More and more airlines are restricting the use of frequent flyer miles after years of using them to lure in repeat business. Not only is it harder to use miles (most airlines have increased the number of points needed for a particular level of ticket), but I’ve seen a lot of airlines decreasing the time it takes for miles to expire. And most aren’t voicterous about letting you know this.
The first thing to do is check your account balance. Online or on the phone, check to see how many miles you have. Next, ask when they will expire. 18 months of inactivity is the going rate. So if you haven’t flown anywhere or added points to your account in 14 months, you might be in danger of losing all your miles. What to do???
Well, you can take a trip. If you don’t have one planned, you can use the miles to get a ticket and then later pay a $100 (or sometimes now $150) change fee. That can get spendy though.
You can also use a partner of the airline to add points to your account. Such as a car rental, buying flowers, etc…
Or, you can donate miles. I’ve found with Alaska Air at least, this doesn’t cost anything. While you do use up some miles, you know they will actually get used. If you’re a miser you can often donate as few as 1000 miles. Or, if you’re feeling generous, there’s always the options for more. Either way, it will count as activity on your account and set up straight for the next 18 months.
