How to Maximize Your Frequent Flyer Miles

No doubt you already are signed up for mile rewards through your airline and possibly through other sources such as a credit card program. Still, with the current economy it is important to get the most value from each of those miles you accrue in your account. Here are a few simple ideas to help you get the most from those miles even when times are tough.

It is important to figure out what type of value your airline places on each one of those miles. This can help you calculate the relative cost of a trip using your miles. In better times, many airlines used an average of $.02 USD as the standard. Today, it is more like $0.015 USD.

To see if using your miles is worth it, multiply the number of miles needed for the trip by the current value average. Compare the result with what you would pay if you used cash to purchase the ticket instead. If the cash price is lower than the average cost of using the miles in your rewards account, pay cash and save those miles for periods when ticket prices are higher.

In some cases, you may find that doing a combo will allow you to come out ahead. That is, you pay for part of the airfare with your rewards miles and part of it in cash. Two considerations will govern whether this is a good idea. First, the airline must allow this type of thing - not every airline does. Second, calculate the relative worth of the minutes your airline wants to apply to the ticket price. Depending on the particulars of the trip, your minutes may be worth slightly more than the average, or slightly less.

Be on the lookout for specials deals using your reward miles. Above and beyond the terms that normally determine how much your miles are worth, airlines do run specials from time to time where you can book a flight and pay for it with less of your accumulated miles. Many times these deals are time sensitive, so make sure you can make arrangements to take the trip during the run of the travel promotion; otherwise you will not be able to take advantage of this temporary increase in the value of your miles.

If you've not read the terms and conditions related to your miles program lately, take a moment to do so. Something may have changed since you set up the account, and you never got around to reading up on the change when you got those new terms in the mail. There may be something in there that impacts the value of your miles and how you can use them. Knowing facts of this nature will save you a lot of time and frustration when trying to use your miles to best advantage.

The bottom line is that maximizing your rewards miles means knowing what they are worth generally, what they are worth in a particular situation, and if you would come out ahead by using them instead of cash.