To their credit, many of the financially-troubled majors continue offering programs to which you may donate your mileage and help worthy causes.
Delta has a program for donating miles to 14 participating charities. United's Bring Them Home program offers military passengers free travel between Iraq and three U.S. destinations. Your donation can be added to the 10 million miles United contributed to start the program.
U.S. Airways offers its frequent flier holders a chance to donate to Make a Wish, a program that provides surprises to terminally ill children.
Search your favorite airline's Web site to find similar opportunities.
Many pundits paint a gloomy picture for the future of the airline industry we know today. No one paints a rosy portrait of the current situation.
Some airlines we know today will cease to exist in the next few years. But that is not terribly unusual.
It is quite a rhetorical leap to predict most of the majors will fold and their mileage programs will cave in with them. Listen to such predictions with a critical, even cynical ear.
At the same time, why not plan a trip or two very soon with those frequent flier miles? Like money in the bank, they are spendable. Unlike money in the bank, no one is insuring them.
