COMINGANDGOING

MILE HOUNDS

No Deposit, No Return

Saving British Airways miles for a frequent-flier ticket? Pay close attention to the experience of Mildred Jacobs.

Jacobs, of the District, cashed in her BA miles to book a flight in late June -- from Dulles to London on BA, then on to Dublin on partner Aer Lingus. Soon after booking, she discovered she'd have to return home a few days earlier than planned. She says she was told that if she changed her return, she'd have to buy an $800 one-way return ticket. Shopping around, she found a $673 round-trip fare on Air Canada, and figured she'd come out ahead buying the Air Canada ticket and saving her BA miles for another time.

Nope. Your miles are gone, she was told.

BA, you see, does not allow changes on a frequent-flier ticket if any leg of a trip involves a partner airline. Any change and the miles are forfeited, said BA spokesman John Lampl.

However, Lampl said "situations with mitigating circumstances will be assessed individually," adding that the airline "will be in contact with Ms. Jacobs directly to come to a suitable resolution."

Most airlines charge a $50 or $100 fee to redeposit miles. Virgin Atlantic takes back 25 percent of your miles if you change a frequent-flier ticket at least seven days before a flight. After that, you lose all the miles.

Room keys

One More Reason To Quit Smoking

Smokers still fuming about restaurant smoking bans, take note: Hotels are shrinking their smoking venues as well.

On average, hotels in major cities allow smoking in only 16 percent of their rooms -- down from 20 percent just a few years ago, according to the research firm PricewaterhouseCooper.