The Rewards of a Road Warrior
August 07, 2013I started my career 19 years ago as a 401(k) enroller covering the Midwest from North Dakota to Missouri to Western Pennsylvania. Having such a large territory to cover, it became clear that my primary mode of travel would be an airplane. As such, one of the first things I did in my new job was to enroll in the frequent flyer programs offered by most major airlines.
At the time, frequent flyer programs were rather simple. Earn a certain amount of credits with a single airline within a certain period of time and you earned preferred status with that carrier. Earn enough credits and you could redeem them for travel rewards. One such program called Rapid Rewards® by Southwest Airlines was so simple that all you had to do was fly 16 one-way trips and you earned a voucher for a free flight (along with coupons for free drinks—sweet!).
Today’s programs are much more sophisticated. In addition to earning miles for travel, you can earn miles when you spend money with “partners” like rental car companies and hotels. Delta’s SkyMiles program even lets you earn miles for shopping at Walmart.com when you go through skymilesshopping.com. Programs even come with their own credit cards that earn miles with every dollar charged to that card.
Depending on your travel and spending habits, you could amass a rather large balance in your frequent flyer program, but what happens to all of those miles when someone gets divorced or passes away? This was the question answered by George Hobica for Airfarewatchdog.com. In short, the answer depends on the policy of the airline. Some airlines, like U.S. Airways, permit miles to be transferred to beneficiaries, while others, like Southwest, have no such transfer policy in place. Airline representatives admit, however, that while miles may not be transferable, beneficiaries may still be able to redeem miles online, provided they know how to access the account of the deceased.
Regardless of who earns them and who uses them, frequent flyer miles have value. Not only can they be used to purchase travel, but some programs allow you to use miles to purchase entire vacations, including accommodations and transportation. Unfortunately, according to Brian Kelly, founder of ThePointsGuy.com, more than one in every four travelers is allowing those miles to go unused. Don’t let all of that time on the road go to waste. Here are some tips on how you can get the most out of those pesky frequent flyer miles:
Organize them
If you are anything like me, when it comes to travel there is no loyalty; you’ll book travel with whichever airline can get you there the cheapest. But traveling on so many different carriers creates a headache when managing those entire frequent flyer programs. That’s where websites like AwardWallet.com and Tripit come in. Websites like these help organize your miles so you know how many you have and more importantly, when they are set to expire.
Redeem them
Whether it is for your enjoyment or someone else’s, make a plan to use those points. Several years ago, I was flipping through the in-flight magazine of one of my more frequent carriers when I saw an ad for Aruba. That got me thinking, “When was the last time I took my wife on a romantic vacation?” I put in for some paid time off and surprised her with two tickets—courtesy of my frequent flyer program—on her birthday. If you’re planning a family vacation or a romantic one, check to see where the airlines go, and if you can travel outside of peak season, your miles will go even further.
Buy them
It is very often the case that you have enough miles for one ticket, but not necessarily two. Don’t let that stop you. Most airlines allow you to pay cash for miles, so if you find that you’re a few hundred miles short of that next free flight, go ahead and pay the difference. It’ll probably still be less expensive than if you purchased a full-fare ticket (and you won’t have to leave your loved ones behind).
Donate them
If circumstances would prevent you from using your miles, or if you are so inclined, you may donate those miles to charitable organizations like The American Red Cross, the Make-A-Wish® foundation, and the Mercy Medical Airlift. Unless you paid cash for the miles, the donations are generally not tax deductible, but knowing that you are helping someone in distress should be its own reward.
It may be of little consolation, but being able to redeem those frequent flyer miles after all those years as a road warrior might make it seem all worth it.