Wait, so 25,000 airline miles won't get me an around-the-world flight?
I received a notice last week in the mail that informed me that my frequent flier miles on American Airlines are about to expire. From what I have learned, if the account is inactive for 3 years, then miles will start to disappear. Along with the notice they tell me I can purchase a magazine subscription with my miles. I am not a big magazine kind of gal, unless U2 is on the cover, so I went searching for a different option.
After much clicking around on the American Airlines website, I discovered a website called Points.com. American Airlines was offering 100 frequent flier miles when program members register on the site.
American Airlines is not the only airline that has a relationship with Points.com. Delta Airlines, Midwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, US Airways, Frontier Airlines, and Hawaiian Airlines are the others that do as well. After more clicking around I discover that you can exchange your frequent flier miles for some really cool stuff. I actually have enough to get a $55 gift certificate for Amazon.com. Many merchants participate in the program; Starbucks and Target are only just a few of the many that do.
I also discovered that I can swap miles from one program to another. I was able to swap the miles that I earned on Hawaiian Airlines to my American Airlines account. The only down side to that was American Airline miles could possibly be compared to the British Pound Sterling. My 5000 Hawaiian frequent flier miles transformed to only 240 American miles. *sigh* Ah well, hopefully that was enough to keep my American Airlines account active, because I am only a few thousand away from being able to actually use them for a free upgrade later on.
This is a great option for folks that have frequent flier miles sitting around collecting dust.