Is It Still Worth It? Frequent Flier Miles

Americans have loved frequent flier reward programs since they started to be offered. Earlier this year, Delta’s SkyMiles frequent flier program had over 41 million members. United’s Mileage Plus reward program had over 52 million members. The AAdvantage Program, offered by American Airlines, had 60 million members. But, when was the last time you looked into one of these programs?

Recently, the airline industry has struggled to stay afloat. Rising gas prices and terrorist activities have threatened the livelihood of the airline industry. Because of this, airlines have had to start charging more and more fees. There are now fees for checking more than 1 bag, checking even 1 bag, etc. Is it even worth it to have a frequent flier card anymore?

When you think about it, the days of “free” reward travel are virtually gone. You really can’t use enough airline points anymore to have your trip completely paid for. The airline companies have had to charge different fees to prevent this so they can stay in business. Credit card experts recommend cashing your frequent flier credit card in and getting a gas reward card instead.

If you don’t want to give up your frequent flier credit card just yet, here are some tips that can help you save some money.

1. If the airplane ticket costs less than $200, pay cash for it. If the ticket costs more than $200, use your mileage points.

2. It may be time to cash in your card if you find out that your frequent flier airline decides to cut back the number of cities it serves. Think about cashing in your card especially if they stop service to your city.

3. Cash in your airline miles, no matter what, if they are nearing the date of expiration. Don’t assume that you’ll have those miles forever. Use them now instead of having them go to waste.

4. If you don’t pay off your credit card every month, frequent flier programs may not be for you. This is because each programs has a high annual APR.

5. Think about the sign up bonuses. Other reward credit card programs do not come with an automatic sign up bonus. Most airline programs do come with at least a 20,000 or 25,000 mile sign up bonus. This may be beneficial if you want to start taking trips before you start using your card.

You need to think long and hard before signing up for a frequent flier program. The airline industry has just gotten so expensive. Even if you do earn a “free” ticket by using your points, you may be charged a lot of fees. Think about whether or not you should just cash in your airline reward credit card

This entry was posted on Monday, October 6th, 2008 at 9:22 pm and is filed under Credit Cards. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.