What's It Worth to You?
Frequent flyer program miles have individual values. It's just tough to pin down a monetary figure.
It's worth the effort of trying, though. The accepted range is between one and three US cents per mile.
Let's say you've collected 50-thousand miles and you're shopping for a trip. At one cent per mile, your chosen flight should cost a minimum of $500 USD. Two cents per mile: $1000. So we've established the range for tickets at $500-1000.
If your desired trip costs $450, don't change your plans. But if it is significantly lower than $500, you might want to re-think your strategy.
This might be the time to save your miles and pay for the ticket. If your budget allows, it might also be worth upgrading your trip.
Unfortunately, many travelers simply plunk down their mileage for a trip they could book well below even the bottom end of our range.
Emergencies aside, be certain you're getting a full ride for those miles.
Miles for Sale
The same principle applies to these new Web sites offering to "cash in" your miles for money and merchandise.
Consumer studies indicate those items usually are far too expensive when purchased with mileage.
In short, it can be like walking into a fast-food restaurant and paying $30 for a hamburger.
Use such a frequent flyer program as a last resort. For example, if you have a few thousand miles remaining with an airline you're unlikely to patronize again, getting merchandise from their site or an independent site could make sense. Better yet, stick to a few airlines to maximize your mileage account.
Places offering to buy your unused miles should be treated in the same manner. Anything less than 1.5 cents per mile is a sacrifice on your part--you're losing money.
Get Help!
Busy people rarely have time for the fine detail of frequent flyer strategies. Airlines count on that--it's a money-maker for them.
Since you're stuck with the system, it sometimes pays to hire a company that will manage your miles.
Max Miles will do this for a fees under $30 USD per year. They keep track of all your frequent flyer program accounts on one statement. They red flag miles about to expire. They'll also lead you to opportunities for more points.
Unless you've got a lot of miles in several accounts, these services probably are not necessary. Their existence is testimony to the importance of managing miles properly.
If you're going to deal in frequent flyer program miles, gather them aggressively and use all of them. When you let splinter blocks of 5000 miles expire, you help pad the airlines' bottom lines.
Remember--You paid for those miles!
