Airline Mileage Programs

What They Are

All airlines have a mileage (loyalty) programs which are designed to reward continued flying with the airline. Each mile flown on the airline accrues one mile in the program. The collected miles can later be redeemed for  essentially free tickets. We're saying essentially free since taxes and fees have to be paid on these tickets and in some programs this make many redemptions practically pointless. If used correctly though, these miles can allow you and your family to travel farther and in higher comfort than you would have thought possible. Think flying in business class from the US to Asia for 200$ by flying over the Pacific Ocean oneway and over the Atlantic on the return stopping over in Europe.

How To Chose A Mileage Program

How To Acquire Miles

• Flying: regular flying on the airline or its alliance partners. The largest alliance programs are: Star Alliance, OneWorld and SkyTeam.
• Shopping: almost all mileage programs have affiliate relationships with shopping portals which will rebate a 1 to 40 miles per dollar spent at online merchants. These rebates can be so lucrative that we've created an entire section to describe the strategies for maximizing returns from them.
• Credit Cards: This is the most lucrative of all forms of mileage earning.  All airlines have relationships with banks to offer co-branded credit cards. These cards offer a sign-up bonus of a number of miles in addition to earning 1 to 5 miles per dollar spent. In addition these cards come with different perks which can come in really handy in many situations (such lounge access, priority boarding or dedicated customer service lines).
• Dining: most mileage programs have a relationship with the Rewards Network which rebates miles for dining at member restaurants. For people dining out regularly this can mean an additional 3 to 5 miles per dollar earned on the restaurant bill in addition to the miles earned by using a credit card.