Have you redeemed frequent flier miles lately?
Many so-called frequent fliers are actually occasional fliers who convert credit card spending and an infrequent flight or two into a free ticket every couple of years.
Increasingly, minimum mileage payments for free tickets are insufficient for many trips, especially during peak travel periods. Budget travelers who save several years for a big trip can be disappointed when they learn they only have about half the miles they really need to fly.
The emerging two-tier frequent flier system
Many airlines offer the chance to surrender more miles and book free travel more readily.
Delta, for example, has "SkySaver" (minimum miles) and "SkyChoice" (spend more miles, get more options). American offers "Economy Off Peak" and "Economy" levels of redemption. US Airways awards seats at "Mileage Saver" and "Premium" levels.
Let's look at a potential Northwest redemption. Let's say the balance in a WorldPerks account is inching very close to 50,000 miles.
It's the minimum mileage required for a round trip flight between North America and Europe. It is also the minimum for two domestic round trips within Canada and all of the United States except Hawaii.
One redemption method at Northwest is known as "PerkSaver." In summer, offers for flying between North America and Europe at the PerkSaver level (50,000) are tough to find. Search after search comes up dry. Even in the off-season, relatively few PerkSaver opportunities are found.
By contrast, there are far more PerkPass booking opportunities. At this level, a round trip between North America and Europe is 100,000 miles. It's still possible to pull up itineraries on which even PerkPass is not available, but these disappointments are far less common than with a PerkSaver search.
Assuming you are an occasional flier trying to pass as a frequent flier and you have only 50,000 miles, what next?
Northwest offers a third redemption option
In early 2008, Northwest unveiled PerkChoice, which gives members the ability to pay a combination of miles and cash for a single ticket.
"PerkChoice elevates customer flexibility by providing more ways for customers to use their WorldPerks miles," said Managing Director of WorldPerks Marketing Bob Soukup in a news release.
That flexibility is very necessary these days with all frequent flier programs.
I tried this option on a search for a trip between their Memphis hub and Rome at a time that approaches peak season: June 13-30. (As with all searches, it was one moment in time and your search could produce much different results.)
The cost of the round trip flight with no redemptions on the day of this search was $1777 USD. When I tried to use PerkSaver and 50,000 miles for a free trip, only PerkPass redemptions (at 100,000 miles) were offered. Using PerkChoice, I could give up my 50,000 miles and an additional $1028 and book the ticket.
This is more attractive than saving up another 50,000 miles, but still likely to leave the occasional flier disappointed.
Rethinking Frequent Flier miles
Piling up mileage is easy for some travelers. Their employers send them many places and allow them to bank the mileage for their personal use.
For those who combine airline miles with credit card awards, the totals often climb a bit more slowly. It is those budget travelers who are likely to find frequent flier redemptions more difficult.
For them, it's better to consider employing some new strategies.
The days of saving for a trans-oceanic flight are not over, but they're passing quickly. Plan on using miles more frequently for shorter getaways.
Loyalty to a specific airline is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. Bank cards allow you to convert points or miles (the terminology varies) to currency and then shop among many carriers for the best deals. Beware: these rules also change frequently.
Some airlines will offer bonus miles when they are trying to promote a particular route. If you decide to try it, be certain to read the fine print of the offer carefully.
Delta, for example, has a program that allows travelers to redeem Sky Miles for merchandise, hotel rooms, gift cards and even charitable donations. Sometimes these options make more financial sense than saving up for an airline ticket that could be years -- and several rules changes -- from your grasp.
