A guide to earning and redeeming frequent flyer miles

By Harlan Vaughn Bankrate com Whether you voyage often or would like to expedition more earning frequent flyer miles or points with an airline and its participating partners can help you get free flights You can also enjoy perks such as airport lounge access free checked bags and priority boarding You can typically collect frequent flyer miles through an airline loyalty activity but there are other easy tactics to boost your stash of miles such as through eligible credit card spending If you ve never used a frequent flyer plan before you may wonder how they work and whether they can really benefit you In this guide we cover what you need to know about earning and redeeming frequent flyer miles and how advance credit cards can help you earn free flights How to earn frequent flyer miles You can earn airline miles or points in multiple tactics such as by booking flights or spending money with a credit card through online shopping portals that allow you to earn airline miles on your purchases Earn miles through flights To earn miles when you buy plane tickets you ll need to sign up for an airline s loyalty activity Because greater part major airlines are part of a larger alliance joining one frequent flyer operation allows you to book award flights with a dozen or more airlines For example United Airlines belongs to the Star Alliance an airline framework comprising over -plus airlines including Air Canada Air China and Lufthansa When you become a member of United s loyalty undertaking United MileagePlus you ll be able to earn rewards that can be used for Star Alliance airline partner flights booked through United Another airline framework is SkyTeam which includes Delta Air Lines Air France and Aeromexico among others There s also the Oneworld alliance which counts American Airlines British Airways and Qantas among its list of participating airlines After you complete enrollment for the loyalty activity you want to join you ll get an email confirming your account with your new frequent flyer number You ll need to enter this number when you book flights to earn miles on those flights Otherwise you could miss out on earning rewards though various programs allow you to add your number after booking You can often earn elite status if you join a activity and meet specific requirements For example with the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan you can reach MVP status after flying miles in one year MVP Gold status after flying miles MVP Gold K status after flying miles MVP Gold K status after flying miles Once you have elite status you unlock access to valuable perks that can make passage more enjoyable Depending on your status level you could earn waived baggage fees early boarding lounge access priority upgrades and free seat selection The higher the tier the better the rewards Earn miles with an eligible credit card Journey credit cards including credit cards that earn movement rewards airline credit cards and hotel credit cards allow you to earn miles or points through eligible credit card spending Countless general expedition credit cards allow you to earn flexible passage rewards meaning you can typically redeem excursion rewards with numerous airline and hotel partners However airline and hotel credit cards only allow you to earn and redeem rewards with a specific airline or hotel brand Additionally the type of spending that qualifies for earning miles or points and the number of miles or points you ll earn vary by the card issuer and card you choose as different cards have different rewards programs and rates The majority cards give you at least X miles or points for every dollar you spend on them allowing you to rack up rewards every time you make a purchase With a tiered rewards card you may also earn a higher rate for purchases in specific categories Co-branded credit cards The Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card is a co-branded airline credit card that allows you to earn frequent flyer miles with Delta Air Lines It offers Earn X Miles on Delta purchases at U S Supermarkets and at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U S Earn X Mile on all other eligible purchases You can redeem miles with partner airlines in the same alliance but co-branded credit cards are generally best for travelers loyal to one organization General journey rewards cards Then there s the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card a general journey rewards card that allows you to earn transferable rewards It offers Earn x on advance purchased through Chase Expedition Earn x on dining select streaming services and online groceries Earn x on all other advance purchases Earn x on all other purchases Points can then be redeemed for transfers to Chase airline and hotel loyalty operation partners Another perk of journey rewards credit cards is that they often come with a welcome bonus for new cardholders which you can use to jump start your stockpile of miles or points In preponderance cases you ll have to spend a specific dollar amount on a card within a set amount of time to earn a bonus You may also qualify for elite status completely by holding the airline or hotel s co-branded card Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Delta SkyMiles Gold welcome bonus The Chase Sapphire Preferred right now offers a welcome bonus of points after you spend within the first three months of account opening which is worth when redeemed for excursion through Chase Advance but can be worth up to with the right transfer partner according to Bankrate s valuations For comparison the Delta SkyMiles Gold card offers bonus miles after you spend in the first six months from account opening which is worth around with the right transfer partner based on Bankrate s valuations Getting approved for a top progress rewards credit card can be more complicated than signing up for an airline loyalty undertaking You ll generally need a good to excellent credit result and a low debt-to-income ratio to qualify for the best trip cards If you re new to movement cards you may want to look at the best expedition cards for beginners first to make the card-choosing process easier Earn by buying transferring or pooling miles Although the primary procedures to earn airline miles or points are by joining a loyalty operation or regularly spending money on a progress rewards card you have other options for racking up rewards Plenty of loyalty programs allow you to buy miles or points if you don t have enough in your account to book your desired vacation The process is usually easy and can be done through the rewards venture portal Remember though that buying miles is often not worth it as they tend to cost more than their redemption value But if you re just shy of having enough miles to book your flight buying more may be cheaper than purchasing the ticket with cash You may also want to buy points if they go on sale and you can get a good deal Need to add points or miles to your frequent flyer account If you need a minimal more points or miles to book a flight you ll often have the option to transfer rewards If you have an eligible general passage card you can easily transfer your rewards to any of your credit card issuer s partner airlines Majority of transfers are instant while others can take a sparse days to process Transfers aren t reversible so be careful when entering the number of points or miles you want to move Lastly particular loyalty programs allow you to pool your points or miles with family and friends who are members of the same activity For example the Frontier Miles plan offers a family pooling feature that allows you to share miles with up to eight friends and family members Earn through shopping portals and dining programs Multiple major airline loyalty programs including Southwest Rapid Rewards and Delta SkyMiles have shopping portals you can use to earn miles on purchases you re already planning to make To do this you ll typically head to the rewards venture s shopping portal first Then check out available retailers or promotions or search for items you want to buy Clicking through the portal will track your activity so that when you complete your purchase you ll receive credit in the form of extra miles or points added to your rewards account The best part You don t need to hold a co-branded airline card to take advantage of these offers For example fans of American Airlines can join the AAdvantage initiative for free and use their frequent flyer number to create an account with its online eShopping portal Plus paying for eShopping purchases with a card that earns American AAdvantage miles lets you double-dip on rewards getting you to that award flight more briskly Similar to online shopping portals dining programs also earn you rewards for eating at select restaurants You ll have to enroll in these programs separately as you do with a shopping portal Once you have an account you ll have to use your linked debit or credit cards to pay for your meal at an eligible restaurant How to redeem frequent flyer miles Building a portfolio of frequent flyer miles can feel exciting but don t forget the real purpose of doing so redeeming your miles for trip Having a plan for redeeming your rewards isn t just an essential part of maximizing your effort Airline and hotel loyalty programs regularly devalue their points and miles so holding them long-term puts you at jeopardy of losing value over time Related Articles With groceries more expensive than ever here s how to save money Crypto credit cards hit a wall in They appear to have scaled it Facing stiff competition remote workers up their contest Americans would save B if credit card rates were capped as Trump proposed researchers say Reasons why this fall is the ideal time to buy a house The rewards programs associated with general excursion credit cards typically provide more flexible redemption options than airline frequent flyer programs With a general tour credit card you can often redeem rewards for all types of passage purchases along with cash back gift cards merchandise event tickets and more You may also be able to transfer your points or miles to a tour partner increasing the anticipated value of your redemptions Frequent flyer programs however are limited to excursion redemptions only such as booking airfare Similarly points and miles earned with co-branded journey credit cards may be limited to redemption with the card s specific airline or hotel partner s booking portal Dependably check your desired operation for the specific options available to you to ensure the redemption options align with what you re looking for Redeem through an airline initiative Log in to your airline loyalty activity account Search for your desired flight You can choose to see how much flights cost in either dollars or miles or points Choose miles or points as your form of payment when checking out Note that if you re looking to redeem miles for a flight within an airline alliance you might need to call the airline for assistance with the booking Redeem through a credit card undertaking Log in to your credit card account Locate the rewards portal From there you should be able to redeem your rewards for expedition bookings gift cards charitable donations and more To redeem for advance you can redeem your rewards through your issuer s movement portal or transfer your rewards to one of your issuer s progress partners Typically your rewards go further when you transfer your points or miles to a high-value rewards effort Select the redemption option you re interested in and follow the prompts Before using your points or miles ensure you re getting the best deal especially if you re booking expedition Because airlines calculate the rewards value of their flights differently sometimes you can save thousands of points or miles just by booking your ticket through a partner airline Start by checking out one of the a large number of tools available to redeem rewards for flights The bottom line You can earn airline miles or points on the purchases you re already making by signing up for a advance rewards card or joining your preferred airline loyalty operation If you join the right rewards project for your spending habits and choose the preponderance valuable redemption options to maximize your rewards earnings your next trip could be closer than you think Frequently petitioned questions about frequent flyer miles What s the fastest way to get airline miles It greatly depends on the frequent flyer scheme you re a part of However usually one of the fastest avenues is to have a credit card that earns miles on everyday purchases such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred so you can rack up miles without much effort If you have a co-branded card then flying often with that airline and making eligible purchases may be your best bet If you have neither then stick to flying with the airline you prefer and make sure to enter your frequent flyer number when making purchases to accumulate every mile you can How do I join a frequent flyer scheme for free Majority frequent flyer programs are free to join The process to sign up has only a sparse procedures Head to the frequent flyer website you would like to join such as the American AAdvantage initiative Click on the Join for free button or a similar button that says Sign up Follow the prompts to sign up for an account You will likely need to enter your personal information such as name address and contact information How plenty of miles are needed for a free flight Different frequent flyer programs require different amounts of miles to earn a free flight For example Delta SkyMiles offers award deals for flights In the present a round-trip flight in the U S can go for as low as miles plus a small fee Comparatively United Airlines offers domestic round-trip flights starting at around around miles Key takeaways Join your preferred airline s loyalty operation for free to earn and redeem points and miles for your next flight With a general passage rewards credit card or co-branded airline credit card you can earn points and miles through eligible credit card spending For more approaches to earn points and miles consider buying transferring or pooling rewards or using airline shopping and dining portals Bankrate com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC