How to Earn More Frequent Flyer Miles Without Flying

We all have our own dream vacation and many of us try to earn as many frequent flyer miles to help us get there. While flying is the obvious way to earn miles, there are many other ways to earn frequent flyer miles and many of these are a much more efficient way to earn miles.

Know why you want them

First let's make sure we put all of this in proper perspective. Doing something just for the sake of getting miles is rarely worth the investment. The only exception is if you just need a few more miles to get a certain award or if there happens to be an especially good bonus event. The best way to earn more miles is to earn miles for things you already do.

If you are looking for ways to earn some miles so your current miles don't expire you need to reconsider unless you are trying to protect an already large balance. Don't forget that these are Frequent flyer programs. If your miles are expiring but you don't have enough for an award, the program may not be for you.

One last thing, the methods to earn more miles in this article will not earn you miles toward elite status qualification. If that is what you are looking for then you may want to take a look at my article about Mileage Runs.

Credit and Debit Cards

The easiest and one of the most common ways to earn frequent flyer miles, other than flying, is having a credit or debit card linked to you account. Every major program has a credit card available and some such as Citibank even have debit cards available.

The sign up bonuses are especially good for these cards. You are usually able to get enough frequent flyer miles for at least one round trip, maybe more. Some people will get multiple cards over time to rack up the bonuses. Of course be careful here, be sure to manage your credit well.

The details vary but usually you can get one mile for every dollar you spend. These can really rack up if you tend to use credit cards a lot. Don't forget that you can pay for just about anything now with a credit card.

Be sure to watch the monthly fees, they do tend to be steep. Usually these are well worth it if you can spend enough with your cards. For example I usually earn forty to fifty thousand miles a year with my purchases, all for a $70 annual fee.

The way to really cash in with a credit card is if you can use it for reimbursed business expenses. I've seen people run their entire business on their Citibank AAdvantage card earning several hundred thousand miles a year.

A recent development with award cards is that you may not be able earn your miles unless you pay your bill on time. American Express recently told its cardholders that they would not get their miles unless they paid their bill on time or paid a $29 reinstatement fee. Apparently other card issuers are considering similar moves.

Hotels and Cars

Many hotel and car rental companies usually offer the ability to earn frequent flyer programs but these usually aren't very good deals compared to their own programs.

For example the Hilton HHonors program allows you to choose between earning miles or points. A stay at a Hampton Inn for one night at $80 could earn you either 400 Hilton points (1.14% of a typical hotel reward) or 100 airline miles (0.4% of a typical airline reward). Of course you have to account for the higher value of an airline reward but it would have to be three times as much for the miles to be a better option.

An important point to remember is that you'll almost always need a place to stay once you get that free ticket. Frequent flyer miles are usually a bad way to get hotel rooms. Hotel reward programs on the other hand are a great way. I recently stayed at the Doubletree in Times Square for only 40,000 points the same as any other Doubletree. The room would have cost me hundreds of dollars if I had paid for it with cash.

There are various websites that let you transfer points between programs but usually you pay dearly for this privilege. Be sure to do the math and see how much you're really losing before you do this.

Dining Programs

The major airline programs also offer the ability to earn miles by dining at selected restaurants. They all use Rewards Network which administers the program which also means they all have the same restaurants.

The way the dining program works is simple, you register your credit card numbers with Rewards Network and then they are able to detect when you dine at their affiliated restaurants. Your miles post a few days later. Depending on your status level you can earn from three to five miles per dollar you spend plus any special promotions they have running. Usually they have at least one promotion running at any particular time.

You'll find two types of restaurants with this program and the list changes often. The majority of them will be new restaurants that are trying to establish themselves. The theory is that you will try them for the miles and then return later if you like them.

Generally you won't find established restaurants or the big chains on the list unless they are in trouble and desperate. I remember being very happy when Bennigan's appeared but that was just a few months before they went bankrupt. The fees the restaurants pay are pretty steep, the last time I spoke to one of their sales representatives they were 18% of the entire bill.

Other Partners and Bonus Programs

Aside from the major programs listed above, each airline has agreements with several other companies ranging from shopping, parking, move rentals, etc. They change often so be sure to watch the airlines' website. While you're there be sure to see if they are running any bonus programs.

Sources / Links

Yahoo News

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/us_travel_flight_plan_credit_card_fees

American Airlines Website

http://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/partners/main.jsp&anchorEvent=false

United Airlines Website

http://www.united.com/page/article/1,,52102,00.html?navSource=Dropdown07&linkTitle=earnmiles

Southwest Airlines Website

http://www.southwest.com/rapid_rewards/preferred_partners.html

Delta Airlines / Northwest Airlines Websites

http://www.delta.com/skymiles/ways_to_get_miles/index.jsp

Hilton HHonors Website

http://hhonors1.hilton.com/en_US/hh/home_index.do