A manual for accumulating and redeeming frequent flyer miles

For those who love to travel or aspire to explore more destinations, accruing frequent flyer miles or points with an airline and its affiliated partners can pave the way for complimentary flights and an array of travel perks, including access to airport lounges, waived baggage fees, and priority boarding. These miles are typically accumulated through participation in an airline’s loyalty program, although there are additional avenues, such as eligible credit card expenditures, to bolster your mileage balance.

However, if you’re new to the concept of frequent flyer programs, you might be curious about their mechanics and whether they offer tangible benefits. This comprehensive guide delves into the fundamentals of earning and utilizing frequent flyer miles, alongside insights into how travel credit cards can serve as valuable tools for securing complimentary flights.

There are numerous avenues to accrue airline miles or points, ranging from booking flights directly to making purchases with a credit card tailored for airline rewards or offering the option to transfer rewards into an airline’s loyalty program.

To accumulate miles when purchasing plane tickets, it’s necessary to enroll in an airline’s loyalty program. Many major airlines are part of extensive alliances, enabling members to transfer rewards across numerous brands.

For instance, United Airlines is affiliated with the Star Alliance, which comprises 26 individual airlines like Air Canada, Air China, and Lufthansa. By joining United’s loyalty program, MileagePlus, members can earn rewards applicable to flights with Star Alliance partners booked through United.

Another prominent network is SkyTeam, featuring Delta Air Lines, Air France, and Aeromexico, among others. Additionally, there’s the Oneworld Alliance, which includes American Airlines and British Airways among its partner airlines.

Upon completing an enrollment form for the desired loyalty program, a confirmation email is typically sent containing the frequent flyer number. This number must be provided when booking flights to accrue miles. Some programs allow retroactive addition of the number post-booking.

Membership in these programs may lead to elite status attainment upon meeting specific criteria. For example, with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, MVP status can be achieved after flying 20,000 miles in a year, followed by MVP Gold, MVP Gold 75K, and MVP Gold 100K statuses with increasing flight miles.

Elite status unlocks various perks such as waived baggage fees, priority boarding, lounge access, upgrades, and seat selection privileges, with the extent of benefits improving with higher status tiers.

Travel credit cards, encompassing general travel rewards cards, airline-specific cards, and hotel cards, allow you to accumulate miles or points through eligible credit card expenditures. While general travel cards typically offer flexible rewards redeemable with various airlines and hotels, airline and hotel cards usually limit rewards to specific brands.

Earning rates and eligible spending categories vary by card issuer and type, with most cards providing at least 1X miles or points per dollar spent. Tiered rewards cards may offer higher rates for specific purchase categories. For instance, the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card offers 2X miles on Delta purchases, dining worldwide, and U.S. supermarket purchases, and 1X mile on other purchases, while the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card provides 5X points on travel booked through Chase, 3X points on dining, select streaming services, and online grocery purchases, and 2X points on other travel expenses.

Moreover, travel rewards cards often feature welcome bonuses for new cardholders, contingent upon meeting a spending threshold within a specified timeframe. These bonuses can significantly boost your rewards balance. Eligibility for premium travel cards typically requires a good to excellent credit score and favorable debt-to-income ratio. Beginners may find it beneficial to explore entry-level travel cards to simplify the selection process.

While enrolling in loyalty programs and using travel rewards cards are the primary methods for accumulating airline miles or points, there are alternative strategies for boosting your rewards balance.

Many loyalty programs permit the purchase of additional miles or points if your account balance falls short of what’s needed for booking a desired trip. Though convenient, buying miles often proves costlier than their redemption value. However, if you’re just short of the required amount for a flight, purchasing more may be cheaper than buying the ticket outright, particularly if miles are on sale.

Additionally, you can often transfer rewards between eligible travel cards and their partner airlines. Access this feature through the rewards portal of your general travel card, select ‘transfer points’ from the menu, designate the travel partner, and specify the quantity of points to transfer. While some transfers are instantaneous, others may take a few days to complete, and most are irreversible.

Finally, certain loyalty programs allow members to pool their points or miles with family and friends who also participate in the same program. For instance, the Frontier Miles program facilitates sharing miles among up to eight designated individuals, offering a convenient way to consolidate rewards among loved ones.

Many major airline loyalty programs, such as Southwest Rapid Rewards and Delta SkyMiles, offer shopping portals that enable you to earn miles on purchases you were already planning to make. To do so, start by visiting the rewards program’s shopping portal, where you can browse available retailers, promotions, or search for specific items. Clicking through the portal tracks your activity, ensuring that when you complete a purchase, you receive credit in the form of extra miles or points added to your rewards account.

The best part? You don’t need to possess a co-branded airline card to benefit from these offers. For instance, enthusiasts of American Airlines can join the AAdvantage program for free and utilize their frequent flyer number to establish an account with its online eShopping portal. However, using a card that earns American AAdvantage miles for eShopping purchases enables you to double-dip on rewards, expediting your journey to a free flight.

Similar to online shopping portals, airline dining programs also offer rewards for dining at select restaurants. You’ll need to enroll in these programs separately, just like with a shopping portal. Once enrolled, use one of your linked debit or credit cards to settle your bill at an eligible restaurant. This alerts the Rewards Network, which administers these dining programs, to credit your rewards account with the appropriate number of miles or points.

While accumulating a stockpile of frequent flyer miles can be thrilling, it’s crucial not to lose sight of the ultimate goal — redeeming your miles for travel. Having a redemption plan isn’t just essential for maximizing your efforts; it’s also a way to safeguard against potential devaluations in airline and hotel loyalty programs. These programs frequently adjust the value of their points and miles, which could diminish their worth over time if left unused.

General travel credit cards typically offer more versatile redemption options compared to airline frequent flyer programs. With these cards, you can often redeem rewards for various travel purchases, cash back, gift cards, merchandise, event tickets, and more. Additionally, you may have the option to transfer your points or miles to travel partners, amplifying the potential value of your redemptions.

In contrast, frequent flyer programs may restrict redemptions to travel-related expenses, such as booking airfare. Similarly, points and miles earned with co-branded travel credit cards might only be redeemable through the card’s designated airline or hotel partner’s booking portal. Always review your program’s terms to ensure that the redemption options align with your preferences and travel goals.

  1. Access your airline loyalty program account.
  2. Browse for the flight you desire. You have the option to view prices in either cash or miles/points.
  3. Select miles or points as your preferred method of payment during checkout.
  4. Keep in mind that if you’re planning to use miles for a flight within an airline alliance, you may need to contact the airline directly to assist with the booking process.
  1. Sign in to your credit card account.
  2. Access the rewards portal, where you can redeem rewards for various options like travel bookings, gift cards, and charitable donations. For travel redemptions, you can typically use your issuer’s travel portal or transfer rewards to one of its travel partners. Transferring rewards to a high-value program often maximizes their worth.
  3. Choose the redemption option you prefer and follow the instructions provided.
  4. Before finalizing your redemption, ensure you’re getting the best value, especially for travel bookings. Airlines may value their flights differently, so comparing options can save you significant points or miles. Utilize resources like Bankrate’s points and miles valuations and other tools designed for redeeming rewards for flights.

By enrolling in a travel rewards card or joining your favored airline loyalty program, you can accrue airline miles or points effortlessly on your everyday purchases. Selecting the appropriate rewards program aligned with your spending patterns and opting for the most advantageous redemption methods can bring your next journey within reach sooner than expected.