Frequent-flier miles about to expire?
Many airlines these days are quicker to cancel unclaimed frequent-flier miles, and business travelers are finding new ways to keep that from happening.
They're taking company surveys, eating at restaurants, shopping and donating miles to charity. They're also buying miles from airlines, subscribing to newspapers and magazines and taking out home and auto loans.
These and other strategies add miles and keep frequent-flier accounts active without flying and, in many cases, without using airline-affiliated credit cards.
Within the next several months, both United Airlines and Alaska Airlines are scheduled to make changes that will more quickly nullify mileage in inactive accounts. Their actions reflect a trend in the industry making it common for miles in an inactive account to expire in as little as 18 months.
Many airlines offer miles for products and services bought from retailers and online shopping malls linked to their Web sites. Delta Air Lines' frequent fliers, for example, can earn four miles per dollar spent online at retailer Brookstone.
Northwest Airlines gives 100 miles to its frequent-flier club members who go to the airline's Web site and take a quiz about the program.
Chad Griffith, a lawyer in Tokyo, has more than 1 million frequent-flier miles but, since moving to Japan, rarely flies on U.S. airlines.
To keep his accounts active, he says, he visits two Web sites, e-Miles and e-Rewards, that offer miles for viewing ads or answering surveys. He also has a few credit cards with no annual fee, which are tied in to airlines' frequent-flier programs, and occasionally buys something.
Account CPR
Frequent-flier Dean Mazurek, a nurse anesthetist in Vorhees, N.J., says he's changed some of his travel patterns to keep his mileage accounts alive after losing more than 50,000 miles when they expired in Delta's frequent-flier program this year. "I will book single short flights on a carrier I typically do not use to keep my miles current," he says. "I will book a flight out on one carrier and book the return on a code-share partner. That way, I get activity on both of the carriers and keep the expiration dog at bay a little longer."
Of 17 airlines contacted by USA TODAY, Continental and Aloha said miles do not expire in their frequent-flier programs. Northwest insists that its miles don't expire, but its Web site states that accounts may be closed and "miles forfeited" if no miles are earned during a three-year period.
Spirit, which launched its program last year, has the fastest expiration period. Miles expire after six months in accounts with a balance of less than 2,000 miles. The mileage expiration policies have made many travelers angry.
"It is a disappointing turn of events," says frequent-flier Andrew Bertagnolli, a psychologist in San Francisco. "It enhances loyalty to one airline or airline alliance and decreases the chance I'll fly other airlines."
The policies are "stupid," says Frank Lee, of Flower Mound, Texas, who runs a sales consulting company. "I hate it. Now I have to keep checking miles and points and make sure I use them before they expire."
'Just another trick'
George Irving, of Huntington Beach, Calif., says the expiration policies are "just another trick to take back benefits that have been extended over the years" to frequent fliers.
Irving, a manager for an automobile manufacturer, says he wasn't informed by American Airlines before about 30,000 miles expired in his account more than five years ago. "They are still paying for those 30,000 miles," he says. "If I have a choice of airlines to fly, they're at the bottom of the list."
American did not respond to Irving's comments but says it has one of the best frequent-flier programs. Accounts in the airline's program expire if no miles have been earned or redeemed in 18 months.
"We provide many, many ways for members to earn miles and many ways for members to redeem miles," says spokeswoman Marcy Letourneau. "We feel that 18 months is sufficient for members to transact at least once in some way."
Some frequent fliers support the airlines' mileage expiration policies.
"I like it because it cuts down on the number of people I have to compete with to use my miles or points," says Dick Henning, a vice president for a remanufacturing company who lives in Boise.
Pam Joslyn, of East Hampton, Conn., says she understands why airlines have expiration policies. "These are frequent-flier programs that are designed for the frequent, not the occasional, traveler," says Joslyn, an auditor in the aerospace industry.
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