10 Ways to Maximize Your Airline Miles

10-ways-to-maximize-your-airline-milesProbably the best advice I could give anyone when speaking about how to manage his or her airline mileage program would be this:  Learn how to acquire your mileage points cheap, say two cents per mile or less. Then redeem them on business class or first class seats on long haul flights for four to five and a half cents per mile to maximize their value.

When Upgrade is Better than a Free Flight

Your miles may also be used to upgrade your seat to first/business class. In some cases, it is the better idea, especially when the limited slots for frequent flier travelers have been exhausted for a specific flight you are eyeing or if your chosen travel date is a “blackout date.” A blackout date is a date when frequent flier slots are not made available. It is usually timed around a major holiday or event.

Save Your Miles

If the limited flight choices are delaying your planned vacations or required travel dates, it would be wise to forget about the free flight altogether. After all, you can well save your miles for the next best opportunity to increase its value. Treating your miles like currency, like your money in the bank, will give you better ideas on how to make it worth the redemption.

Give Your Miles as a Gift

You will give your miles better value if you are sharing them with someone. They will have an even greater purpose. If someone dear to you is worth giving that free flight bonus, why not? You can also donate them to charity, like Make a Wish.  In addition sometimes airlines offer a “matching” bonus on points donated or gifted to others.
I personally have done this one several times gifting the maximum of 50,000 points to a friend and having them do the same for me.  The end result was when he gifted the 50,000 airline miles back to me, the airline had a matching bonus and I ended up with 100,000 miles in my account for a grand total of $500 that I had put out when gifting my 50,000 points to him.   That equates to .005 per mile my friend!  This is a great example of an insider strategy on acquiring airline miles!  I then went on to redeem those miles for .055 per mile 8 months later on a trans-pacific flight from Los Angeles to Bangkok in first class on Cathay Pacific!  My first class Cathay Pacific flight was a $3750 retail ticket.  I used 67,500 from my American Airlines mileage program and they charged me $47 in taxes out of pocket.  So the end result was that I basically paid $47 out of pocket for a $3,700 first class ticket on Cathay Pacific from Los Angeles to Bangkok!
When you discover how to use your point program like this, it becomes very exciting when traveling knowing you are always flying first class at rock bottom prices!

Do Not Book at the Last Minute

Additional amounts may be charged to you for booking a flight at the last minute.
They best utilized for booking flights that have been planned. If you book weeks or even a month ahead, you also have a good chance to find a slot you desire already allotted for a frequent flier traveler.

Keep Track

Keeping yourself updated on how many miles you have earned is easy. You simply need a heads up on your transaction history. Most frequent fliers programs will give you access to an online account where you can keep track of your transactions.

Plan Around

Planning is crucial in terms of maximizing the value of your free miles. You must be aware of the best days that offer award travel opportunities as well as when it is the best time to use or save your miles. From there, you may develop a travel plan that will

Include a Free Stopover to Your Itinerary

It would not hurt to add another destination to your itinerary, especially if it is rooted from a perk as a frequent flier. Some airlines offer a free stopover program, which will allow you to discover new destinations using your frequent flyer points.

Shop with Your Miles

There are also offers where you can exchange your miles for merchandise. Some people think it is not worth it. However, anyway you can use your miles and not let them expire is a good idea.

Always continue to Earn

If you are a frequent flier for leisure or for business, nothing should stop you from constantly accumulating miles. Every single thing I purchase builds my airline mileage program.  I use airline point cards for everything I do.  I don’t even buy a cup of coffee without getting free airline miles!  If you wish to build and maximize your airline point program, you should do the same.

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