It’s no secret that as the stability of the US economy remains unclear, travel is one of the most common things people are compelled to cut out of their budget. In an upcoming series of articles, I am going to cover some general travel saving tips that might help you still take that vacation, without feeling like you’re breaking the bank. One of the most common, yet often overlooked, benefits is airline frequent flyer programs. Besides earning miles through hotel and car rental partners, there are numerous other ways to earn miles without even having to travel.
Start by making sure you are earning the most miles you can. People are often surprised to learn how many miles they are missing out on in their daily routine. Get a credit card from the airline you use and trust most. While there is usually an annual fee, if you use the card to its full advantage, the annual fee more than pays for itself. Some airlines have enhanced their services to include Visa or MasterCard check cards so you can still rack up the additional mileage perks, but have the money debited immediately. Use your airline card for things you would normally purchase with your bank card or cash. Things like groceries and gas are two very easy ways of earning miles quickly. Of course, you have to be disciplined and pay off the balance monthly versus spending the cash elsewhere.
For the times when you do decide to splurge, dining out can have its benefits, too. Many airlines now participate in dining rewards programs. By registering any of your credit or bank cards, you earn miles every time you dine at one of their listed restaurants. The reward is often 5 miles or more for every dollar spent, and there may be periodic incentives, like double miles on certain days of the week. This is another great way to earn miles with very little effort, since there are a number of restaurants listed in cities all around the US, at many of which you may already dine. If you happen to be out with others and everyone else is paying by cash, offer to use your card for the entire bill and keep the cash. This was great for me when I needed cash, as I no longer had to drive to my bank’s ATM, which was way on the other side of town. I had my bank card registered for the dining program, so the money was debited immediately, and I earned more miles than if I had just paid for my own portion of the bill.
Shopping online is another great way to earn miles. With similar incentives to the dining programs, online merchants offer extra miles for every dollar spent. There are numerous companies that participate, many of which you probably already shop at. Stores like Target, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Sears, Walmart, Dell, the Apple Store, and Office Depot are a few of the more popular ones you will find. Some stores that have online ordering feature added benefits, such as picking up the item(s) in person or periodically offering free shipping. Just link to the merchant from the airline’s page, enter your frequent flyer number, and you will earn sometimes as many as 10 miles per dollar spent. With airlines like Continental, if you use your airline issued card, you earn double the miles.
Besides shopping merchants, there are partnerships with rental cars and hotel bookings as well. If you are looking at a cruise and not using a travel agent, look at the airline’s vacation options because they offer additional miles based on the cruise length. The maximum is a 13+ night cruise that can net you 10,000 miles for booking on the airline’s site, and another 10,000 in bonus miles just for using your airline credit card!
Most airlines also offer some great new partnerships that are also big mileage options. As the real estate market is starting to pick up in some areas, and people are buying or refinancing their homes, there are real estate and mortgage partners listed. Before you cringe at that thought, the partnerships are through nationwide vendors like Lending Tree, RealEstate.com, Chase, and Ameritrade. Many people are already looking to services like Lending Tree and RealEstate.com if they don’t have a realtor or mortgage broker already lined up. An example of mileage benefits here is 1,250 miles for every $10K financed when you choose a broker through Lending Tree. I went through Continental and Lending Tree for a home refinance and wound up very close to an international round-trip ticket out of the deal, just by accessing Lending Tree through the airline’s website.
This is obviously not meant to be an exhaustive list of ways to earn air miles, but just a few of the methods I have used. The important thing to remember is not to let your airline miles expire if you are not able to travel every year. By using alternative methods for earning airline miles, you can at least ensure your miles remain active and available when you are ready to redeem them!
