I'm assuming that you probably aren't a regular business
traveler. If you are, you probably already are using every tip and trick in the
book to maximize miles. Either that or you're so sick of air travel every few
days, that the last thing you want is another flight! Instead, let's assume
that you're the typical person who travels on holiday once or twice a year,
makes a visit or two to family, and maybe one business-related trip. That's
maybe 4 round-trip flights a year, at about 1500 miles per trip average. So you
earn maybe 6000 miles a year. But it takes 25,000 miles for a free trip within
the U.S. and Canada
on most airlines. 30,000 to 35,000 to the Caribbean, 50,000 to 65,000 for Europe. And most airlines expire your miles after three
years. You're probably thinking, "I'll never get a free trip." You're
wrong, you definitely can earn that trip. But there's a catch, and that leads
to my next rule:
You'll never get a
free flight just from flying.The math just doesn't work: your miles would expire before
you could use them. But have hope! There are ways to accelerate your earnings
and prevent the expirations.
Find ways to earn
miles from everyday activities:
The most popular and
easiest way to do this is by using a credit or charge card that earns miles.
I'll give you details on various cards and strategies. Think about what you
spend, and imagine if you earned a mile for every dollar. That trip would come
a lot faster.
There are other ways
to earn miles. Earn while you eat! Almost all the airline programs have an
associated dining-for-miles program, usually run by iDine. You sign up on the
airline's website or by phone, and register whatever credit card you will use
for restaurants – it doesn't have to be the airline's own mileage card (but
using that one gives you a double chance to earn – miles from the dining
program, plus miles for the dollar amount of the charge on the card.) Their
website will have a list of restaurants in your area that participate. Probably
you already frequent one or more of them.
Getting a new
wireless phone? Often the airline programs have promotions running with the
wireless companies. Check the "Partners" section of the airline's
frequent flyer site, or look for "Promotions" or similar on the
wireless carrier's website. You need to order the service through the special
web link or with the promotion code – read their instructions carefully. This
can get you thousands of miles.
Still using a
landline for long-distance? Often the airline will have a deal with AT&T or
MCI or Sprint, for miles from your long-distance bill, with a sign-up bonus and
additional bonus miles for staying with the long-distance provider for a
certain number of months. Again, look for the partner promotions sections of
their websites.