Maximizing Free Airline Tickets

[psysicx]

deleted.

 

[andpcl]

Using F/F Miles

Try Expertflyer.com

Works great for using upgrades, etc.

Subscriber fee's but minimal cost; 5 day free trial

http://www.expertflyer.com/

 

[MSNFlier]

Another pimp for FlyerTalk....

Now that you're going to be on the "other" side of the 121 cockpit all the time, so to speak, you definitely want to register (free) at www.flyertalk.com. I know, I know, there are some serious airline passenger geeks on there and, I suspect, you might find yourself getting quite impatient with some of the regular posters, but there's no question you'll learn all there is to know about a certain airline's FF program (DL's in your case, it appears).

One other idea for you, as I understand it if you pay for your car rental using a Diner's Club card DC provides your primary insurance on the rental vehicle, including liability, unintentional property damage, etc. DC does have an annual fee (not sure what it is), so that is a downside. Speaking as an attorney, if DC is continuing to offer that deal and you're renting cars regularly - even if work is paying for it - I think it's worth it to use the DC card if for no other reason than if something happens it will likely be in another state so it should eliminate most, if not all, of the hassle. Do a search on FT for DC and car rental and you should be able to find the information and a number of posts from people who unfortunately got in accidents and had to take advantage of the insurance. Other cards may offer insurance, too, but my understanding is that they're all secondary to your primary auto insurance.

Good luck in your new job!

 

[Daytonaflyer]

If you plan on flying Southwest Airlines a lot, be sure to get all the credits you can.
Each of the following companies give you 0.5 SWA points each time you use them:

Hilton properties...you get 0.5 SWA points plus Hilton points
Marriott properties...you get 0.5 SWA points, not including Fairfield Inns or Ritz Carlton hotels
Hyatt properties...0.5 SWA points
La Quinta properties...0.5 SWA points
Holiday Inn (Intercontinental hotels)...0.5 SWA points
Choice Hotels...0.5 SWA points

Rental car companies:
Hertz...0.5 SWA points
Dollar...0.5 SWA points
Budget...0.5 SWA points
Alamo...0.5 SWA points

Airlines:
ATA Airlines...1 SWA point for each one way ticket
Soutwest Airlines...1 SWA point for each one way ticket

Also if you get a credit card that will give you airline points, Frontier Airlines seems to be the easiest and best company to get a free rountrip ticket. They only require 15,000 points to get a free roundtrip ticket. You can call the airline directly, reserve the seat, then transfer the points from your credit card company, and book the flight right away. The transfer happens almost instantly; there is no waiting.

Using these tips, I currently average one free roundtrip Southwest Airlines ticket approximately every 3 months, and one free roundtrip Frontier Airlines ticket every 4 months. That's 7 free confirmed roundtrip airline tickets every year. Of course I typically cannot use that many airline tickets, so I usually just let my credit card points build up.

 

[drseuss05]

Just wondering if you can combine your points on airlines in the same alliance. For instance, if I have 20K on USairways, and 30K on united, can I get a ticket on either airline for 50K miles if I combine the two accounts? Or do I have to ensure that the miles get in the correct account first? Since I am based out of LAX, they tend to airline me on just about everyone. Should I just try to stick with AA, UA, and DL miles, and try to get all my miles from the other airlines into those two if possible? I would prefer not to use SW, since those tickets are cheap enough to buy. I'd rather use my miles for some heafty priced tickets, maybe go on an international trip somewhere once or twice a year using miles. Thanks for the tips.

 

[Twotter76]

Once the miles have been deposited into your account they will not change them (I tried several times with no luck) and you cannot combine them, even on partner airlines. You CAN use UAL miles to get a ticket on USAir but you have to have the required amount of UAL miles for the ticket. Looks at each alliance and see which airline suits you best then make sure that when you check in that miles are going to the correct account.

 

[jtf]

I suggest putting all your United and USAir into USAir until you have 25K and then put both into United the rest of the time to pump it up. Choose one of the 3 main Skyteam carriers to put all your Skyteam miles into also since if you concentrate into one you will achieve preffered status much quicker and get the mileage bonus faster.

 

[Daytonaflyer]

Actually, you can sign up at Points.com and enroll all of your airline mileage programs, some of them will allow you to swap miles to another airline's program. You can also swap them for other things like gift certificates.
Delta and American do not allow you to swap miles out of their accounts, but you can swap miles into their accounts.
I think most of the other major airlines participate in their program with the exception of United Airlines. Unfortunately you tend to take a pretty big loss when you swap miles using Points.com, but if you really need to, at least the option is there.