Don’t Lose Your Frequent Flier Miles

Here are some easy ways to hang on to your frequent flier miles without having to order magazines that you don’t want. Have you received those emails from your frequent flier carrier telling you that you miles were about to expire and offering you magazines for your miles? Yeah, me too, it’s annoying and not I’m not interested in magazines. I want my miles, even if my account is inactive.

David Lazarus wrote a great article in the LA Times  today with some easy ways to hang on to your miles that I did not know about. First, I recommend making a spreadsheet of all of your frequent flier numbers, and your current balances. I did this years ago and have referred to it countless times. It has been well worth the effort. Include your family members accounts too.

Here is a great tip that I just received from my reader Malisa:

To keep your frequent flier miles from expiring, your account has to show activity. Here are some of the tips I learned from the LA Times article today.

Transfer 1,000 miles to your spouse -the price is $40 with Delta.

Purchase a minimum of miles, in the example, it was 2,000 miles with Delta for $60.

American Airlines will extend your miles by 18 months if you buy a minimum of 1,000 miles for under $60.

Customers of Delta, Continental, US Airways, Air Tran and others can go to www.e-miles.com and watch promotional videos and in exchange for answering some follow up questions, you will be awarded free miles and your mileage account clock will be reset at the beginning. Wow, that is news to me and doesn’t cost a penny!

Another tip is to shop online through the website of your frequent flier program. Almost every major frequent flier carrier has a shopping program that allows you to earn miles through affiliated retailers and again this adds miles to your account and resets your clock. Many of us with be shopping online over the holidays anyway.

If your carrier sends you a survey and offers to give you miles in exchange for your time, don’t ignore it! Spend a few minutes, earn the miles and reset your counter.

Give miles as a gift. Most frequent flier programs allow you to give miles, just like giving a gift card. This too can extend the life of your miles.

And finally, my idea – donate your miles to your favorite charity before they expire! Even a few thousand miles can be a blessing to someone.

I know you are busy and hunting around the web takes time.  Join me by email and you will never miss a great deal or new money-saving idea. I am gearing up for a debt-free Christmas and will be sharing many great ideas in the weeks ahead.

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