MILE HOUNDS
Expiration Blues
CoGo would be able to retire if every reader sent a dollar when writing to express his or her shock at finding that their frequent-flier miles had expired. But Gerald Otten of Ellicott City, Md., experienced a variation on the theme.
Otten pulled 70,000 miles from his AmericanAirlines account for a trip to Perth, Australia, in 2003, but his plans changed. He canceled the flight and thought he'd returned the miles to his account. Just over a year later, he discovered the miles had expired, even though he had complied with the airline's general rule: Miles remain good unless your account has no activity for three years.
But according to American spokesman Reg Rowe, there's no record of Otten calling the awards desk to reinstate the miles. By ordering a ticket, then not reinstating, Otten had activated a one-year clock.
Those kinds of nuances "keep me in a job," says Randy Petersen, editor of Inside Flyer, a publication for mile hounds. Consumers should read the fine print of their awards programs, he warns. Essential info to start with:
• Miles on the major U.S. legacy carriers remain good unless there is no "activity" on your account for 36 months. But the definition of "activity" varies. At Northwest, adding new miles is all that counts. Most others consider redeeming miles an activity. Thus, you can keep your miles by using a few of them to, say, buy a magazine subscription. Or you can earn a few new ones by, say, renting a car with an airline partner.
• Miles at JetBlue, Southwest and Independence Air expire in one year.
• U.S. Airways set the 36-month rule in 2000, but granted a one-year extension. Thus, even if you haven't used the program since January 2000, you have until Dec. 31 to protect your miles.
• For $19.99 annually, you can hire an online account manager (www.mileagemanager.com) to alert you to expiration deadlines.
• Many travel agents for a fee will do the work of bookingan award ticket, as will an online service at www.awardplanner.com.
