How to Use Your Frequent Flyer Miles to Your Advantage

Terms and conditions for frequent flyer programs vary between airlines, but there are a few ways that you can make sure to improve the way that you use your airline frequent flyer miles. Here are some pointers for maximizing the use of your frequent flyer miles.

First, you'll want to make sure that you use your frequent flyer miles before they expire. This sounds straightforward, but your frequent flyer miles may expire long before you think that they will. For example, US Airways frequent flyer miles previously lasted forever, but now expire when the frequent flyer account is not used within 18 months, while Delta frequent flyer miles expire within two years of no account activity. Check with your carrier to make sure that your frequent flyer miles haven't expired. If they have expired, it may be too late to do anything, as US Airways will allow you to extend your frequent flyer miles past the 18 month activity deadline if you pay $50 and 1 cent per mile, but once you have passed the deadline, your miles are forfeited.

Second, you'll want to use the least amount of frequent flyer miles possible when planning your trip. Again, this sounds easy, but the days when all domestic frequent flyer tickets are 25,000 miles round-trip are gone. You can still get frequent flyer tickets for the 25,000 mile price, but you'll have to book your travel wisely. This means making reservations early and potentially changing your destination if you have the flexibility to do so. On a recent trip using frequent flyer miles, my family and I booked our tickets three months in advance and changed the destination from Las Vegas to Phoenix in order to spend only 25,000 per ticket. Unlike many travelers, we were lucky enough to have the flexibility to change our destination since we were traveling to the Grand Canyon, and by doing this we were able to travel from Saturday to Saturday with no stopovers on our departing trip and only one stopover on the return flight. If there are alternative airports near your destination, you may want to consider these when using your frequent flyer miles. Note that there are other advantages to making your travel reservations early as some airlines do charge extra for making later frequent flyer reservations. For example, Delta charges $50 for frequent flyer tickets issued within 20 days of travel, so it makes sense to book your tickets earlier if you can.

In order to maximize your benefit, make sure to use your frequent flyer miles on more expensive tickets. These may or may not be the destinations that are furthest from you - check the actual prices for travel before making your final frequent flyer reservations. I was able to fly round-trip from Pittsburgh to San Francisco (non-stop) for $218 a few years back, so it made sense to save the frequent flyer miles and purchase an actual ticket instead. Since I did have plenty of frequent flyer miles, I decided to upgrade to first class for 10,000 miles, so I ended up with a first-class ticket for $218 + 10,000 miles - not a bad price considering that the face value of the ticket can be upwards of $1,000.

Finally, consider using your frequent flyer miles for magazine subscriptions if you have less than the full amount for a ticket. Sometimes, airlines will send you a notice asking if you want to exchange your frequent flyer miles for free subscriptions to your favorite magazines. Although the dollar value of this trade can be less than what the frequent flyer miles are worth, at least you are getting something out of the miles before they expire (especially if you don't plan to travel in the near future).