Yes, it IS still possible to travel using frequent flyer miles. Here’s my advice to help you get the most for your miles when you are ready to cash them in:

-Check Award Availability Early and Often- Start searching for award tickets the minute you know when you’d like to use your miles. Most airlines allow reservations up to one year in advance and for peak travel times this may be necessary. If award tickets aren’t available for the dates you want check back often as new dates and times are always being added.

-Book on Partner Airlines- In my experience, you are more likely to get direct flights, on the best dates, for the least amount of miles if you book award travel on an airline partnered with the airline you’ve collected miles on. For example, I used Northwest miles to book a flight to Amsterdam on Continental and USAirways miles to book a flight to Los Angeles on United. Both times I got direct flights for the lowest amount of mileage possible. When I used Northwest miles on Northwest I had to choose less desirable flight times and use a greater number of miles. To use miles on a partner airline you will have to call the airline you’ve collected miles on, tell them you want to check partner flights, and make the reservation by phone. You will pay a fee for the phone service (usually $15-$30 per person) but, more often than not, you’ll get a better deal. Check out my airline alliance chart here to figure out who your preferred airline is partnered with.

-Hold It- If you find an award ticket you think is acceptable but not ideal, most airlines will let you put it on hold for up to three days free of charge. This will give you some extra time to think about if you want to take the flight without losing it. You can also call every day during the hold period and check if better flights are made available.

New York residents can now earn Continental Onepass miles when they pay for their monthly electric service. Energy Plus customers receive 2 miles for every $1 spent on the supply portion of their bill plus 3,000 bonus miles after their second month on the plan.

Energy Plus Onepass Offer

Source: Global Traveler

American Airlines is helping its Advantage frequent flier members rack up miles with their new MileFinder Map. Just enter your zip code and an interactive map will list all the restaurants, shops, banks, etc. where you can earn miles in your area.

Although the website initially gives you only 11 cities to choose from, if you pick any of them a map will pop up with a “By Location” link on the top right. Click there and enter any address/zip for earning opportunities nearby.

American Airlines MileFinder Map

Source: Global Traveler

New subscribers to Sirius Satellite Radio can earn 2,500 American Airlines Aadvantage miles. To qualify, you just have to order a radio and prepay for 3 months of service at $12.95/month. It seems you can earn the bonus multiple times if you gift 3 month subscriptions. If you were already planning to get Sirius for yourself or friend/family member for the holidays, be sure you go through this offer and get miles for it!

Aadvantage Sirius Offer

Source: Global Traveler

Star Alliance, the world’s largest airline network is growing even bigger! This month, Air China and Shanghai Airlines became members and Turkish Airlines is slated to join in the spring. When travelers fly on a member airline, they can choose to earn or redeem miles on any of the other partners.

You can read my post about airline mile alliances here.

Star Alliance

Source: Global Traveler

American Airlines has adjusted their frequent flier mile expiration timetable. Beginning on December 15, 2007 all miles earned will expire after 18 months of inactivity on your account. Miles earned on June 15, 2006 or earlier will also expire in December without activity between now and then and miles earned after June 15, 2006 are subject to the 18 month policy. Activity on your account can consist of flights, hotel stays, credit card purchases or any other action with an AA partner that earns miles.

AA Mileage Retention Policy

If you need to check up on your miles with other U.S. airlines, you can find a list of their expiration timetables posted here.

This month’s issue of Conde Nast Traveler features a section on frequent flier miles. The general idea is that it’s harder than ever to redeem miles but they offer some great tips and advice. I chose my 5 favorites out of their 17 top tips to share with you:

1. Learn which of your airline’s partners allow you to redeem on their flights: Most airlines are part of a network and you should take note of who is connected to who. This will help you decide what airline you want to earn miles with (you can usually earn on one while flying another if they are partners) and where you want to redeem (again you can usually interchange in a network).

2. Use the phone: If you are booking with more than one miles account, always do it over the phone. An example is me booking for Will and myself using our separate miles accounts. If you book online you run the risk of getting put on separate flights as award seats are very limited. Changing will cost you a hefty fee. Once I was charged $100 when this happened! It’s worth it to pay the small fee for the phone reservation.

3. Know your carrier’s other partners: Make sure you are earning miles on everything you can from credit cards to car rentals to hotels.

4. Don’t squander your miles: Use them only on expensive flights or upgrades on long haul trips so you get the best value.

5. Be flexible: Avoid travelling during peak times or make sure to book them far in advance. Come up with a few different date choices before your search.

For more tips, check out this month’s issue of Conde Nast Traveler on newsstands now!

When there is a death in your family, the last thing you think about is the deceased’s frequent flier miles, but if said person did a lot of traveling in their life, it may be worth a thought. I have a friend who has hundreds of thousands of miles from many years of travelling internationally for business and I know he would want the balance to go to his children when he dies. Miles are hard earned and should be thought of as a currency. So, what happens to miles when the earner passes away? Some airlines will allow them to be assigned to a representative of the estate for a fee but remember that miles can be used to purchase tickets for anyone. In other words, miles in my account can be cashed in for a ticket for Will, or my mother, or my next door neighbor, etc. Redemption isn’t limited to the holder of the miles so you could actually leave the miles in the deceased’s account but redeem them for yourself or another family member.

If you personally have a lot of miles, you may want to put your account numbers, passwords and balances in a safe place near your insurance policies and retirement accounts for your family to easily access if something should happen to you.

Source: Executive Travel

There’s a silver lining to getting stuck with a bill from Uncle Sam. After you file your return, you can pay your taxes online. Use a point or mile earning credit card and get something back for your pain. The catch? You will be charged a 2.49% convenience fee. If you have a big bill, it’s definitely worth it especially if you have a United Mileage Plus Visa or a Jetblue American Express which are offering double miles/points for tax payments. United will cap you at 2,500-5,000 miles depending on the type of card you have so be sure to read the fine print. There are two websites approved by the IRS to accept your payments, Official Payments and Pay1040. For more information, you can visit them here:

Official Payments

Pay1040

For the double mile offers you have to link through the offer sites here:

United Mileage Plus Double Miles for Tax Payments

JetBlue Double TrueBlue Points for Tax Payments