I love frequent flier programs...you?

[davester]

A recent thread was complaining about frequent flier programs. I actually like the frequent flier programs a lot, and I don't even fly very much (or rather, I don't pay to fly very much). With a very small amount of organization you can reap very large travel rewards from just your regular occasional flights and credit card spending/sign up bonuses on your regular expenses (groceries, gas, amazon, etc). The trick is that you have to be a tiny bit organized (and there are websites like award wallet that do exactly that for you) and ensure that you pay the balance every month so you don't get hit by any bank fees. In fact, some of the programs save you money on your regular travel (my current airline credit card gives me free checked baggage for two (normally $50 for domestic flights via most airlines). There are plenty of websites that give you the scoop on how to leverage your regular spending into large travel awards (e.g. http://millionmilesecrets.com http://thepointsguy.com . I aspire one day to be as good as the pudding guy... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Phill...repreneur)

It pains me when I find out that folks who fly all over the world don't bank and organize their miles. I have a close friend who until this year flew all over the world for Chevron, to the tune of 100s of 1000s of miles per year and he never bothered signing up for frequent flier programs for most of his carriers. By now he could easily have free travel and many free hotel rooms for life, but he has nothing to show for it.

My wife and I are flying to Turkey and Spain in October, and are only paying $170 airport tax for the entire set of flights, and we have tons of flights left over.

[samintx]

My travel agent deals with my FF but for the most part I hate them and can very few times use them...excuse by airline: "flights are full".

[davester]

samintx wrote:
My travel agent deals with my FF but for the most part I hate them and can very few times use them...excuse by airline: "flights are full".

That's not actually true. The airlines have a set number of so called "saver seats" that have limited availability, but every airline I'm aware of will allow you to pay extra miles (usually at double the rate) to allow you to book any available seat. Also, if you're paying for your seat, you can very often use FF miles to get a free upgrade to business or first class.

I think it's a huge mistake to let a travel agent manage your FF miles. Their primary incentive is for you to not get good value from them.

[Speedy]

I was hoping, "No" would be a choice.

[davester]

Speedy wrote:
I was hoping, "No" would be a choice.

That's choice number 2 (or 1)

[Speedy]

Not unlike the choices airlines offer.

davester wrote:
[quote=Speedy]
I was hoping, "No" would be a choice.

That's choice number 2 (or 1)

[vision63]

I don't bother with it. I don't like having to keep up with all of the shifting rules.

You needed a "it's too much trouble to think about" without that staycation bit cuz there are other ways to get there.

[davester]

Yeah, my poll choices were a bit flip and limited, but I was just having fun with it.

[cbelt3]

I fly infrequently, and don't like 'free miles' credit cards and other gadgets like this. So.. nah.

[JoeH]

Define "... I don't even fly very much...". That phrase means many different things depending on the people saying it. Your perception of not very much already is a lot more often than mine, and could very well place you in the frequent category compared to the rest of us.