10 Ways Newbies Can Leverage Frequent Flyer Miles & Hotel Loyalty Points

 We all have our favorite online pastimes and one of mine is visiting the forums over at FlyerTalk and MilePoint. These are two message boards devoted to helping travelers make better use of their frequent flyer miles and hotel loyalty points.

I joined FlyerTalk in 2007 with the goal of learning how to book award tickets to South Africa. With the techniques I picked up from the boards I was able to redeem my first award tickets: two roundtrip business class seats from JFK to Johannesburg, South Africa on Delta.

After that initial success, I was hooked and managing my loyalty accounts is now one of my favorite hobbies! Since our trip to Africa we've traveled around the world on award tickets—mostly in first or business class. We've visited London, Athens, Maui (twice), Oahu, Tahiti, Hong Kong, Bali, and some more ho-hum domestic cities. We've netted free (high-end) hotel stays in Maui, Tahiti, Puerto Rico, Hong Kong, Bali, and Rome.

This morning a new FlyerTalker posted a question asking for pointers so he can learn more about award options and frequent fly/stay programs in general. I posted some advice for him and will expound upon it below. I hope you find it useful too! Don't let your frequent flyer miles languish!

Learn about Frequent Flyer Programs

Read the forums (FlyerTalk and MilePoint) religiously. Scan the forums that are devoted to the programs in which you already participate. You'll be amazed at how much you'll learn. It's also useful to read forums for programs that you aren't actively participating in because it will help you decide which programs may be best for you to join in the future. Don't be shy! Post when you've got information to share.

Get Advice from the Pros

Read the blogs. My daily hit list includes:

The Points Guy (Brian Kelly)

View from the Wing (Gary Leff)

Frugal Travel Guy (Rick Ingersoll)

One Mile at a Time (Ben "Lucky" Schlappig)

Read InsideFlyer Magazine

If you prefer a traditional magazine over online forums, subscribe to InsideFlyer magazine (available in print form or online). The magazine runs several features per month offering advice and loyalty program overviews. The deal section in the back features current promotions from airlines, hotels, and credit-card companies.

Go to a Frequent Traveler Seminar 

If you can get to one of the frequent traveler seminars, do it! I went to Frequent Traveler University in April and learned quite a bit. Another popular educational event is the Chicago Seminars. There's one coming up on October 29–30.

Track Your Miles and Points

Create a tracking system for your miles and points. You can simply use an Excel spreadsheet or a program like AwardWallet. I use both...a spreadsheet to track pending miles and points and AwardWallet to see my balances across programs at a glance.

To Churn or Not to Churn Credit Cards

Signing up for credit cards that offer large start-up bonuses is one of the most lucrative methods of earning frequent flyer miles or hotel loyalty points. In the past, Chase has offered 100,000 miles for its British Airways-branded Visa card and Citi has offered a variety of bonuses (50,000, 60,000, 75,000, and 100,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles) for its Citi AAdvantage Visa, Mastercard, and Amex cards. American Express frequently offers bonuses for its Membership Rewards program as well as other cards branded by Hilton, Starwood, and JetBlue. You get the idea.

If you wish to get into credit card churning you need an excellent credit score as well as the ability to keep track of minimum spend requirements, pay off your balance in full each month, and keep track of annual card anniversaries. Churning isn't for everyone. Read all about it at Frugal Travel Guy. He's the guru when it comes to credit card deals. Follow his advice and you'll be fine.

With churning you'll need to study what deals are available and what has been offered in the past. For example, Chase has offered its 100,000-mile deal on its British Airways-branded Visa card twice in the past. Knowing that information, I'd suggest that you wait to get a Chase British Airways Visa until that deal is offered again in the future. (The current offer is a 50,000-mile bonus.)

Not all credit cards are "churnable". Read the credit card forums at FlyerTalk, MilePoint, or FatWallet for more information.

Understand Airline Fare Codes

You'll need to understand airline fare codes in order to successfully snag award seats and upgrades. Knowing about fare buckets will help you effectively search for award and upgrade availability. Threads at FlyerTalk and MilePoint will offer some good background. You'll also want a subscription to Expert Flyer. This website shows flight/seat availability, award and upgrade availability for many airlines, and fare information.

Which Programs are a Fit for Your Travel Plans?

Decide which programs you're going to devote your energies to. That will depend on 1) your home airport and 2) your travel goals. Think about where you want to go in the next few years and research who flies there and what hotels you'd stay at. Then look at airline alliances...which is best suited to get you where you want to go?

I like OneWorld and focus on American Airlines (where I've got Lifetime Gold status) and British Airways. I can then use miles from either of those programs on any OneWorld partner, like Cathay Pacific, LAN, Qantas, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Finnair, etc. Since my husband and I frequently go to Southeast Asia, we tend to burn our miles on Cathay Pacific first class tickets. At only 135,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles per passenger, it's an excellent redemption value. (Roundtrip business class is 110,000 miles per person.)

I find it easy to earn miles (butt-in-seat and promo bonuses) on both American Airlines and British Airways. (My Chase BA Visa card nets me 1.25 BA miles for every $1 I spend on the card.)

My secondary program is Continental/United and they are part of Star Alliance. Lots of great partners as well. If you're a Delta flyer, you'll want to learn about SkyTeam.

Transferring Miles and Points

A key strategy in the award travel game is the ability to transfer miles/points to the programs you're most interested in. Check out American Express Membership Rewards, where you can transfer (most often on a 1:1 basis) MR points to your preferred frequent flyer program. Many airlines participate, including (but not limited to) Aeroplan, All Nippon, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Delta, EL AL, FlyingBlue, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, and Virgin Atlantic. Membership Rewards transfers are instant in many cases.

I love that Membership Rewards often offers bonuses on transfers. For example, transfers to British Airways between now and July 31st receive a 50% bonus. You must transfer in 1,000-point increments so, for example, if you transfer 1,000 Membership Rewards points you'll receive 1,500 British Airways miles. MR also often offers bonuses on transfers to Delta.

Another excellent transfer partner is American Express' Starwood-branded credit card. With this card you can transfer points to miles in many frequent flyer programs. When you transfer 20,000 points, you'll receive 25,000 miles.

Consider All Promotions, No Matter How Small

Oftentimes, companies offer promotions that will net you a few miles and points here or there. For example, Continental often offers 100 OnePass miles for registering to learn more about one of the airline's services. (These particular promos are targeted to flyers who hold a Chase Continental credit card.) 

Likewise, TopGuest is a social media tool that allows individuals to earn 50 hotel points in a variety of programs (Best Western Rewards, Hilton HHonors, Choice Privleges, Priority Club, Wyndham Rewards, etc.) for simply doing an online "check in" using FourSquare, Facebook, or other social media platform.

Don't bypass these promotions. It might sound like a waste of time to earn 50 points here or 100 points there, but it all adds up.


That's my advice for today. Take stock of your mileage and point balances and start making travel plans!

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxuryCruiseBible.com