Save time when you use miles

If time is money, then frequent travelers must be the poorest people on the planet—at least the ones who try to redeem their miles.

Consider Bryan Littlefield, who wanted to cash in his points for two first-class tickets to Paris on Delta Air Lines recently. “I tried over nine months in advance and was unable to get a flight,” remembers the Alhambra, Calif., technology consultant. “I did not want to chance waiting till things opened up if ever. Luckily, after doing my own research, I discovered the beauty of airline partners and managed to get a flight on Air France with my miles.”

Or Ricardo Faillace, who gets the runaround from LatinPass, the frequent flier program run by several Latin American airlines, every time he tries to turn his hard-earned points into a ticket. “First you check to see if you have enough miles,” said the New York foreign exchange manager. “Then you call the airline and make reservation using awards. Then you call LatinPass again. You have to fax them a copy of your driver’s license together with your credit card information and flight information. All 21 business days before flying.”

Accumulating frequent flier miles is the easy part. Turning them into a ticket isn’t just difficult—it’s also time-consuming. Maybe that’s why so many travelers with a surplus of points in their account often don’t even bother redeeming them, leaving the airline industry with nearly eight trillion miles in unredeemed miles, according to InsideFlyer magazine.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Here are several ways you can save money (by saving time) next time you try to cash in your miles:

* Choose your airline carefully. Some carriers, like Southwest Airlines, have reputations for easy-to-use frequent flier programs. Lou Ann Kapcin, a project manager in Ft. Myers, Fla., is partial to the programs offered by Northwest Airlines and Continental Airlines. “I average one free flight a year and have never had a problem with paperwork,” she said. Where can you go to find out if a program is a hassle? InsideFlyer.com and FrequentFlier.com will point you in the right direction with tips on which programs are the most trouble-free.

* Ask yourself: What kind of traveler am I? If you’re going for free tickets, most carriers are about the same when it comes to the redemption-hassle. But when it comes to getting the good seats, there are differences. David Kingsley, an attorney in Plantation, Fla., can’t get confirmed BusinessFirst seats as a Continental Airlines frequent flier any longer, so now “I only fly Continental when I have to, using miles to upgrade domestic flights when ever possible to use up the miles I accumulated,” he said. Check out Matt Bennett’s excellent site for premium travel, Firstclassflyer.com for advice on getting upgraded with your points.

* Don’t wait until the last minute. Contradictory advice? Not really. If you plan your trip in advance, your chances of securing a seat are much greater. That will keep you from having to waste even more time trying to talk your way into a ticket or having to buy one. It’s what happened to Kathie Spitzer, a Clearwater, Fla., meeting planner, who was trying to redeem some of the 250,000 miles she had saved up on Continental Airlines. “I have been unable to use them for several years as they never seem to have seats available when I need to travel,” she said. Sadly, the best way to ensure that you won’t get hassled is to try more than a few months ahead and to be flexible.

Not to pick on Continental, but in fairness to the airline, if you follow these simple rules you’ll find that redeeming miles can be a snap. Chris Maloney, an engineer in Boxborough, Mass., recently exchanged his miles for a ticket, and it couldn’t have gone any better. “Total time to book: less than five minutes,” he remembers. “Paperwork: none. It was easily the most painless experience I could imagine.”

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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