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The Baltimore Sun Travel Experts Say Stick With One Airline, Advise Against Hoarding Miles Column

Posted on: Monday, 20 February 2006, 12:00 CST

By Travel experts say stick with one airline, advise against hoarding miles, The Baltimore Sun

Feb. 20--Some expenses the heart just can't trim.

Take Alice Wilson, who ruthlessly cuts costs so she can catch up on retirement savings. But her son and three grandkids live in Australia. Wilson makes the intercontinental trip as often as she can.

"So that is [approximately] 2-grand a pop every time I go -- once a year if I am lucky -- the 60-year-old says in an e-mail. "But twice this year as the twins were born in November, and I just HAD TO GO for Christmas!!!!"

She signed up for frequent flier programs with just about every airline that goes to Australia. But which one would work best for her, she asks.

"Australia ranks in the five top destinations in the world for using your miles," says Randy Petersen, co-author of Mileage Pro: The Insider's Guide to Frequent Flyer Programs.

Everyone wants to fly directly and the competition for free seats is fierce. Blame Crocodile Dundee, mate.

But if Wilson is willing go four or five hours out of her way -- flying first to Hong Kong, Tokyo, Taiwan or Singapore -- she's likely to find more flights to Australia in which she can use her frequent flier miles, Petersen says.

Delta's frequent flier program is Wilson's best bet, he says. And she can rack up miles even faster if she uses the American Express card affiliated with Delta.

But five more hours in the air? Is that worth a free ticket?

It takes Wilson 26 to 35 hours to get from Anne Arundel County to her son's door in Mooloolaba. "YES, I would definitely be willing to add another five-plus hours," she says, provided she gets the travel dates she wants.

For anyone else searching for a frequent flier program: Stick with one airline's program, advises Tim Winship, Petersen's co-author. That way it's easier to build up miles.

Those spending more time in the stores than the air should consider a credit card that awards miles. Check out hotel reward programs. With the price of hotels these days, a free night in a room may be worth more than a free flight, Winship says.

Don't hoard miles. That's risky.

Independence Air suddenly disappeared last month. The value of miles tends to drop over time. "There is something deep in the human psyche that keeps people, myself included, in sort of a hoarding mode. You have to overcome that," Winship says. He's sitting on 300,000 miles.

Note to Southwest Airlines' travelers: The airline last year changed its reward program to give fliers 24 months to rack up credits for free tickets instead of 12. As of Feb. 10, free flights are subject to seat restrictions -- but no more blackout dates. The airline soon will launch an online "award seat finder" to spot free seats on flights.

Check out Petersen's www.flyertalk.com for chats on frequent flier programs. And if any Sun readers have suggestions for Wilson, write personal.finance@baltsun.com. We'll post your responses here next week.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Baltimore Sun

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Source: The Baltimore Sun, Maryland

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