You probably have a lot of questions about how exactly
airline miles work.
Learn how
airline miles work and 10 steps that you should follow to start collecting travel rewards.
Not exact matches
I live in a green house with twice the legally required insulation and a heat recovery ventilator, and I drive a hybrid and I bike and I live two
miles from
work, but then there are those 170,000
miles up there on United
Airlines, and that is 90 - odd percent of my footprint, just as Robin said.
That is a great article, I used to
work in the
airlines field credit cards and
miles can be very helpful for the people that travel a lot
Reward cards offering
airline miles or cash back may be useful in making your money
work for you; however, these cards usually come with expensive yearly fees and high interest rates.
If you have
airline miles, you need to
work with each individual
airline frequent flyer program separately.
When I travel overseas, I fly with
airline miles and visit countries where the exchange rate
works in my favor.
Some
airlines have partnerships and
work in cooperation with hotels or other travel partners that may allow you to earn frequent flier
miles with them as well.
Now that you understand a little about what
airline miles are and how they
work, let's go into detail on how to earn and use rewards.
It's also important to know that each
airline works differently when it comes to
miles.
Instead, with the right credit card, you can earn points with your everyday spending and convert them to
miles to fly on the
airline that
works for you.
However, if the points were transferred to Singapore
Airline KrisFlyer
Miles and then booked with partner
airlines Virgin Atlantic, you'd get the same flight for just 50,000
miles, which
works out to almost 2 cents a point.
This method
works best for those who mostly fly with one particular
airline because you will be limited to redeeming your
miles for flights only with that
airline (and its partners).
The way it
works is you use the card for tickets on any
airline or for any other travel expenses like hotels, car rentals, tours, excursions, even subway and taxi rides, and as long as your expenses code as travel, you can redeem the
miles for a statement credit within 180 days.
Luckily, we've done the
work for you by gathering up 23 ways you can earn
airline miles without ever leaving the ground.
For example, people who travel will want the
airline discounts and
miles, some might want gas card rewards if they have a long commute to
work and others may want the cash back option if they are saving for specific purchases or trying to maintain a tight budget.
I travel pretty extensively for
work & mostly use Hilton and Delta
Airlines brands... I currently have the Hilton Citi Reserve Visa Card (soon to be transferred to the Hilton AMEX Ascend Card), both the Gold & Platinum Delta AMEX Cards, and use
miles each year to get access to the Delta SkyClub.
(This means that one Membership Rewards point can be transferred to one
mile with
airlines like Delta, Air Canada, or Hawaiian — although some
airlines, like JetBlue or British Airways, require 250 points to receive 200
miles, which
works out to a transfer ratio of 1.25:1.)
Understanding how
airline rewards programs
work —
Airlines have changed the structure of their reward programs, but still have great offers if you know how to earn
miles.
Earning Alaskan
Miles: You can earn
miles and segments whenever you book with Alaska
Airlines or any of its global partners and
work your way towards an elite membership to unlock more rewards.
Here's how it
works with the
miles earned via an
airline credit card.
For example, several
airlines work with Operation Hero
Miles, in which
miles go toward providing a free ticket for military men and women and their families.
The banks are probably the most well - versed in the going rate for
miles and points from the
airlines since they often
work with multiple loyalty programs and are the largest buyer of
miles and points.
Some
airlines have partnerships and
work in cooperation with hotels or other travel partners that may allow you to earn frequent flier
miles with them as well.
Thanks Again
works with various
airlines to award
miles for everyday purchases made at restaurants, retailers, and service providers around town and in the airport.
Besides flying, you can earn unlimited Alaska
miles using the Bank of America Alaska
Airlines debit card (I do this — it
works), or the Bank of America Alaska
Airlines Visa Signature.
American
Airlines is
working to expand its social network by giving 100 to 100,000
miles to Facebookers who «like» the
airline's AAdvantage Facebook page.
This is the way it
works with all
airline - specific
miles, by the way.
According to one study, nearly 60 percent of Americans with frequent flyer
miles admit they don't know how
airline reward programs
work.
How it
works: Same as rewards network but instead of
airline miles, cashback is rewarded in the form of a monthly statement credit.
It's also important to know that each
airline works differently when it comes to
miles.
Now that you understand a little about what
airline miles are and how they
work, let's go into detail on how to earn and use rewards.
However, if the points were transferred to Singapore
Airline KrisFlyer
Miles and then booked with partner
airlines Virgin Atlantic, you'd get the same flight for just 50,000
miles, which
works out to almost 2 cents a point.
How they
work Generally, the idea behind these two types of reward credit cards is that for every dollar you spend on the credit card, you'll earn either a percentage of money back or a certain number of
airline frequent flier
miles.
Awards booked through American
Airlines using AAdvantage
Miles don't come with surcharges... but that's not the case if you plan to use the
miles for travel on a number of American's
airline partners — make sure you factor in these surcharges when
working out just how good a deal an award booking is.
The way it
works is you use the card for tickets on any
airline or for any other travel expenses like hotels, car rentals, tours, excursions, even subway and taxi rides, and as long as your expenses code as travel, you can redeem the
miles for a statement credit within 180 days.
From time to time though, I do have to travel for my
work or rent a one - way from my home in Michiana to fly out of Chicago O'Hare, and those are great opportunities to earn some car rental points +
airline miles.
Points don't
work like
airline miles or hotel points, where what you're looking to redeem for is valued according to a redemption chart.
I'm not sure that I really need more United
Airlines miles at this time, since I have a large stash I continue to
work through.
American
Airlines and United
Airlines are
working with such long - standing and reputable nonprofits as the United Services Organization (USO), Susan G. Komen and the National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR) to entice travelers into donating in exchange for a hike in bonus
miles.
On many of United's premium routes (routes that you may wish to burn
miles on) award availability is scarce and you simply won't be able to find the flights you want on dates that
work for you —
miles aren't very flexible like that as you're at the mercy of the
airlines.
To get the most value out of an
airline rewards program, the best advice is to familiarize yourself with the details of how it
works, says Brian Kelly, founder of ThePointsGuy.com, a blog that helps people maximize their award
miles and points.
Now I absolutely needed to find mid-summer Friday evening and Sunday daytime flights, perhaps some of summers most coveted seats, so I set to
work systematically examining every possible
airline mile and schedule combination to get my husband on a plane.
The way these packages
work is you exchange a certain number of Marriott points for
airline miles and a 7 - night stay in a Marriott property.
Keep in mind how easy it is to
work with the receiving
airline loyalty program, how often awards become available, and the rules you need to follow to prevent
miles from expiring.
The first, as already mentioned, would
work by basing the number of
miles earned on the price of the fare paid while the second system would see a Marco Polo club that was much closer in style to Singapore
Airlines» PPS Club.
Prior to the devaluation of these 2 programs, I would have considered this card the best and only way to earn valuable American
Airlines AAdvantage
miles, with a great option to transfer to BA Avios should that
work out more favorable.
Barclaycard Arrival
miles work well for buying tickets on smaller
airlines and foreign carriers.
I
work hard to earn all the
miles I do so I will go out of my way to avoid using my
miles on
airlines I consider to offer an inferior premium cabin product and
airlines that impose high surcharges on awards — like British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.
I would go for
airline miles only if you already have more points than you know what to do with, or if all your hotel stays are already covered by
work.