The Frequent Flyer Miles Blog

Frequent flyer programs reward airline customers for their loyalty by awarding them “miles,” or program points. Miles can be redeemed for free flights, first class upgrades, and other privileges and perks.

As the name implies, the primary way that you earn miles is by flying. Typically, you earn one mile for each actual mile you travel in flight. Programs that award miles using this method usually have a minimum number of miles you can earn for a segment. For example, if the minimum number of miles per segment is 500 miles, and your flight was actually only 350 miles long, you would still be awarded 500 miles. There are also programs that award a fixed number of points per itinerary or segment, though these are less common. You will almost always earn more miles by flying first class or business class.

Some of the major frequent flyer programs are:

• American Airlines AAdvantage
• Continental OnePass
• Delta SkyMiles
• Northwest WorldPerks
• Qantas Frequent Flyer
• United Mileage Plus
• US Airways Dividend Miles

How and Where to Join

Most frequent flyer programs are free to join, and you can usually fill out an application right when you check in for a flight. Which program you should join may depend on a number of factors, such as who the primary carrier is at your local airport or the one for the destinations you visit most frequently. For example, the closest airport to me is Detroit, which is a Northwest hub, so it made the most sense for me to join the Northwest WorldPerks program.

Note that, in most cases, you cannot transfer mileage you earn in one carrier’s program to any other carrier’s program. For that reason, you should try to pick one program, and consistently fly with that airline and its partners.

Maximize Your Mileage

Read the rules of your frequent flyer program carefully to ensure that you earn the maximum number of miles possible per trip. In many cases, you can earn more miles by intentionally booking an itinerary with more segments, or an itinerary with connections that are further away. Often, such changes cause very little difference in the cost of your itinerary.

If you travel for work, you might be wondering what happens if your employer pays for the trip. The answer is, in most cases, you get the miles, not your employer. The miles go to the person physically sitting in the seat, not the one who paid for the ticket. Consequently, that also means that if you bought a ticket for a family member, you do not get to claim their miles.

Expiration of Miles

The following table describes if and when miles expire for each of the major frequent flyer programs.

Some programs will give you bonus miles for booking online. The following table describes the bonus miles offered by each program.