AP) – Q: My frequent-flier accounts have been inactive for too long, and my miles are going to go down the drain. What’s an inexpensive last-minute save?A: Inactivity periods can creep up on frequent-flier members, especially since some major airlines have been reducing the amount of time fliers’ accounts can rest idle — no miles earned or redeemed — before wiping clean program members’ accounts.

American Airlines’ 36-month inactivity period switched to an 18-month limit on December 15, United Airlines will make the same switch on December 31 and Alaska Airlines will cut its inactivity period from three years to two years starting April 1, 2008.Other airlines’ inactivity periods range from JetBlue Airways’ one-year expiration date to Continental Airlines’ indefinite commitment.But saving miles is easy — no need to rely on travel to earn miles. A program member can shop, eat out, take a survey, watch an online ad, donate miles to charity or order magazine subscriptions to add mileage to an account in small increments, keeping it alive.

“It’s hard to believe that we would be talking about frequent-flier programs and someone’s worrying about their miles expiring,” said Randy Peterson, publisher of InsideFlyer magazine. “Virtually any activity counts toward extending your miles, all of which are pretty easy and pretty everyday.”Leisure-time solutions such as holiday shopping with the airlines’ retail partners or eating out at one of the thousands of restaurants linked to major airlines’ flier programs require little extra effort or spending.”All of the big programs these days have what I call mileage malls, which are networks of online retailers,” said Tim Winship, a frequent-flier program expert. “The larger such malls comprise up to 200 and more online retailers.” To use these malls, program members must first go to the Web site of the airline on which they want to accrue miles and click through to the retailer’s site via the mileage plan window.To use a dining program, register a credit card number with a mileage plan (free), then pay for meals with that card.Purchasing groceries can also net miles — United, for example, has a relationship with several major grocery chains.

Transferring miles to another account or buying up miles are not good deals, said Winship and Peterson.Many airlines charge 1 cent per mile transferred, with an additional transaction fee. On Northwest Airlines, for example, transferring the minimum 5,000 miles would cost $75, with no additional miles gained.Alaska requires a 1,000-mile minimum purchase when buying miles directly — not a bad deal for $25, plus taxes — but gaining free miles via regular purchases and activities has more value.”You would be hard-pressed to think of anything that you might want to buy that you couldn’t earn miles for,” said Winship. “Many of these online malls have in place right now bonus mile promotions that go through Christmas”Many major airlines’ program members can also sign up with Web sites e-rewards.com and e-miles.com.

Sitting through a short ad or filling out an online survey posts 10-15 miles per activity to a previously-specified airline, ensuring that infrequently-used mileage accounts don’t die.And while miles stored in American’s mileage program expired on December 15 if the last activity registered was in June 2006, the airline offers a one-month grace period, until January 15, 2008, for program members to redeem or earn miles and win back expired accounts.If all else fails, some airlines offer mileage reactivation.American can retrieve expired miles through December 2008, at a cost of $50 for every 5,000 miles, plus a processing fee; Alaska’s reactivation, available up to a year from the day of expiration, costs a flat $75.United does not currently offer a reactivation plan. (via -AP- cnn.com)

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Labels: frequent flyer, travel

"Next month, United Airlines and American Airlines will strip frequent-flier miles from accounts that have been inactive for 18 months, half the time they had been letting accounts sit idle previously.

Infrequent fliers can preserve their miles by taking action that adds to or subtracts from their account balance before the deadlines.

American and United are among many airlines that are cracking down on casual customers by shortening the time an account can remain dormant before miles disappear.

The old industry standard was 36 months. Now, most major airlines require action every 18 to 24 months. Among old-line carriers, only Northwest is still at 36 months. Continental says it has never expunged miles from accounts, although it reserves the right to do so after 18 months of inactivity.

The good news is, you usually don't have to take a trip to generate activity in your account. "
[Via www.sfgate.com]

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Don't miss the chart at the bottom of the article that gives you all the airlines and their expiration policies.

Labels: american Airlines, frequent flyer, miles, United Airlines

"Delta Air Lines Inc.'s top executives, looking for a way to bolster the bottom line, are retooling the carrier's frequent-flier program, and it could mean that booking award flights -- already a daunting task -- could get even harder.

That could alienate the airline's most loyal travelers, who according to industry watchers, are already wandering.

Delta will implement a change Dec. 1 that will make fewer award seats available on popular flights, even for loyal customers willing to redeem double the miles to get a "free" ticket.

Delta will also start passing along a "surcharge" for miles tickets booked on SkyTeam airline partners.

In an Oct. 30 interview, Lee Macenczak, Delta's executive vice president of sales and marketing, said that, "90 to 95 percent of people using SkyChoice," Delta's premium award level, won't be affected.

"We perceive it to be a minor change, but it's elicited a much more emotional response," he said.

Travel industry watchers have been complaining, saying the move could be matched by other legacy carriers.

In other words, it's a "race to the bottom," said one industry observer.

"The real trend in the industry is to just make fun of people, basically," said Atlanta consumer advocate and WSB radio talk show host Clark Howard.

"They say, 'Hey look, how'd you like to get a free trip to Italy? Just kidding,' " said Howard, who decried Delta's move as the latest trick on people lured into loyalty programs that never really pay off.." [Via www.bizjournals.com/atlanta]

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We hope other airlines don't follow this bad move by Delta.
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Labels: Delta Airlines, frequent flyer

"Autumn is one of the best times of the year to use miles. Airline load factors drop after Labor Day, and less crowded planes mean more available award seats. If you've been frustrated in your attempts to use your miles for winter or summer travel, you may have better luck with a fall getaway.

Fall travelers can also make their miles go farther if they book award travel in the American AAdvantage or US Airways Dividend Miles programs. Both airlines offer special off-peak awards at discounted prices. You can save between 5,000 and 20,000 miles off the regular award rates.

During the month of September only, US Airways offers award tickets between the U.S. or Canada and the Caribbean for 25,000 miles in coach and 50,000 miles in business or first class. Regular peak-season prices are 30,000 and 60,000 miles, respectively.

American has a more robust off-peak award program. Here's how much you'll pay for flights from the U.S. and Canada:

25,000 miles to the Caribbean and Mexico between September 7 and November 14 (regularly 30,000 miles)
30,000 miles to Central America, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela between September 7 and November 14 (regularly 35,000 miles)
40,000 miles to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay between August 16 and November 30 (regularly 60,000 miles)
40,000 miles to Europe between October 15 and May 15 (regularly 60,000 miles)
50,000 miles to Japan between October 1 and April 30 (regularly 65,000 miles)
Other destinations may be off-peak at other times of year, so don't forget to check the American AAdvantage site again. With the miles you save on your fall off-peak travel, you may be able to afford a second trip courtesy of American or US Airways. That is, if you can find an available award seat during the rest of the year." ( via smartertravel.com )

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Labels: American, Caribbean, Central America, Erica Silverstein, EUROPE, fall, frequent flyer, Japan, mileage redemption, South America, US Airways

With Southwest Airlines' Rapid Rewards program, it's easy to go someplace fun for free! It usually takes only 8 roundtrips (16 credits) for an Award, but since you are a college student between the ages of 18 and 23, we've got a special offer for you.

You'll get 4 bonus credits just for enrolling in Rapid Rewards. Then all you have to do is fly 3 roundtrips purchased at southwest.com (4 credits for each roundtrip) in the next 24 months, and you'll automatically qualify for 1 free roundtrip Award valid for travel to any of our over 60 destinations.

Do The Math. Take A Break!

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As a College Rapid Rewards Member, you’ll also continue to receive double credit on all flights booked at southwest.com while in the college program. That means you’ll be getting 4 Rapid Rewards credits (vs. the standard 2) for each roundtrip.

Labels: free, frequent flyer, Raptd Rewards, Southwest Airlines

"My wife's grandfather, Sam Valencino, had a wonderful saying that he'd repeat often with a deep Southern drawl and a large scoop of sarcasm: "Everything's up but wages."
The thing is this, however: We all know it's true. When it comes to travel, it seems no fuel surcharge is high enough. No rental-car tax is too high. No hotel "resort fee" will go uncollected. Never mind fares. Now we're seeing the same upward creep in frequent flyer mileage plans.
So here's the nagging question: Now that we've spent our way to the poorhouse to build up this big bank of miles, why can't I find "saver tickets" for the family to fly from Anchorage to Miami and back? Huh? Inquiring minds want to know.
Welcome to the hide-and-seek game of frequent-flyer redemption.
I spend most of my time trying to game the system over at Alaska Airlines, since that's where I have most of my miles. In fact, I just ordered a bunch of magazines with the remainder of my Delta miles, which were set to expire. My choices included Men's Health, Nursing Week, Teen Cosmo and Spin. Woo-hoo.
In case you didn't notice, the cost to call in to Alaska Airlines and book a mileage ticket went up by 5,000 miles. If you can massage the Web site, www.alaskaair.com, you still can nab some of those saver awards for 20,000, plus the obligatory taxes. But this is one example where Alaska is able to offset the millions and millions of miles people are earning by charging up their credit cards.
Oh, don't worry too much, though. Alaska and partner Bank of America actively push the credit-card deals, including having Alaska flight attendants hawk the cards on every flight.
The credit cards, the phone tie-in with GCI, the groceries at Carr's and the partnership mileage arrangements with other airlines all add up to a mileage-churning machine that adds thousands of people into the qualifying pool of travelers that have 20,000 miles and want a free ticket on Alaska Airlines. There are tie-ins with mortgage companies, wine clubs, florists and most hotels and car rental companies.
In fact, Alaska Airlines is offering 20,000 bonus miles if you sign up for one of its credit cards on their Web site. That's a free ticket. If you can find one.
Many travelers, myself included, have struggled to find the 20,000-mile tickets during the busy summer travel season. On two occasions this summer, I pulled the trigger and booked first class on Delta, which cost me 45,000 Alaska Airlines miles each.
But as we ease into the fall, more of these seats tend to open up. Just today, I found 20,000-mile tickets in August and September from Anchorage to Orlando and Newark. To Chicago and Boston, the total went to 25,000 miles because at least one segment was on Delta or American, two of Alaska's partner carriers.
If you're having trouble finding the right date weeks or months in advance, you might have better luck waiting until the week before you travel. Personally, I hate to play "chicken" with travel reservations. But it's true that more mileage-redemption inventory appears just a few days before departure. And since there's no advance purchase requirement on mileage reservations, that's a real option for flexible travelers." [Via Anchorage Daily News]

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Labels: Alaska Airlines, Continental Airlines, frequent flyer, Mexico, Southwest, US Airways

"Last year marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the launch of the first frequent-flier program, American Airlines' AAdvantage, which in less than a decade spawned countless similar loyalty schemes throughout the industry and created a generation of mileage junkies. But don't feel left out if you didn't notice: The occasion came and went without much fanfare. In fact, instead of celebrating the free flights and upgrades promised by these programs, most travelers found that it was more difficult than ever to wring an award ticket out of the airlines. "Whenever my wife and I want to fly someplace, it seems like there's no way to use our miles," says Ed Reagan, a Pennsylvania-based financial consultant.

Reagan is not alone. More than half of the 750 readers of Condé Nast Traveler recently polled report that it has become more difficult to redeem frequent-flier miles in the past year, and nearly 70 percent say that it's gotten tougher over the last five years. Although the airlines do not disclose the percentage of passengers who have tried unsuccessfully to redeem miles for a ticket, the most recent data provided by the six largest U.S. carriers (American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, United, and US Airways) shows that most of them are issuing fewer tickets in exchange for miles. On Continental, for example, the number of award tickets issued fell from 8.1 percent of all tickets in 2002 to 6.8 percent in 2006; on United, it fell from 7.8 percent in 2002 to 6.6 percent in 2005.

"Certainly, the anecdotal evidence would indicate that it's never been tougher to redeem miles," says Tim Winship, publisher of FrequentFlier.com, noting that on some flights to the most popular destinations, carriers don't set aside a single seat for a mileage award.

As bad as the squeeze is in the back of the plane, things have gotten even tighter up front: US Airways recently announced that it is reducing the first-class section on its 757s from eight rows to two, and air marshals now occupy two seats in many first-class sections, representing as much as 25 percent of capacity in that class on many domestic flights. Even elite members are feeling the crunch, losing benefits such as free upgrades, bonus mileage, and access to airport lounges as some airlines make elite status more difficult to achieve. Continental, for instance, no longer applies mileage earned through promotional or partner offers, or even through certain low-fare tickets, toward elite qualification.

Why the new stinginess? First, with airplanes flying at record capacity (an average of 80 percent of seats are filled with paying passengers on every flight), fewer seats are available. And now that the airlines are beginning to fly profitably after six years of devastating losses, they're understandably reluctant to give anything away for free. Another reason is that there's simply a glut of miles. A full 60 percent of miles earned today are awarded for purchases other than plane tickets, as carriers rake in hundreds of millions of dollars for the billions of miles they sell to credit card and other companies that use them to lure consumers." [Via concierge.com ]

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Labels: Conde Nast Traveler Magazine, frequent flyer, miles

Air Canada: 800-361-5373

Alaska Airlines: 800-654-5669

America West: 800-247-5691

American: 800-882-8880

Continental: 713-952-1630

Delta: 800-323-2323

Frontier: 866-263-2759

Jetblue: 1-800-JETBLUE (538-2583)

Midwest: 800-314-7125

Northwest: 800-447-3757

Southwest: 800-445-5764

United: 800-421-4655

US Airways: 336-661-8390

Labels: Airlines, frequent flyer, phone numbers