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Airline Mile Alliances

alena — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 04:01:30 +0000

Most large airlines are members of an alliance which means you can earn and redeem miles for one airline on any of the other carriers in its group. Star Alliance, Skyteam and oneworld are the main alliance groups. My advice is to pick one in each and only earn on those three airlines. Every time you fly check which group you will be flying with and request to earn miles on your chosen airline. When you accrue enough miles for free travel, you can redeem with your choice or any of its partners.

For example, I choose American as my airline in the oneworld alliance. When I fly Lan, another oneworld member, I tell them I’d like to earn American miles. When I have enough miles for a free ticket, I can redeem them on American, Lan or any of the other oneworld carriers.

Here are the airlines included in each alliance:

Star Alliance:

Adria, Aegean, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Blue1, BMI, Brussels Airlines, Continental Airlines, Croatia Airlines, Egyptair, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Spanair, Swiss, TAM,TAP Portugal, Thai, Turkish Airlines, United, US Airways

*United and Continental are in the process of merging.

Skyteam:

Aeroflot, AeroMexico, Alitalia, Air France, KLM, China Southern, Delta, Korean Air, Czech Airlines, Air Europa, Kenya Airways, TAROM, Vietnam Airlines

oneworld:

American Airlines, British Airways, Lan, Qantas, Royal Jordanian, Finnair, Iberia, Malev, Mexicana, Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific, S7 Airlines

Amex and Continental Split

alena — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 16:33:37 +0000

I love American Express but it’s upsetting that they are about to lose another great partner, Continental Airlines. It’s not a total shock since Continental left the Skyteam alliance but it’s still a blow to those that collect points for free tickets as it leaves us with one less option. September 30, 2011 will be the last day you can transfer Membership Rewards points into your OnePass account, so plan accordingly.

AA Mystery Miles

alena — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 22:06:32 +0000

If you collect American Airlines AAdvantage miles, you can grab some quickly with their Mystery Miles promotion on Facebook. Just visit this page, type in your AA number and LIKE American Airlines on Facebook. You’ll earn 100 – 100,000 miles for your trouble which will post to your account in 3-5 days.

Terrific Delta Skymiles/Amex Membership Rewards Offer

alena — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 02:18:34 +0000

I came across this great offer from Delta and American Express today. From now until May 31, 2011 you can earn a 50% bonus on Membership Rewards points transferred to your Delta Skymiles account if you’ve never done a transfer between them before. You will also get 25,000 Medallion Miles when you transfer at least 50,000 points – enough for elite status. So, if you transfer 50,000 points you’ll get 75,000 miles plus Silver Medallion status for next year.

This is an excellent offer if you consider that AMEX points are valued at around $100 per 10,000. A transfer of 67,000 points would get you 100,500 miles which is enough for a first class ticket to Europe. That’s a ticket worth at least $6,000 for points worth $670! Add the elite status bonus and it’s worth even more.

Remember: This has to be the first transfer you’ve made between the two for you to be eligible for this offer. Also, you must REGISTER before you transfer the points on this page:

http://dmn.delta.com/offers/getmore/

Delta Miles Don’t Expire

alena — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 00:53:01 +0000

In a bold move to improve their Skymiles program, Delta has eliminated frequent flier mile expiration effective January 1, 2011. That means if your miles were set to expire on or after that date, they no longer will. It’s nice to have one less thing to worry about when it comes to tracking miles, but it’s also worth noting that miles will always decrease in value over time due to increased award rates and fees. So use them when you can!

TrueBlue and AAdvantage Make a Deal

alena — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 01:39:48 +0000

American Airlines and JetBlue Airways are allowing travelers to earn frequent flier miles in each others programs on select routes. TrueBlue members can earn miles on 17 American flights and AAdvantage members can earn miles on 35 JetBlue flights. For more info, go to aa.com/jetblue.

Miles Expiration Chart

alena — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 04:01:27 +0000

Updated June 2010

Below is a list of popular U.S. airlines and and how long you can go without activity on your account before losing your miles. Activity is defined as any miles in or out for any reason; miles earned or miles redeemed.

If you are getting close to your expiration dates, make sure to visit FreeFrequentFlyerMiles.com for earning opportunities or as a last resort, you can always buy miles directly from the airline. I try to make sure I have activity at least 2 months before my expiration dates to allow ample time for posting.

2 Years:
Southwest
Delta

18 Months:
United
Continental
American Airlines
US Airways
Virgin America

1 Year:
JetBlue

JetBlue Improves TrueBlue

alena — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 04:01:25 +0000

JetBlue has announced some improvements to their TrueBlue frequent flyer program that make it more rewarding and competitive with those of other airlines. The changes include:

-Ability to use points for any seat on any JetBlue operated flight

-No blackout dates for JetBlue award tickets

-Points that don’t expire as long as you fly or use your JetBlue American Express card at least once a year

-Bonus points the more you travel

-Oneway Award Flights starting at just 5,000 points

-Six (6) points for every dollar spent when you purchase a flight at jetblue.com

-Up to eight (8) points for every eligible dollar spent when you purchase a flight at jetblue.com using your JetBlue Card from American Express

JetBlue is vague about a start date for these new benefits saying only that they will go into effect this coming fall.

TrueBlue Relaunch

Shopping For Miles

alena — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 03:58:25 +0000

I love shopping online because I find so many great deals and of course, I use a credit card that gives me frequent flyer miles. I also often earn additional miles by clicking though an airline’s website to the store I’m shopping at. Most retailers online have partnerships with airlines and you can earn anywhere from 1 to 4 miles per dollar that you spend. Usually, you just go to the airline’s frequent flyer webpage and click on the ways to earn miles section. More often than not, there is a link that says shopping, miles mall or retail partners. If the store you are shopping at is listed, you can enter your frequent flyer number, click through to your store and make your purchase. These days, miles are more valuable than ever so you may as well earn them for something you intend to buy anyway.

Here are the shopping portals for some popular airlines:

American Airlines AAdvantage eShopping

Northwest Worldperks Mall

United Mileage Plus Mall

Continental Airlines ShopOnePass

Delta Skymiles Shopping

Miles for the Cure

alena — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 03:58:36 +0000

American Airlines has been supporting the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast cancer foundation for 20 years and now they are rewarding their frequent flyers when they do the same. Through the end of the year, AAdvantage members will earn 5 miles for every dollar they donate to Komen online through www.komen.org/aa. The minimum donation is $25.00 and participants can earn a maximum of 50,000 miles.