<\/p>\n
Frequent flyers are lately becoming frequently frustrated, being frequently denied, and are frequently failing to redeem their miles for the tickets that they want at the airline\u2019s base redemption rates.<\/p>\n
With many airlines posting negative profits, the neighborhood kid selling lemonade is finding more financial success in business than airlines worth billions. This is causing them to make cuts everywhere. First, they took olives from our salads. Then, they took our salads. Then, they took our free alcohol (bastards!). Now, not even our miles are sacred.<\/p>\n
Based on observing young children, the normal human reaction when something is taken away is to throw a tantrum. But, what smart kids learn to do, instead, is to wait until their parents are not paying attention and they take their toys back.<\/p>\n
How this translates into reward travel is knowing which airlines treat their frequent flyers the best, knowing how the industry awards FF-travel, and then using that information to get the most out of your miles. By doing that you have the best chance of getting that cramped seat next to an obese, screaming infant for free.<\/p>\n
Here are four tips all frequent flyers must know. Then you will be a master of the falling, free skies. <\/p>\n
1) Timing is Everything<\/strong><\/p>\n Flights become available for purchase 331 days before departure. One would assume that this is the best time to book an award ticket. But just ask my high school chemistry teacher what happens when you ass<\/em>ume (thanks Mrs. Grad).<\/p>\n According to Randy Peterson of Flyertalk<\/a>, \u201cSix months in advance seems the magical time when award inventory is fully available.\u201d That time frame is typically as good as it is going to get for using those hard-flown miles.<\/p>\n If, due to scheduling reasons, you can\u2019t book that far in advance, know that 2-3 weeks prior to departure is when the seats of underbooked flights start showing up in the airlines\u2019 reward programs. Since planes are flying fuller than they ever have — 80% full in 2009 as compared to 71% a decade ago — don\u2019t go betting your honeymoon on finding a flight at the last minute.<\/p>\n 2) Get off the Internet and Talk to Someone<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes, we all hate wading through phone menus, waiting on hold, and being directed to finally talk to someone in a far-off land. By the time you finally reach someone who can help you, you\u2019d rather give the innocent representative a \u201cgood talking to,\u201d describing how unhappy you are with their company.<\/p>\n Use this to your advantage. Remember that when you finally get someone on the other line, he\/she is a real person. They\u2019ve been talking to unhappy customers all day and it\u2019s refreshing to have a pleasant, positive voice to talk to. If you can\u2019t find the rewards flight you are looking for online, call the airline\u2019s 1-800 number and work with the telephone representative to see if there is anything they can do.<\/p>\n They have magical powers that the airline’s website doesn\u2019t. They can sometimes free up blocked seats, book you on a alternate route, or find out if recent cancellations will allow to get that ticket you don\u2019t want to pay for.<\/p>\n 3) Know Thy Enemy<\/strong><\/p>\n Not all airlines are the same. Because I have more Delta Skymiles than miles elsewhere, I used to choose to fly Delta. However, their rewards program is terrible (Dear Delta: give me free travel for life and I will remove this passage promptly). I\u2019ve discovered my far fewer United miles will take me further since their program is simply better. Since learning this, I have opted to purchase United tickets when I can, even if I need to shell out a few extra dollars. In the long run, I’ll end up saving money.<\/p>\n