I have been searching and reading about FF miles and can't get my brain around how to get started collecting miles. We are getting miles on our latest tix purchase, but I know there are many other ways to collect miles. Is there a FF for dummies with some basic strategies?
Honestly, I don't know but in my mind there are three ways.
One, fly. My husband flies every week for work and uses Continental predominatly and American sometimes. So each week, deepending on his destination, he gains a bunch of miles. He has a separate frequent flyer account with each airline he uses. By limiting the amount of airlines he uses, he can accumulate huge amounts of miles pretty quickly (but not everyone can do this).
Two, Airline Credit Card These are credit cards associated with a specific airline and tied to your specific frequent flyer account with that airline. For example, we have a Continental Airlines card. For every dollar we charge, we get a mile added to our Continental Frequent Flyer account. Sometimes they'll run specials with certain business, for example, Shop Rite Grocery Store, and for every dollar you charge there, you'll get two miles. But all these miles are tied to our frequent flyer account and subject to all the terms and conditions that Continental has to offer.
Three, Credit Cards with Reward Miles These are cards put out by the likes of MBNA and Capitol One (we have the former and are currently getting the latter). These "miles" accumulate for every dollar you charge, sometimes more, depending upon the card, and usually have reward catalogs with things like ipods, computers, gift certificates in addition to the travel rewards. They are not tied to any specific airline. The award thresholds (e.g., 25K for a free contintal US trip), are set by the credit card and can be used on any airline. What the credit card actually does, when you change in miles for a ticket, is purchase the ticket for you on whichever airline you choose based upon whichever flight you desire. Because it's a purchased ticket, you are not subject to the terms and conditions of the normal frequent flyer programs (see above), and can actually garner frequent flyer miles for the trip using the purchased ticket. (When you cash in miles on a specific airline for a free ticket, you do not earn miles for that flight). My aunt and uncle used to charge my cousins' college tuition on one of these cards, so at least each year they got a free trip somewhere.
There are other random ways to collect miles (hotels, rental cars, my supermarket has a program) but I think these are the big three.
Some other ways to get them include restaurant meals: the big six airlines have programs you can locate through www.rewardsnetwork.com : if you've used it enough the previous year, you get 10 miles for each dollar on the total restaurant bill; and most airline sites have a mall section, where you get miles for mail order shopping with their partners. A good resource for information is www.flyertalk.com ; some of the airline forums have FAQ sections, but much of the discussion may not be clear to a newbie.
A site put together by another Andrew interested in the topic is www.rewardsdb.com ; follow the bar at the top, for example Shopping Rewards, to see, for example, what online clothing vendors are partnered with which airlines.
I headed over to flyertalk after reading another of your posts, Andrew, and it is there that my head began to spin.
Perhaps I am making it more complicated than it is. Sounds like I need to investigate a card or two and just start making regular purchases with them. Thank you Kim.
Neither of us has a job where we fly much, so collecting miles that way is not an option here. We have been using an American Airlines Visa card for years and we use it for everything, and I mean everything, from groceries to clothes to restaurants and yes, plane trips. My only regret was that I wasn't able to charge my childrens' college tuition on it now, that, with three kids might have been huge. So, with three kids and a dog who seems to be at the vet a lot (more miles), we have managed over the years to accumulate enough miles to be able to take a trip to Europe every 2/3 years, using those miles to even get Business class tickets. So yes, get a card and use it whenever you can.
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