Can you teach me about frequent flyer miles...

[SuiteDisney]

I know absolutely nothing about frequent flyer miles, but we have nearly 100,000 Membership Rewards points through American Express that can be turned into frequent flyer miles. Has anyone done something like this?

I know I'm going to have to call AX and U.S. Air, but I'm hoping to learn all I can first so I don't sound like a complete idiot. I'm hoping we can get some cheaper air so we can fly to WDW next month instead of driving.

 

[swanmom]

***********,
You can transfer MR points to most major airlines but the exchange ratio may differ ... e.g. for some airlines you trade one MR point for one of their airline miles but for other airlines you have to spend 2 or 3 MR points per mile. The easiest thing to do is 1) decide on a airline that is served by your local airport, 2) decide on a possible destination and date of travel 3)find out how many FF miles are required for the type of ticket you'd be interested in 4)transfer the MR points well in advance (the process can really take some time. None of this is hard at all, just takes doing some homework and advance planning. I do this a lot for our office staff. If I can answer a specific question, just PM me.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

Sure - we do it all the time with American Express. We usually fly Southwest Airlines using those miles. I'm not sure what the point requirements for US Air is, but I know Delta is offering a 15% point bonus if you transfer points to them right now.

If you are looking to use the miles next month - I'd call ASAP. Frequent Flyer seats usually sell out pretty fast.

 

[swanmom]

Toby's friend is right. The number of 'frequent flier reward' eligible seats is limited. You may have to be flexible about the time or days of your flight if you want to claim a reward for a flight coming up soon.

 

[Amy]

Don't count on using your frequent flyer miles, esp. on USAir. DH has enough miles for 2 free tix. We're going to WDW in June 2003; I called to make our air reservations back in Sept. and they were all sold out of the frequent flyer seats, unless we wanted to arrive after midnight. If you can plan a year in advance, give it a try. But I tried 9 months out and couldn't use ours.

 

[mkandk]

I do Am Ex too, and I like to figure that 100 pts is worth about 1 dollar. It takes 25,000 points to travel in the continental US, usually, so it is a better deal to use them on a flight that is usually more than $250.

That said, I used ours on a trip to DisneyWorld when we can get flights for less than $200 rt.

The Delta special is a good deal, thanks for reminding me.