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Having travelled all over the world the one things I have realized is that is it extremely stupid to let all that flight money go to waste. If someone asks you to sign up on a website and in return you get free cookies you will do it won’t you? Airline and and credit card miles are those free cookies in the world of travel. So learn how miles work and do it.

Airline Miles – Airline miles are associated with a certain airline. You can only redeem these miles against that particular airline. You earn airline miles by flying on those airline. The airline may give out miles based on distance traveled or on the money spent. This is different depending upon the policy of the airline.

Airlines also offer status miles which are different than travel miles. These allow you to enjoy additional perks such as quicker boarding, lounge access etc. You earn these while flying on those airlines. Some airlines offer a lump sum after you have flown a certain amount. You also earn a lump sum if you spend a threshold amount of money within a few months of signing up. The higher tier the status you belong to (Silver, Gold, Platinum) the better payback on flights you get.

Credit Card Miles – Credit card miles are different than airline miles. Credit card miles are directly offered by your credit card provider. You can earn these by getting a sign up bonus while initially signing up for the credit card. You can also earn these by using the credit card for purchases.

Providers allow you to use these miles to later book hotels and flights. It is better to get a credit card that gives you a benefit every time you buy something over a debit card that does not.

Airline vs Alliance Loyalty Programs

Airlines have a loyalty program that reward you with miles if you fly with them. Most airlines are part of three major groups in the world, Star Alliance, OneWorld and SkyTeam. If two airlines are part of the same alliance then you can transfer miles between them.

Instead of having to sign up for loyalty programs for different airlines you just have to make 3 accounts, one on each of the major alliance programs and use these. To earn miles on airlines, provide the account number for the major alliance the airline belongs to while booking your ticket.

If you do not fly very often and only travel on a couple airlines you might benefit from having accounts on those airlines instead. To do this you will need to sign up for the loyalty program. They sign up usually asks for your personal information and sign in information. For example for Delta Airlines Sign Up the setup is very easy and take 5 minutes.

How to Earn Airline Miles

The most frequent way to earn miles is to fly on the airline and then submit the request for miles in the login portal. Two other ways to earn miles are online shopping portals and dining programs. Most flights have specific portals that you can use to earn miles by buying products from partner online retailers.

1. Shopping – The United Airlines Shopping Portal has multiple retailers such as Macy’s, Kate Spade, Home Depot etc that offer miles on every dollar spent in the store.
2. Dining – Similarly airlines partner up with restaurants to offer miles on every meal. Delta SkyMiles Dining has restaurants in every city it partners up with to offer miles if the card registered with the airline is used for dining.

Miles to Money Ratio

One thing to remember is that most airlines don’t offer the same value while signing up for miles. Just as 1 dollar is worth 0.77 pound but also 0.91 euro, the miles to money ratio varies with each airline.

Below is the chart from WalletHub showing the worth of the miles each airline offers against the dollar. According to the study Hawaiin Airlines offers the best value back at $21.29 worth rewards for every $100 spent on the airline.

Spending Airline Miles

To use travel miles wisely you have to know the best strategy to get the most out of it. There are a few way airlines count miles. This depends upon which zone in the world you are traveling, the distance you are traveling and the cost of the ticket.

1. Some airlines use the same amount of miles if you are flying within the same zone. For example if you are traveling anywhere in the Caribbean it would cost the same amount of miles.
2. For the distance based miles, more miles are used on long distance flights than on short distance flights. Cathay Pacific is one airline that uses this method.
3. Lastly some airlines such as Southwest tally miles directly against the cost of the ticket. You can use the miles to purchase whole or part of your ticket for the flight.

Keep in mind is that you should never pay more in miles than if you would in cash. If the miles can be better used for another airline with a better cash back value then transfer the miles to that airline.

Credit Card Miles

If you travel less often and and find it hard to accumulate flight miles then credit card miles are the perfect alternative. On travel credit cards you earn miles for every dollar spent shopping instead of earning while flying only. There are two types of credit card that should be mentioned –

1. Travel Credit Cards – Major banks such Chase and Wells Fargo offer travel credit cards which earn miles on every purchase. Chase Sapphire Credit Card and Wells Fargo Propel Card are examples of 2 very popular credit cards right now.
2. Co-branded Credit Cards – Banks offer co-branded credit cards in conjunction with partner airlines. Miles earned on these cards can only be redeemed on the partner airline. The article The Best Airline Credit Card of 2020 has compared these co branded travel credit cards hot on the market right now! For example The Delta SkyMiles American Express Cards are issued by AMEX in conjunction with Delta airlines. You can use miles earned on this card only on Delta flights.

How to Earn Credit Card Miles

Firstly you need to decided whether you want a generic travel credit card or a co-branded credit card if you only fly with one airline most of the time.

Travel credit cards require an excellent credit score so it is worthwhile to make sure you have this. There are a few ways to start earning miles on these cards.

1. Sign up bonus – The first is to look for the sign up bonus. You can earn major points if you spend a certain amount with the first few months. The Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express Card offered 80,000 miles if you spend $3000 in the first 3 months!
2. Referring friends – Many credit cards have programs where if you refer a friend using your affiliate link and if they are approved you are awarded a certain number of miles.
3. Making purchases – All purchases made using the card will get you miles so it is very important to pay all bills on time. Miles will go away if the card is not in good standing or if a purchase is returned.

How to Redeem Credit Card Miles

You can redeem your miles by logging into you credit card portal and accessing the rewards section. This will let you use the miles acquired on this card to book flights, hotels, etc.

To get the best value out of these miles you should only use them for flights. Transfer these miles into the accounts of the partner airlines you fly with to redeem them for air travel. You will get a better deal if the miles are in the loyalty program of your airline instead of the card.

In my opinion

If you are a frequent flyer then accumulating miles gives you a huge advantage over other flyers. You get better boarding times, access to premium lounges and better deals. It also makes the experience of traveling more luxurious and much cheaper.

It is absolutely worth investing in a travel credit card and keep a dedicated track record of your miles. Invest in miles today for a better future tomorrow!