Frequent Flyer miles - everything you need to know to earn them and save money
Frequent flyer miles, air miles, whatever you want to call them, are a great way to save money on your travels. The problem, however, is that the whole system seems to confuse a lot of people. The biggest problem with flyer miles is understanding what they are and how to benefit from them. Read on if you'd like to learn more about them.
What are Frequent Flyer miles?
Also known as airline miles or travel points, frequent flyer miles are the airlines’ version of a loyalty programme. The reward points you earn come in the form of flyer miles. The more miles you travel the more points (or miles) you earn. The more miles you have, the better the rewards, simple. Used correctly, they are a great way to save money on your travels. These miles can be used to pay for extra luggage, upgrade your seats, access airport lounges and even buy flights!
Seems fairly straightforward right? Just like any other rewards programme, you earn points (or miles) for buying stuff. Eventually, when those points build up enough you get something for free.
What are the benefits?
Whether you fly twice a year or twice a week, you should seriously consider joining a frequent flyers programme. Each of the loyalty programmes usually has different levels of membership. As you earn points you can move up levels, unlocking better rewards. In some cases simply by being part of a higher level earns bonus miles each time you fly. Some of the benefits of joining a club include seat upgrades, extra baggage allowance, access to airport lounges and even free or reduced flights. Some programmes even allow you to use your miles to save on hotels, car rentals and tours using affiliated companies.
Sounds great, where do I sign up?
Almost all airlines nowadays have a frequent flyer programme usually named as a loyalty programme and these are free to join. These programmes typically operate as part of larger groups called Airline Alliances. This means that by joining one frequent flyer programme, you can also earn points by flying with affiliated airlines too. Below are links to the three major alliances and their member airlines;
Within each of these three alliances are numerous partner airlines which you can earn miles by flying with them. You only need to sign up for one of these loyalty programmes and as long as you fly with affiliated airlines, you can earn miles on your card.
Let’s take a look at an example. I am part of Flying Blue, the loyalty programme for Air France and KLM airlines. Flying Blue is a part of the Sky Team airline alliance. Delta Airlines, who are also part of the Sky Team, also have a loyalty programme called SkyMiles. Since both Air France and Delta are part of the Sky Team alliance, I can earn points on my Flying Blue card when I fly with Delta.
In summary, you only need to sign up to one loyalty programme to earn the rewards of flying with several airlines.
Which programme is right for me?
This all depends on which airlines you fly with the most. My suggestion is to sign up to at least one loyalty programme within each of the three alliances. Which ones you choose are entirely up to you. Unfortunately, budget airlines like Ryanair don’t offer loyalty programmes. Fair enough given that their flights are cheap if you book at the right time.
Something to remember when you sign up is that you can claim miles for old flights. This varies from airline to airline but in general, you can backdate flights anywhere from 6 months to a year prior to signing up for the reward scheme. This can be tedious going through old plane tickets but it’s a great way to build up points you didn’t even know you had.
Other ways to earn miles
As well as flying you can earn miles through a variety of different ways.
How to spend your miles
So now that you’ve accumulated those precious flyer miles, how do actually go about spending them? When you sign up for a loyalty programme you’ll be given a unique loyalty number and card. Every time you book flights, make sure to log in using your loyalty number. When you go to book a flight you can see how much said flight will cost in flyer miles. If you have enough miles built up, you can purchase the flight using those miles instead of your hard earned cash. Alternatively, you can use your miles to upgrade to a higher level within the programme which in itself comes with greater rewards.
Something to remember is that some airlines only release a limited number seats to frequent flyer travellers. Blackout dates, such as those around public holidays or major events can also limit ticket options. As a result, sometimes you’re better off to use your miles to upgrade seats rather than buy a ticket.
Finally, when you book the flight using flyer miles you may still have to pay taxes and charges. This means that although the flight isn’t completely free, it will significantly reduce the cost of the flight. If you’re careful with your planning though, you can buy your flights during sale periods where airlines waive the taxes and charges fares so potentially your flight could be totally free.
Hopefully, this has made things a little clearer.
Note: The outbound links are not affiliate and I am not trying to promote any airline company. The examples I have used are purely for demonstration.