Steve Robinson

Options When Short on Airline Miles

These days it is often cheaper to pay cash for cheap airplane tickets and cheap vacation packages and use miles for purchases instead of free flights.  Unless you are a frequent flier or regularly make purchases using an airline affiliated credit card, many fliers do not earn enough miles to redeem them for free travel.

Because low mileage awards usually do not get the user the best value per mile many travelers avoid them.  However, leaving a couple of thousand miles in an airline account for years does not enhance their value.  To the contrary, these days most airlines frequent flier miles expire after no activity in an account after 18 months or two years.

Many frequent fliers do not redeem low mileage awards, perhaps because they are unaware of them.  Gift cards and newspaper and magazine subscriptions can be redeemed for 5,000 or even less frequent flier miles.

Nine major U.S. airlines, including AirTran, Alaska, American, Continental, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, United and US Airways, use a company called “Magazines for Miles” which enables fliers to exchange small amounts of miles for magazine subscriptions. 

United Airlines offers a wide range of low mileage award options including a $30 mixed rose bouquet from FTD for 4,600 miles, four $25 Restaurant dot com gift certificates for 2,000 miles, and for 5,000 miles or less Godiva chocolates, fruit baskets and Starbucks coffee can be purchased.

Donating to a charity, such as Make-A-Wish Foundation, is an excellent way to redeem a few thousand miles that would otherwise just sit unused in an account. 

Members of frequent flier programs can often prevent their miles from expiring simply by cashing in a low amount of miles since usually any type of activity that that adds or subtracts miles usually restarts the clock as to when miles will expire.

Article Tags: Frequent Flier

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