Tactics for Redeeming Frequent Flier Miles

There are at least 16.3 trillion unredeemed frequent-flier miles floating around out there, and the number is growing every day. The fact is, frequent-flier programs are big business for the airlines.

The airlines sell those miles to partners such as credit-card companies, car rentals and dining programs, at the cost of about 1.4 cents per mile.

The airlines make money by selling miles to partners, and count on the fact that only a small fraction of those miles will be redeemed.

And it’s only getting harder for the consumer.

Airlines are shrinking capacity, so with fewer flights and higher fares, it’s even more difficult to find a reward seat.

Airline mergers are devaluing those miles even further.

And that’s not all. In 2007, the airlines began another sneaky practice: reducing the amount of time of account inactivity before deleting accrued miles.

So how can you get around all of this and actually get some use out of those miles.

The key is to be flexible and creative.

If an agent tells you no tickets are available on a certain route, think about alternate airports, and even more important, alternate routings.

Look into partner airlines through alliance programs like OneWorld and SkyTeam.

Ask about connecting flights, rather than non-stops, which opens up availability.

And be a contrarian: travel in the off season, and you may find you not only get a better deal, but a better experience overall.

For more on this topic, try our Airlines, Airports & Air Travel section.

Or, try our Mileage & Reward Programs section.

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