
Janna Steele said,
SPG points to LAN kilometers is the best credit card deal out there per dollar spent, especially for short, expensive flights on OneWorld partners.
reallyct said,
Don’t neglect mileage credit on partner airlines – sometimes really small lines are affiliated with your program. It’s worth a little extra time on the website to ensure that you can be credited for trips on small carriers.
Henry said,
My top tip for travelers who want to earn and use their loyalty points is to do their research and utilize as many resources as possible. For example, utilize partnered dining websites and shopping websites. If you are going to buy something you might as well get points for it. Additionally, always ask if a loyalty program is doing a promotion for bonus points (there is always one going on). For those looking to use their points my best advice is to research forums and ask questions of experienced travellers. We are a community we are always there to help! Also, see if there are combined packages that are available. It may cost less points to transfer your airline miles to hotel points and take advantage of a combined vacation package. In summation, ask questions! The worst answer you could get is no, and usually you will get tips and advice on how to maximize your points.
scott finkeldei said,
Use RSS feeds and SMS alerts on your phone from favorite travel and deal websites to ensure you see the best points deals and promotions that you can take advantage of while you are traveling.
Karuna said,
I would like to enter as well.
Eileen said,
Keep airline accounts active for every member of your family by using the mileage malls offered. At a mimimum, buy a magazine using miles to keep you kids’ FF accounts from getting wiped out. They’ll thank you some day!
Karuna said,
Look at the terms and conditions carefully.
Michelle C said,
If travel is flexable wait unil you find a good promotion before booking. I never travel unless I can get at least double points.
Laura said,
Be flexible with travel dates–experience new places when the price is right and earn miles along the way
Use farecompare.com searcher to get best deals regarding cost per mile and to find those new places to see. http://www.farecompare.com/search/flyertalk.html
Stay loyal to one airline to get even more miles with elite bonus miles!
Take advantage of promos & join flyertalk.com community to keep up with the latest.
Always look for the new route bonuses!
Get a credit card that gives you miles per $ spend (my pref Delta Plat Amex) and charge everything paying balance off at end of the month. Track what you spend and when you hit the annual spending that gives you more miles–switch to 2nd point card (for me SPG Amex).
If looking for award tickets to Europe, always call the agents and be patient and very kind to them–they will work it for you and search all of the partner sites too. It has taken me some time on the phone but they have always been able to find me a low mileage award ticket even on short notice for Europe in the summer
If by chance they can’t find anything then at least you were nice to them anyway as I am sure that is always welcome.
Don’t overlook discount European airlines if you can not get into your desired European destination–fly into where the award is low if you can coordinate a cheap flight to your desired destination.
And most importantly—Enjoy life & the adventures!
Jonathan Khoo said,
look into alliance partners and non-flight earning opportunities, such as miles for shopping online.
mangoMan said,
Use an availability tool like ExpertFlyer to search for and alert you to award availability. The savvy searcher gets the awards!
Prashant said,
Flyertalk is the single one stop database to get more info / deals on ff programs.
Nilima said,
Make people around you and your family aware of the benefits of miles. You”ll be surprised to find how many people just let go of miles and don’t know how to take advantage of them. You can benefit from miles of your friends and family members too by doing certain promotions together and doubling your miles.
Eugene said,
Pay attention to hotel points – they are often more valuable than airline miles.
NW said,
When booking an award ticket with miles, use allowed free stopovers to get the most value out of your miles and see new places that you may not otherwise have seen.
Ben said,
Pick your loyalties and stick with them! Switching around between airlines and hotel chains will scatter your points around and probably not earn you elite status anywhere. It’s worth it in the long run to not always go with the cheapest price in order to maintain your loyalty to that carrier or brand!
Zabes said,
Make sure every fare/hotel you stay at “actually” earns points, I don’t know how many times people book something and they end up not earning points on it. Look for promotions and BE FLEXIBLE when it comes to redeeming. The farther out you can book the better off you are!
Tanya said,
Concentrate your loyalty to only a few programs(at most) and take advantage of all their bonus promos! They add up surprisingly quick.
Steve said,
Have flexibility with your dates, think outside of the box on routings, and be nice to the people helping you on the reservation!
Jason in AZ said,
Use a mileage tracking tool for a consolidated view of your portfolio of air, car and hotel accounts. It can be easy to miss expriring miles, etc otherwise.
Linda said,
Always start early trying to use your miles or points,the earlier the better.
Karol said,
Nothing beats the Starwood Amex card. Easiest way we’ve found to earn and use points. Starwood also has the excellent cash+points option which I haven’t seen from other loyalty programs.
chrisw said,
Don’t let your miles expire! Of course you can EARN some miles to keep them alive, but to avoid outlaying any cash and generate activity in a hurry, remember that in most major programs, both earning and REDEEMING miles resets the expiration counter — redeem a few miles for a magazine or donate a couple of miles.
Paula said,
Use your point earning credit card for EVERYTHING Yes, I mean EVERYTHING (but pay it off at the end of the month of course). I even use it in the soda machine at work. And be sure to sign up for all of the extras such as ‘dining for miles’, special airline promotions, and miles earning surveys. Fun to watch the miles add up.
Allen said,
Check your main airline’s foreign partner airlines for earning miles, not just alliance airlines.
For example, one can fly direct to Taipei on EVA Airways and earn Continental One Pass miles, even though EVA is not in the star alliance. EVA is cheaper than United and United no longer flies direct.
John MacDonald said,
Mileage cards are often the best bang for the credit card buck, and Amex often does have the better mileage offers than many other cards. I personally prefer to get cash back on my cards, though, and spend it as I choose. (Up to 4%).
Can’t really come up with anything better for building miles than have already reported on. Choosing an alliance that services your local airport(s) to destinations that you tend to fly to, sticking with that alliance when possible, and picking the longer route if available that’ll still get you there on time.
Lisa said,
Add the American Express Premier Rewards Gold card to your wallet and earn 3x points on airfare and 2x points on gas and groceries. Plus, if you spend $30,000 in a calendar year, you can earn 15,000 bonus points. There are more than 140 partners with whom to redeem your points for a wide selection of travel, shopping and dining rewards.
karenkay said,
don’t ignore status in hotels. when i started, i collected united miles but still stayed at priceline hotels. after learning a bit more, i started spending a bit more money but also collecting starwood points. now, i might pay a bit more for my hotel stays overall, but instead of the room with the view of the parking lot i’m in a suite with free internet…and for vacations, my room is free! you don’t get that with priceline.
Nathan Roemer said,
Starwood Preferred Guest points are powerful currency, especially since you can convert them 1:1 into most airline programs, allowing you some of the best flexibility for finding and redeeming awards, depending on which airline may have availability.
Tina said,
Watch out for SPG/Hyatt/Hilton/Marriott/Priority Club free night promos… burn those and save the points! Also, look for the best free night promotions: longer redemption period, less restrictions on hotel categories the free nights can be used for, less nights/stays needed per free night earned.
Matt O'Hara said,
Pay for all purchases with a mileage earning credit card.
Doug J said,
carefully monitor expiration dates so you don’t lose the miles that you’ve worked so hard to accumulate.
Patrick said,
Sign up for travel alerts for time off to earn more miles
Helen said,
If your airline miles or hotel points are expiring, you can order something from a partner vendor to keep your account active (and earn points at the same time).
FT:pshuang said,
At the same time that you want to focus your earning on specific programs, remember — you didn’t get married to your primary frequent flier program. Sometimes you will be better off just buying the best available value even if that won’t earn points in your primary program.
Pamela Pariis said,
Become very, very familiar with you airline partners. You can earn miles for just about everything you buy. Most top retailers are partners with airlines in addition to dining, car rental, cell phone contracts and even getting a mortgage! Amass more miles at sites like http://www.mypoints.com & http://www.erewards.com. Also check out http://www.points.com where you can swap points between progams among other things.
chontz said,
As amateurish as it sound, I go through my “travel checklist” before every trip that includes bringing a printout of all my FF and FH account numbers. Just in case I have to switch flights or hotels.
ess said,
subscribe to flyertalk threads to stay current on promos!
Jason R. said,
Use a credit card that awards points for money spent on it. It is an easy way to collect points each month without flying.
Scott Sharick said,
I use Priority Club PointBreaks when a travel around the country for my photography. Many times my driving itinerary allows a lot of flexibility in where I spend the night. At 5,000 points per night my points go a lot further than they would using them for a standard stay. On a recent four week trip I used PointBreaks fifteen times.
Michael K said,
Find several (in our family, three) credit cards that are free or very low cost, and that have good points programs with elite (silver, platinum, etc) bonuses. Then split up your charges (for us, reaching $20K per year on each card does the trick to get elite status.
Michael said,
My tip is to use credit card offers as much as possible. I do that, earning sign-up bonuses, and occassionally retention bonuses. Some cards allow you to get the sign up bonus multiple times. I also transfer some AA miles I earn to Hilton to allow me hotel points also.
Jeannine said,
Make the most of the program participation programs such as Mileage Plus Dining for United, particularly if dining out for a business meal. These points add up quickly when picking up a business dinner tab. Same goes for hotels, groceries and car rentals. They all count
Sharon Slomovich said,
Want to feel fabulous and sit in First Class?
Then use your points earning credit card and enjoy your upgrade!
Connie said,
When dining out with a group of friends and the bill comes on one ticket they always choose to pay cash. I take all their cash and then pay the entire bill – along with my portion of course – on my credit card simply to get the miles.
I’m disciplined enough to put the cash in my banking account and make a payment towards the credit card right away.
Tiffany said,
Plan in advance to maximize award redemptions. For example, even though AA essentially eliminated stopovers, they still allow stopovers in North American gateway cities for international departures. So, although my base airport is a gateway city, I’ve tacked on what is essentially a one-way from another trip as the “stopover.”
Cem said,
Earn some points and use them wisely
Kelly said,
Save. Go in style. If you have “world points” or any sort of airline reward points, use those for big trips. Use smaller trips you can pay for “out of pocket” on your credit card towards more reward points.
Adam said,
When redeeming remember to use partner award travel options. Several times they will not be displayed online and the agent will not list them over the phone. Make sure you know the alliance and non alliance airline partners and try to create your own itinerary using a travel site. Once you have an itinerary call the airline and ask the agent for availability on those flights you’ve selected. Have several options in terms of airlines, dates, and flight times. For earning miles use your credit card for everything. I use my SPG Amex card for something as small as a 99cent purchase. The SPG Amex actually allows you to earn 1.25 miles per dollar as for every 20000 points transferred to an airline you received a 5,000 bonus.
Ranny Levy said,
Focus Focus Focus. Two programs, a cc that generates reward points, put your hotel points into your airline program. I never buy anything, including a house, unless I get points.
Frederic Sautet said,
You don’t need to be a customer of an airline to take advantage of their loyalty programme – think alliances. For example, I am one of BMI’s best customers despite having never flown on one of their flights. The same has been true of Air Canada in the past.
Colette said,
Don’t let your points expire! It’s a great idea to get and hoard as many miles as possible, but make sure to know the rules of your particular program as they can all go to waste if you don’t meet minimum activity requirements…
Peter said,
Know where you are going, research the award chart, get enough miles (a much easier job with Amex MR), finally be flexible and secure the award seat EARLY!
Gary Heller said,
Keep a spreadsheet of all your point activity. That way if the program makes a mistake- and it happens- you can get it corrected.
In addition, it’s a positive motivator and helps you manage your points (to keep them from expiring for instance.)
Pei said,
Use your miles to travel to exotic places where the tickets are extremely expensive, but you need to plan ahead. Well, sometimes you don’t have to, because not many people know those places
Also, try to travel in premium cabin.
These usually yield the best value of miles.
Drury Bagwell said,
Take advantage of websites that are middle men for purchases (such as MyPoints) and web sites that issue surveys (Harris Polls), as points earned in those programs can be converted to miles or hotel points.
Joaquim67 said,
Get yourself a mileage earning credit card!
If you are going to spend money, then why not spend it and earn something back at the same time?
Noam said,
Be smart about what you use your points for. International tickets and international upgrades tend to be the best uses of points.
Samantha said,
Take advantage of low fares to boost up your mileage total. Quick weekend trips can rack up the miles if you pay attention to what you earn versus what the trip costs.
Leon said,
Redeem your miles for premium class tickets to overseas, or Hawaii, and Alaska. These are among the best value of your miles. Always plan ahead, usually you can book your award travels 330 days in advance. Keep that information in mind whenever you are thinking a nice trip. Good luck to us all!
Amy Rubins said,
Sign up for all the loyalty programs you can then track the detailed information, membership numbers, benefits, enrollment dates etc. Use this information every time you book travel or stays for frequent upgrades, perks and free stays. There are a lot of programs out there so search and track once you find them.
Ryan K said,
If you fly a Star Alliance carrier, do your research with the ANA tool and ExpertFlyer. Next, read up on the award rules for your particular airline. Last, when calling be very persistent with the agents as many of them aren’t too familiar with the corner cases of award bookings.
Djlawman said,
Credit all of your flying in any alliance to one account, which gives you the best chance of scoring high value awards, like Business class to Europe.
Johnny said,
Don’t underestimate moving up the “elite status” ladder. The perks tend to get exponentially better the higher you get. (0% bonus miles -> 25% bonus -> 50% bonus -> 100% bonus at the top tier.)
Diane said,
I use my hotel credit card to pay my elderly mother’s
.
pharmacy bill each month then have her pay me back.
I tell her it’s just easier for me to pay with the credit card than getting a check from her to pay the bill
Amy said,
Be loyal. Rack up points and bonus points by frequenting sister properties and airlines withing the same loyalty program. Once you move up the line in their loyalty program, you earn more points. Also, see if they have a credit card for which you earn points for each dollar spent. That way, you earn double, sometimes triple, points for your trouble!
Nischal said,
The Best use of your miles are international Business/First awards, don’t waste your miles on anything less.
Marco said,
1 Consider using your airline rewards for upgrades to first class or business class.
2 Read flyertalk and the blogs like this
3 Plan ahead for better availability
4 some good luck
laurie said,
Try to use some of the new one way awards, often these have more availability than the regular standard (25K) awards. I have found them to be available when I cannot a round trip.
Sean said,
Keep a positive attitude and the longview about reaching your destination. Actual airtime goes quickly when you are calm and content.
Kai said,
Burn them when you can. Points/miles will devalue over time.
Karlyn said,
Don’t be afraid to check costs of adding additional legs (and miles) to your flight! I wound up paying a lot less by adding 2 more stops to my cross country trip, gaining me segments and EQM!
David said,
Attend the 6th Annual Ann Arbor Art Fair DO. This year is devoted to discussing the ins and outs of award ticket booking. It is the perfect opportunity to network with fellow points and miles fiends. Details available at Flyertalk.com
Justin P said,
Concentrate on quickly gaining the highest elite status in one program, because you can parlay that into status at others through matching. Plus it makes the travel that much more comfortable
Oliver said,
Follow blogs with an RSS reader to efficiently keep up with promos and deals.
Nirav said,
Stick to one or two programs for each of air, car, hotel, etc and be completely loyal to those, for example, go with SPG + SPG Amex + stay only at SPG hotels and sign up for as many promotions as possible via milemaven/pointmaven
Barry said,
Don’t let your miles expire. For $1 (more or less), you can extend them buy buying a song for download to your PC through the airlines web shopping mall’s portal to Itunes.
Demetrios said,
Find a program and stick to it. Pay very close attention to the expiration dates on your rewards, especially the free car vouchers and such (like the 1 2 free promo by National, those things expire really fast.
Especially when dealing with rental cars try and break into a higher tier as you’ll get better service and better cars usually.
For what it’s worth I’ve found points don’t matter as much as the perks to me. I would much rather get upgraded on 20 domestic flights than get one free international flight.
Matthew said,
If you book a complex itinerary, attempt to allow a one-day pad in your schedule somewhere during the trip in case something goes wrong.
James Bjorn Watkins said,
If you’re a business traveler, ask if your company would allow you to charge your air fare to your own card, and reimburse you. That way, you get the frequent flier miles without having paid for the initial (work travel) air fare in the first place. Then, when you cash out your frequent flier miles, it is truly a “free flight.”
Safe travels and Happy flying!
Lilia Lewis said,
Do your homework! Know EVERYTHING about the loyalty rewards program you chose: one-time promotions, how to get bonus points, who are the partners, etc.
Every time you make a reservation/pay for something (store, hotel, restaurant, purchase on-line, concert, trip to a museum, etc) remember to check if you can use your loyalty card. EVERY LITTLE BIT ADDS UP!!!
Judy said,
There are so many good tips, and here is the only one that hasn’t already been said and resaid:
When you have a lousy experience with an airline, CONTACT the airline immediately; often you will receive double miles or at least courtesy miles. And if you don’t, you’re not being descriptive enough!!
I’ve had great experiences with Delta’s customer service responding to some horrid flight experiences (when you fly 80,000 miles a year, you’re bound to have a few ugly ones!)
J said,
Sign up for AwardWallet.com to keep track of your mileage balances if you are a member of several programs (like me!). The free version is great, but for as little as $1 for 6 months, you can also keep track of expiration dates for your programs, so that you don’t lose your hard-earned miles & points due to inactivity.
Bill said,
Keep it simple! Choose one loyalty program that best suits your personal needs. They sometimes change so get updates, because what you don’t know about your loyalty program can hurt you.
Jerry Mills said,
Earn airline miles with one carrier/alliance but with at least two hotel chains to ensure that there’s a location you can use points on a trip and in case the hotel of choice has no rooms available, that way you have a backup to use when you want to cash in points for a trip.
Matthew Sinclair said,
Always know the promotions for your program and do your best to take advantage of them.
Marisa said,
Do the math. Even if a domestic ticket seems expensive, it’s almost never worth it to burn miles. Save them for your international trips.
taylor said,
If you get a rep that says it cant be done, hang up and call again until you get a rep that will work with you and is knowledgeable. Try try try again.
Anne A said,
My top tip for using mileage points is to plan well in advance and to fully understand the specific restrictions of the program.
Erik E said,
My advice would be to “get loyal” with a favorite hotel chain/ airline/ rental car company – higher level loyal members, Starwood Platinums, Hyatt Diamonds, United 1ks, for example not only earn base points but bonus points for these member classifications, as well as other perks and upgrades (free) that rewards the loyal frequent traveler.
Also, using a branded credit card to pay for these hotel rooms and plane tickets (United’s Visa, Starwood’s Amex, for example) have a way of being a point multiplier for increased earnings ad well.
ivk5 said,
Be aware of opportunities to transfer miles/points from one program to another for free without devaluation.
A good one I’ve used heavily is Amtrak Guest Rewards -> Continental OnePass. Limit of 50K per year – and even that might only be for Amtrak elite pax. Still, it’s a steal. For example, right now there’s a (possibly targeted?) offer for the co-branded Chase MC that yields 18K Amtrak points upon activation and another 18K with $2K spend. Easiest 36K Continental miles I’ve every heard of.
Similarly know how much the miles/points are worth to you so you know when to earn and when to burn.
IndyDavid said,
As I’ve gotten older, my time has become more valuable and I’ve had more disposable income. Therefore, I recommend being a little more willing to spend money instead of sacrifice time to build mileage balances.
On Continental, I have the Presidental Plus credit card, which gives a 25% redeemable miles bonus. I pay in advance for the Extra Mile bonus, which is another 50%. I have Platinum status, offering a 100% bonus. And I frequently purchase B fares, which are upgradeable at booking and earn 150% EQM, good for keeping status.
Alex Scott said,
Be friendly with hotel/airline counter agents! You just may get upgraded – especially if you are traveling on a special occasion such as your honeymoon, anniversary, etc. Let them know!
Ravzie said,
I use my miles credit card for all of my purchases! Thanks!
Alex said,
Buy plane tickets on Tuesday afternoons. This is generally the cheapest time, because on tuesday evenings the prices get recalibrated based on demand-and they usually go up.
Veronica Leonard said,
Use them for car rental, you’ll get a bigger bang for your buck than when you do for flight. You may save more getting a good seat sale than using your points but the car rental prices are fixed.
Damali said,
Make sure you have a credit cards with your loyalty points. Also, hotel points are really good for vacations.
Elizabeth (LizzyDragon84) said,
Know what your programs’ expiration rules are and what it takes to keep your miles/points from expiring. Even if you don’t have enough miles in your account to take a flight, you may have an opportunity in the future to get enough for a ticket. Keeping miles alive in many programs can also be done cheaply. For example, buying a song on iTunes keeps United miles alive for another 18 months.
Sara said,
Always register for every mileage promotion that your chosen airline (because you should really try and stick with one alliance) offers. Whilst you might not expect to go to Hong Kong in the next month you never know, and it would be a real shame if you did and didn’t get maximum mileage!
Kay McLaughlin said,
Many airline carriers allow for one-way award redemptions. If you have trouble finding round trip award availability at the lowest redemption level, do some one-way searches before ponying up the higher amount of miles
alexandria789 said,
What’s your top tip for travelers who want to earn and use their loyalty points? At Christmastime, do all your shopping online for FF miles! I’ve racked up lots of points this way and have traveled to Europe and California using my FF miles.
Vinny said,
Focus on your goals – where do you want to go/what do you want to do – that way you can really focus on the loyalty programs that will get you to your goal quickly and easily.
Mbelle said,
concentrate earnings in one or two programs and learn the rules of it, so as to maximize usage
Sam R. Graham said,
Use no fee reward credit cards from your local or regional banks. Most offer redemptions for no black out travel on multiple airlines, hotels and rental car companies.
jbos said,
Use the Starwood AMEX to accumulate points, then transfer to your favorite airline program with a 25% bonus for 20,000 point exchanges. Alternatively keep Starwood Amex points in reserve so you can transfer smaller amounts to “top off” airline accounts to reach the award you need.
Doreen Pendgracs said,
I charge virtually everything I can on my credit card so that I’ve earned points for each and every purchase — in addition to the loyalty points I will also earn from each merchant at which I make a purchase. Pretty much the only thing I can’t charge on my card is our electric bills as our service provider doesn’t accept any credit cards. Too bad, as we have electric heat and that amounts to more than $2,500 in lost points each year.
M S said,
Try to earn/consolidate to one frequent flyer program of an alliance. Always check the ‘Fare basis code’. Starwood Preferred Guest card is best credit card for earning miles, gives 5k bonus for redeeming 20k miles to 30 different FFP program.
jerry said,
some miles accounts will dump you if you do not stay active. No need to fly. Just be sure to spend some money through their shopping portal, or dine with their program.
Sharma said,
My top tip:
Never let a mile go waste: Never pay cash when you can charge to a mile earning card, never let any miles expire, never miss a mileage promotion and never use miles for free flights for yourself.
Susan said,
To maximize use of your miles, travel on airlines that have shared mileage agreements. When you need to use miles that require more than you have in one account, transfer the partner miles to the chosen account and you’re off to your chosen destination.
Zheng said,
Air miles and some hotel points expire. When you sign up to earn these miles, ask the related parties how long you have to accrue the points, how long they are valid and if there are policies on extending earned miles or awards. Be careful!
Nick said,
Consolidate to one or two rewards programs, enter all promotions, and use points as they accumulate so much as is reasonable to counter any fears of inflationary pressures the points may face (and limits the need to worry about expiration dates).
Elizabeth said,
I am a big fan of Hilton HHonors for hotel loyalty programs. But use your points on the really really expensive hotels — you can get a $600 room for the same number of points as a $200 room. Also if you are the highest loyalty level (diamond) you can get a guaranteed spot even in a full hotel, and you pretty much get upgraded to the nicest room automatically. So pay for the cheapest room with points, and then get upgraded to an executive suite with lots of free goodies. Also you can earn points with them through their dining partners — pretty wide selection of restaurants.
Elisse said,
If you find you are getting “spun” by the hotels and airlines when you try to use your points/miles, write directly (and nicely) to the CEO of the company (registered mail), with all the facts and details, enclosing all relevant documents. We had hundreds of thousands of points and miles but couldn’t use them for one reason or another for years… UNTIL I did that. We were contacted Immediately and got to have the honeymoon of our DREAMS, and the hotels and airlines treated us like GOLD! I have used this technique effectively with CEOS from several major corporations. As my dad said “You don’t ask, you don’t get”! But ask Nice!
Nicole Beckstrand said,
Choose one airline and accrue points only for that on Amex and for biz travel. Also–stay only at one type of hotel–I use Hilton honors.
Istvan said,
If you only travel a moderate amount, make every hotel stay one night and then switch hotels for the next night. This is the qucikest way to elite levels at the hotel chains. The hotels always require less stays than nights to reach elite levels, so by switching hotels nightly, you can earn elite status with just 2-3 stays per month. Once you have status, you’ll start earning additional bonus points and upgrades.
Buddy said,
The best advice I ever received is to pick one carrier/alliance and one hotel chain and stick with it. It’s much better to be the top of one program than the middle of many. You want all of the points you achieve to get you the most you possibly can, not spread out across different alliances or chains.
Jonathan said,
Read Flyertalk and blogs like this for the latest advice on mileage earning and burning opportunities.
amy harrison said,
Sign up for every hotel rewards out there BUT pick the same airline for the bonus at each hotel. You can earn soooo many points every time you stay
Andrew said,
Stick with one alliance to maximize your mileage earning abilities; make sure you check mileage earning on partners (you never know which airlines/rental car companies/hotels/credit cards/etc. partner with one another!). Save those miles for your dream first-class trip anywhere! Luxurious air travel is the best way to get the most out of your miles.
Thanks!
Lisa said,
follow travel sites on Twitter for deals & bonuses….know your loyalty partners
Marcia MacDonald said,
Pick an alliance, use it. Pay for everything with your miles card. Use any opportunity for double and triple miles offers. Use up the miles before the airline goes out of business.
Arch said,
Focus on a few – preferably one loyalty programs – for flights and hotels and try to maximize the amount of points you can gain for these programs. Like George Clooney says in “Up in the air” – never spend a dime without trying to gain points for it. Taking advantage of the excellent resources on the web – like boarding area blogs that will help you find all the ways to earn those points. Then use ‘em quickly and enjoy!
Chuo M said,
Track your points, miles and your bank/credit accounts with Yodlee! Spend your miles smart by reading flyertalk and boardingarea blogs.
Nancy said,
Earn every chance you can and credit to as few programs as possible (consolidate). For example, credit flights to one airline program per alliance and when staying at a hotel outside your “preferred” hotel program(s), try to credit to an airline rather than holding just a couple of points in every program.
Wayne said,
sign up for every program. I sharply regret the stays and flights I made before enrolling thinking a one night stay here and there it was not worth it.
KELLY said,
Stick with one program and BE FLEXIBLE!!
Wilson said,
I use my rewards card to pay for almost everything, and then have my wife book trips. It just works better that way.
Ilana Elfassi said,
know the program rules, be flexible, & stay w/ one program.
Shawn said,
Obtain the credit card for your favorite airline. If you’re going to be spending money anyway you may as well get something for it. Also the program I use you can use mile to upgrade to first class on international flights. For example on a discount economy ticket from New York to Tokyo, which can run about $900 roundtrip, you can upgrade to first class for 60,000 miles and $1000 roundtrip. That same first class ticket would cost over $11000 and because you still earn miles for the flight that means it only costs you 45000 miles to save $9000.
boxo said,
Read Boarding Area blogs – they boil down the fluff into the nitty gritty. Join Flyertalk and forge invaluable friendships with people who can help cover all the bases. They got my back!
Halothane said,
Use the miles. Don’t hang onto them!
Anne said,
Don’t let your accumulated miles take on too much OR too little importance; use them as a tool that fits your personal circumstances. If you don’t often travel internationally, resist the urge to hoard miles for international vacations. If you need a quick, last-minute flight to visit an ailing relative or get to a job interview, use your miles! Put your miles to work for the things that matter to you.
Jewel said,
I tell my husband to buy lots of stuff on our rewards card and then I use the rewards for trips!
AS said,
My Tip:
Finding award availability on the internet is not always easy – each airline website has its own quirks. Some don’t show partner award availability, some have a very poor search feature, and some don’t make it easy to look at multiple days at a time. I like ANA.co.jp for most Star Alliance availability, BA.com for OneWorld, and you have to work a combination of Airfrance.com and Delta.com to find SkyTeam awards. Each has its pluses and minuses. Sometimes you have to search segment by segment and piece together the whole trip. It can be frustrating, but assembling this information will be essential to finding the award you want.
Once you have the data – and a few alternatives – pick up the phone and call an agent. You will pay a few extra dollars, but if you are looking for Business Class or First Class it will be well worth it. And, try not to overpay for awards: often times the easy way to find a seat is to pay extra miles for the “Flexible” awards but with patience and the right search tools you can usually do much better as long as you are flexible.
Kim said,
Don’t ignore the hotel side of award trips. A one-week vacation will set you back just as much in hotels as airfare, so maximize your hotel stays. I like the Starwood American Express card because of the flexibility of the points, good award availability and options (eg. cash+points, redeem 4 nights and get 1 free), and the nice properties. And you can transfer the points to airlines if you want.
Kim
Brendan said,
To garner miles, put every possible necessary charge on a credit card and sign up for every offer that provides increased miles, such as double for groceries or drugstore purchases. Don’t be afraid to be the person who quarterback’s the end of group dinners by putting them on your card and receiving cash from others.
Jonell said,
Leave good instructions for your heirs on how to access your miles in all your accounts. You don’t want them to go to waste– rather, you want your kids to be able to use them should you die unexpectedly. Once the airline knows you’re gone, they will probably lock your miles.
Simon said,
Try and sketch out your years travel at the start of the year. This lets you calculate your flight miles goal and predict when you’ll reach it. You can then estimate when you’re likely to reach your goal and look into other methods (hotels, car rentals etc) to speed things along.
Colin said,
I had earned enough points to fly to England Business class once and was just about to book the flight and my mother if there was any chance she could come so instead I took my wife and I took my mother it was the first time she had seen her family in 52 years. I don’t think there is a better way to use your points than to do some thing wonderful for your mother
katie-mae said,
One card/one airline. Pay for everything you can (groceries, gas, drugstore, dining, etc.) as much as possible with that card. And use the miles….don’t sit on them waiting for a bigger package deal. Life’s too short.
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