In the case
of airline frequent flier programs and their credit card - based programs, attempts to regulate them years ago through the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) failed as it kicked the regulatory process back to Congress, which pretty much gave airlines immunity from these types of laws.
And you might be able to wring more value from airline cards and other travel reward cards if you are willing to master the complexities
of airline frequent flier programs and accept limitations on availability.
While most other types of credit cards, even rewards and cash back credit cards, do not have an annual fee, the cost
of airline frequent flier programs is such that an annual fee must be charged for it to be profitable for the credit card issuing bank.
But, with many types
of airline frequent flier reward programs you may have to pay an annual membership fee to get the card.
If you read the fine print
of airline frequent flier programs, they typically state that their awards are not worth money.
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.
Become a member
of every airline frequent flier programs.
Honig estimates that if Liu converted his Membership Rewards points into one of a number
of airline frequent flier programs, he and his family could travel anywhere, in style.
Not exact matches
In this Jan. 26, 2012 photo, members
of the Megado
frequent fliers group line up to board an American
Airlines aircraft at Dallas - Fort Worth International Airport in Grapevine, Texas.
It's the ultimate field trip for aviation geeks, 160
of frequent fliers chartered an American
Airlines jet and hoped across the country visiting aviation industry spots.
NerdWallet has released a study
of travel rewards credit cards and the loyalty programs for four U.S.
airlines — American, Delta, Southwest, and United — that determines how consumers should best use their points and
frequent flier miles.
You're automatically eligible if you're a
frequent flier of one
of the 11 participating
airlines, or you can apply directly through the DHS Trusted Traveler's Program.
They named their favorite
airlines and rated them using a variety
of criteria, including customer service,
frequent flier programs, in - flight class experience, food and entertainment options, and airport lounges.
In the past decade there has been no lack
of best - customer clubs, point programs, new twists on
airline frequent -
flier plans, and contests with spectacular prizes.
«The flights were too expensive, and
airlines were just giving them away to
frequent fliers,» says George Hobica, founder
of Airfarewatchdog.com.
Although a combination
of limited choice and artificial restraints such as
frequent -
flier programs often cause even completely dissatisfied
airline customers to remain fairly loyal, the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty does resemble a competitive market on routes where several carriers offer flights at around the same time.
Although this card is designed for
frequent United
Airlines fliers, it has one
of the best set
of rewards and additional perks and benefits.
Austin's airport only recently began offering the TSA's expedited program to
frequent fliers of all five eligible
airlines (Alaska, American, Delta, United, and US Air).
For example, an aggregation service might collect and consolidate your checking and savings account balances at your bank, the value
of your stocks and bonds in your brokerage account and your
frequent flier mileage information from an
airline.
Airline - branded cards can make sense for
frequent fliers — if you check a couple
of bags on a couple
of flights, you'll often offset the annual fee.
You always have the option to book flights directly via Chase on most
airlines without the restrictions
of frequent flier programs.
Or, the perks and benefits that come with the card (such as
airline frequent flier miles) might outweigh the downside
of paying an annual fee.
The TrueBlue program's current deals are great opportunities for
frequent fliers of JetBlue, as well as folks who haven't experienced the
airline but may want to in the future.
Most
of the time, scoring a stash
of frequent flier miles is as easy as signing up for a co-branded
airline credit card, meeting the minimum spending requirement, and earning a sign - up bonus.
But it is also true
of even
frequent flier programs run by
airlines.
Multi-airlines cards versus single -
airline cards — Both multi-arlines rewards cards and single -
airline cards have pluses and minuses, and which is right for you depends on what kind
of frequent flier you are.
With Orbitz, for example, you can enter your
airline frequent flier membership number at the time
of booking on the «traveler information» page.
But unfortunately, instead
of looking for another
airline frequent flier program that's going to reward us the most, it's a battle to find one that's going to screw us the least.
Airline co-branded cards typically offer at least one free checked bag on domestic flights, as well as priority boarding and,
of course,
frequent -
flier miles that can be redeemed for free trips.
Like American
Airlines» AAvantage and United's MileagePlus programs, KrisFlyer manages both the earning
of elite
frequent flier status and benefits (priority services, lounge access, etc.) and the travel rewards program (award travel).
Some stayed loyal to United
Airlines but for the majority
of us, any other
frequent flier program was better than 5x the ticket price for mileage earning.
The 100,000 Chase points can be transferred to United
Airlines»
frequent flier program (among others) and are the equivalent
of four round - trip domestic plane tickets, two round - trip tickets to Hawaii or one - and - a-half round - trips to Europe.
Dear Dave, Serious players
of the
frequent flier game would probably say the end game for
airline credit cards is overseas travel.
American
Airlines surprised many today when it announced several customer - friendly changes to its
frequent -
flier program.The new «One - Way Flex Awards» will allow customers to book one - way tickets for half the amount
of miles needed for a round - trip ticket, and will also let passengers book multi-city itineraries and combine award seats with non-award seats.Under the old paradigm, passengers could only book round - trips to and from the same city and were forced to fly in an award seat
of equal value for both legs
of the journey.This often made booking award travel an exercise in futility — for example, an award seat might be available only on an outbound journey, but not the return trip.But now passengers will be able to fly to New York in an award seat, and return in a premium - fare seat if a return award seat is not available.
The main target for
airline reward cards tends to be people who are already members
of an
airline's
frequent flier program.
The
airline started a
frequent flier program three years ago that allows customers to earn points based on how much they spend on tickets — or charge on their Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards cards — then redeem points based on the price
of the fare.
Airlines Credit Card: Redeeming flier miles as airline fees rise — Redeem your credit card frequent flier miles as more airlines raise the costs of fees for
Airlines Credit Card: Redeeming
flier miles as
airline fees rise — Redeem your credit card
frequent flier miles as more
airlines raise the costs of fees for
airlines raise the costs
of fees for flying.
Measuring
airline seats» value Unlike buying, say, a washing machine, where you can compare models, features and price easily on the Internet or in consumer magazines, measuring the value
of an
airline's
frequent flier program can be difficult.
Frequent flier miles may live on after death — Airlines often allow transfers of frequent flier miles to beneficiaries when a member dies, even if written policies are vague... (See Transfe
Frequent flier miles may live on after death —
Airlines often allow transfers
of frequent flier miles to beneficiaries when a member dies, even if written policies are vague... (See Transfe
frequent flier miles to beneficiaries when a member dies, even if written policies are vague... (See Transfer miles)
The
frequent flier miles earned as a result
of purchases made on American
Airlines credit cards are bonus / redeemable miles and do not count toward attaining elite status.
Why don't
airlines like Southwest and JetBlue have award charts that spell out the cost
of their
frequent flier awards?
In addition to booking flights on American
Airlines, you can now book flights on 8 of the many Oneworld Alliance partner airlines directly on AA.com using your American Airlines frequent flie
Airlines, you can now book flights on 8
of the many Oneworld Alliance partner
airlines directly on AA.com using your American Airlines frequent flie
airlines directly on AA.com using your American
Airlines frequent flie
Airlines frequent flier miles.
If somebody can compile lists
of the funniest cat videos and potatoes that look like actor Channing Tatum, shouldn't there be a decent ranking
of airline frequent -
flier programs?
The evolution
of frequent flier credit cards and programs —
Airline frequent flier programs as we know them today began in early 1981, when the only way to earn miles was through flying.
«The price
airlines charge typically is about 3 cents a mile when everything is factored in — but, these days, the average value
of a mile is about 1.2 cents,» says Tim Winship, publisher
of FrequentFlier.com, which offers tips and information about
frequent flier programs.
Cathleen McCarthy: The battle
of generic versus
frequent flier miles — A primer on how both generic credit cards and
airline - specific cards offer and redeem travel miles — and which is best for you.
Chris recommends in her Frommer's article that you first add a flight alert tweeter such as @AirFareWatchdog to your follows for updated alerts and deals, then to add some
of your favorite
airline carriers who often send out special promo codes or
frequent flier deals to their followers.
The Platinum Card from American Express is an ideal option for
frequent fliers that want to maximize their earning potential for
airline or hotel purchases and want a card full
of additional perks.
SPG points will transfer to pretty much any
airline program at a rate
of 1:1 or 20K SPG to 25K other
frequent flier program.
However, the addition
of frequent flier numbers to
airline records does not guarantee mileage eligibility which is at the sole discretion
of each
airline.