Not so long ago, your frequent flier miles were gone when they expired. But not anymore.
MILES
Rachel Cabarcas’s timing isn’t the best. No, not because she has an expired awards problem she’s sharing with us today, but because if she’d waited a little longer, then this probably wouldn’t have been a problem.
Here’s a type of case that crosses my desk often, and to which I almost always say “no.” But should I?
If you’re a card-carrying frequent flier, you probably already know that several airlines – including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and US Airways – charge $150 to redeposit frequent flier miles into your account.
Quitting a frequent-flier program looks easy: You cut up your card and donate the miles to charity. And that’s it.
Attention frequent fliers: If you can’t get a confirmed upgrade on your next flight, don’t do what Jim Downey did.
If you’re a frequent flier, maybe you covet a Delta Reserve American Express Card. It offers access to Delta’s Crown Room, a first-class companion certificate and a generous 10,000-mile bonus when you sign up.
American Airlines knows how to contact Mary Ann Hall. And it does. Often. She gets fare sale notices and credit card pitches from the airline regularly, which doesn’t surprise her — she’s been an AAdvantage member since almost the very beginning.
Question: I’ve been saving my Delta Air Lines frequent flier miles for many, many years to take my wife on a 20th anniversary trip this year. I received all of my statements by regular mail. A few months ago, I asked the airline for a PIN number so I could look at my account online, [...]
A thousand frequent flier miles may seem like nothing, which is probably what the folks at Alamo were thinking when David Goeman repeatedly asked the car rental company for his missing award points.
Kenneth Miller thought he had squirreled away more than 100,000 Delta Air Lines frequent flier miles, which he planned to use for a special 20th anniversary trip. He thought wrong.
Nicholas Czapor books four Hilton hotel stays through a double points promotion. But the points never show up in his account, and now Hilton is offering him only a fraction of the promised award. Can it do that? And what recourse, if any, does Czapor have?
Reidun Gauger and her husband Georg have been loyal Northwest Airlines customers and American Express cardholders since 1972. So when they were offered 50,000 each from Amex during their transition to a Delta awards card, the couple jumped at the chance.
Denyse Sadkin and her husband had two first-class tickets from St. Thomas to Buffalo on US Airways. At least they did until the airline bumped one of them back to economy class to make room for a crewmember. The Sadkins, which had redeemed a total of 120,000 frequent flier miles for their flights, weren’t happy with their new seats, so they asked US Airways to be rerouted. It refused.
If you’re an American Airlines frequent flier, you might want to check your last mileage statement. There’s evidence the airline is shortchanging its passengers by a mile or two per flight — a potential savings of tens of millions of points a year to the company.
Elliott is consumer advocate 
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