Welcome to Your Only Stop for Best Airline Ticket Information
Cheap Plane Tickets Prague To Europe Article
. For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for further reading, click here.
You may also listen to this article by using the following controls.
How to Maximize Frequent Flyer Points
from:Rick Abbott
Today, even infrequent flyers are enrolled in one or more airline frequent flyer programs. With the volume of air travel reaching and surpassing pre-9/11 levels, more and more people are hitting the skies. This article provides some tips and tricks to maximize those frequent flyer miles given out by most airlines as a reward or incentive for flying their airline or within a given airline group.
First a brief history of the airline frequent flyer program. Two events were key to the creation of the frequent flyer program, deregulation in 1978 which created a marketing environment and computerization which created the necessary infrastructure to support these programs. Without these two events frequent flyer
programs would be either unnecessary or impossible to implement. In May 1981, American Airlines introduced AAdvantage, the first frequent flyer program. The goal was to retain their best customers by rewarding them for their loyalty. The program tracked member's miles flown, and provided incentives in the form of free flights and upgraded amenities. Today, there are more than 70 frequent flyer programs, with over 100 million members. Members receive over 10 million awards per year.
The keys to maximizing your frequent flyer awards are as follows:
#1. Join the program - you can't accumulate miles if you're not a member, and there is generally no cost to join.
#2. Consolidate - focus your travel on as few airlines as possible, so that your miles accrue in one account, and you attain elite levels faster. Also, be aware of any alliances that airlines have, which allows you to fly on one airline but credit the points to another airline.
#3. Keep track of expiration dates - most frequent flyer programs expire miles after a period of time, usually 2-3 years after being granted.
#4. Credit card promotions - airline credit cards are a popular way to put an extra 5-10,000 miles in your account when you sign-up, which on some airlines is 50% of a round trip ticket. As long as the credit card doesn't have an annual fee, this is a great way to close the gap on a free ticket. Plus some airline credit cards provide bonus miles for each flight.
#5. Hotel and rental car accelerators - check hotel and rental car agreements, you can pick up extra frequent flyer miles based on where you stay on the car you rent.
#6. Elite levels - Try to achieve and maintain elite levels with the programs. Besides other amenities such as upgrades and preferential boarding, elite levels frequently get bonus miles. If you're elite in one airlines program, one trick is to send a letter to another airline requesting a bump into their elite program. Most airlines will do this to get you hooked on their programs.
#7. Leverage merchant partnerships - airlines have signed agreements with various merchants (e.g., FTD) to provide frequent flyer miles for purchasing partner products. Find out which merchants your airline has partnered with and adjust your spending.
In summary, the quickest way to a free flight isn't necessarily through the air. Make sure you focus your travel, if possible, with one or two airlines. And make sure you understand all of the partnerships that airline has entered into, so that your non-flight dollars can be channeled into that free ticket to the Bahamas.
About the author:
Rick Abbott is an experienced business traveler, part time author, and consultant in the IT field. For more road warrior articles and tips, go to www.roadwarriorarticles.com.
Cheap Plane Tickets Prague To Europe Specific links
Cheap Plane Tickets Prague To Europe News
NATO Chief Anticipates Diminished Reliance on Nuclear Arsenal - Global Security Newswire
 Global Security Newswire | NATO Chief Anticipates Diminished Reliance on Nuclear Arsenal Global Security Newswire His statement closely mirrored the Obama administration approach to nuclear weapons, laid out in the US president's April 2009 speech in Prague and this ... |
Avoiding Travel Woes A Key For European-Born Caps - CSNwashington.com
 CSNwashington.com | Avoiding Travel Woes A Key For European-Born Caps CSNwashington.com “To go into Prague you have to fly into another city in Europe and go through another customs,” Fleischmann said. “This is easier. ... |
Flights: When buying more costs less - Globe and Mail
 Globe and Mail | Flights: When buying more costs less Globe and Mail Your cheap, inflexible tickets are so cheap, you can just buy several of them, covering different possible itineraries, and discard the ones you don't use. ... |
Scotland post-mortem: Negativity, Disgrace and Lessons to be Learned. - FollowFollow.com
Scotland post-mortem: Negativity, Disgrace and Lessons to be Learned. FollowFollow.com The last-gasp goal, combined with events in Prague, now offer Scotland a little consolation. After the next two games we will know if it was a case of ... |
The 2010 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships, About to Begin - Around the Rings (subscription)
The 2010 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships, About to Begin Around the Rings (subscription) He won silver in Prague and this could be the opportunity for him to shine on home turf. In the Women's C1, we will see the girls go for it for the second ... |
Lithuania concerned by Russia's tactical nuclear capability - EUobserver.com
Lithuania concerned by Russia's tactical nuclear capability EUobserver.com Asked by the TV3 station on Sunday (5 September) why she did not attend the launch of the Russia-US Stategic Arms Reduction Talks (Start) in Prague in April ... |
KIT digital Reports Record Second Quarter 2010 Results - MarketWatch (press release)
KIT digital Reports Record Second Quarter 2010 Results MarketWatch (press release) Gavin Campion, president of KIT digital, commented: "The ongoing centralization and consolidation of major corporate functions into our Prague headquarters ... |
Weekending: Prague - Gadling (blog)
Weekending: Prague Gadling (blog) Budget carriers bmiBaby, German Wings, easyJet, and WizzAir service Prague from Europe. It's an easy and cheap bus and metro ride into the city center from ... |
East Europe takes to too many cars - The Budapest Report
 The Budapest Report | East Europe takes to too many cars The Budapest Report Pawel Wisniewski, a Polish environmental activist who met with AutoMat and other NGOs from across Eastern Europe in Prague, told Czech media: “Western ... |
Orientation Experiences Span the Globe - Georgetown University The Hoya
Orientation Experiences Span the Globe Georgetown University The Hoya Board that airplane for another continent, and begin another phase of Georgetown life. I have been in Europe studying abroad and traveling for over two ... |