How to Make Your Miles Last Longer

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How to Make Your Miles Last Longer

Whether you realize it or not, most frequent-flier miles have an invisible "use by" date. Major airlines, such as United and American, still give you three years to use mileage points, and these points can be extended indefinitely by activity in most programs. Delta and US Airways are retroactively shortening their expiration dates to two years and 18 months, respectively, but also allow indefinite extension with program activity. Note that most budget carriers do not automatically extend the expiration dates for points or awards, so these strategies don't apply in most cases to Southwest, JetBlue and other discounters. Here are eight ways to avoid losing miles.

* Keep track of what you have. Check frequently online or look at your program statement. Or consider using a service such as MileageManager.com (http://www.milemanager.com), which charts your balances, program activity and elite-level status, and sends automatic e-mail notifications when miles are about to expire. The annual fee is $14.95.

* Use 'em before you lose 'em. Book a trip or use your points for an upgrade. Spending miles keeps you active in most programs and extends the expiration period.

* Get a mileage-earning credit card. Major airlines have partnerships with credit-card companies; United's Mileage Plus Visa card, for example, earns miles every time you charge a purchase. Annual fees for these cards typically run from $40 to more than $100. You can get mileage-earning cards that don't have fees, but these typically earn half a point per dollar spent, rather than a full point. Most cards offer a bonus, such as 10,000 miles awarded at first purchase with Delta's Gold SkyMiles American Express card.

* Book a room or rent a car. Airlines have partnerships with hotels and car rental companies. For example, you can book a room at a Hyatt hotel or rent a car from Alamo and earn points in United's Mileage Plus. Other programs have similar offers.

* Fly a partner airline. Say you're a member of Northwest's WorldPerks program. If you fly one of its partner airlines, such as Air France, you can earn miles in Northwest's program and keep your miles active.

* Make a donation. Some airlines have partnerships with charities to which you can donate and earn points. Give money to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and earn points in American Airlines' AAdvantage program while extending your expiration period.

* Go out to eat. Many programs, such as SkyMiles, offer points for dining in partner restaurants. Dine at the Peacock Cafe on Prospect Street in Northwest Washington, for instance, and earn three points for every dollar charged on your program-affiliated credit card.

* Send flowers. Send a bouquet from FTD and earn 20 mileage points in the US Airways Dividend Miles program for each dollar spent. Other carriers have similar offers.

-- Michael Shapiro