Other Ways to Use Your Frequent Flyer Miles
If you have accumulated a whole lot of frequent-traveler points, but they are in 10 different programs, you may feel like you’re going nowhere fast. You’re not alone.
Worldwide, members of frequent-traveler programs with airlines, hotels, car rental companies and credit card providers never redeem approximately 75% of their accumulated travel rewards. The reason is that too often these companies don’t make it simple to cash in on the reward points that you earn.
To claim almost any free flight, you will need at least 25,000 points or miles. Free nights in hotels and free rental car days may have lower numbers, but you probably earn those points more slowly. There is an answer for the frustrated traveler. That is to merge or exchange points with somebody else.
Of course, this is an unpopular subject with most of the airlines, hotels and other companies that grant these points. Begrudgingly, the travel industry is slowly allowing people to merge their points until they have enough to actually earn a reward.
If you still find that you have lots of points and no reward, then there are some ways to find a prize. One of these ways is to look for a partner. These days the major airlines, hotels, rental car companies, and even phone and credit card companies buddy up with one another so that they can offer more member rewards. You may actually find that you have more points than you think if you merge partner points. Taking advantage or these partners can at least can make it easier for you to earn more points with minimum effort and expense.
One place to look for these partners is on FrequentFlier.com. They list all the U.S., Canadian, Latin American, European and Asia-Pacific airline frequent flier programs, as well as hotel, rental car and credit-card plans. These sites will list their partners as well, and the more you study those partnerships, the clearer the possibilities for converting unwanted points to more useful ones will become. You can also try going to the website for the travel plan you currently have or even calling to ask about their partners. Even if you still don’t have enough points earned to travel anywhere, you may be able to trade them in for gift certificates at a many retail partners including Home Depot, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority and Olive Garden.
Some people who have a lot of travel miles really don’t want to use them for going anywhere. There are frequent flyer plans that will provide unique opportunities for using these points. Continental Airlines is one airline that came up with a novel way to reward frequent fliers by auctioning promotional items such as an evening in a Yankees luxury suite, tickets to the Grammys, or a walk-on role in a Chicago play for miles on its Internet site. The items they auction are perks the company gets by sponsoring events and organizations.
Another way to take advantage of unused frequent flyer miles or points is to make a charitable donation. MileDonor.com is a website that allows you to pick either an airline or a charity and then links you with the procedure for making your donation. Many charities are happy to take your excess miles. These include the American Heart Association, CARE, the Arthritis Foundation, Junior Achievement, UNICEF and United Way. You should keep in mind, however, that gifts of miles are generally not tax deductible because they have no actual monetary value.
However you decide to use your miles, the key is to find a way to actually make use of them, instead of simply waiting for them to expire along with the other 75% of unused rewards.