The Extra Mile

Elite Status for 2003: Get It While You Can

Q&A: What to Do with Expiring Miles?

November 27, 2002 - When it comes to traveling in style and comfort, status counts.

Beyond the snob appeal of gold-tone bag tags, elite members of airline frequent flyer programs enjoy real seat-of-the-pants travel perks: cabin upgrades, priority check-in and boarding, expedited luggage handling, dedicated customer-service numbers, no-wait security lines, and so on.

But time is running out to attain elite status for 2003. The deadline for meeting the airlines' qualification requirements is December 31, 2002.

The largest programs have three elite tiers, with entry-level elite status awarded for flying 25,000 miles a year on the airline which hosts the program, or on selected "preferred partner" airlines. Middle- and top-tier status kicks in at 50,000 and 100,000 miles. The higher the level, the longer the list of benefits associated with it.

If you're within striking distance of reaching elite, or of stepping up to a higher tier, following are several tactics for closing the gap.

First, be sure any trips already planned for the rest of this year count toward elite. If necessary, rebook flights to an airline which awards elite-qualifying miles. Also, consider making a stopover at an intermediate point, to increase the number of earned miles.

If possible, reschedule early-2003 trips for 2002.

And if all else fails, consider a mileage run, a trip taken solely to generate miles. Look for long flights and heavily discounted tickets, to achieve the best cost-per-mile ratio.

Readers: Miles on their Minds

Question from Sue

My miles expire soon. I am not opposed to donating them. However, I am wondering if I have any other options, besides buying another ticket?

Answer

There's no good reason for miles to expire prematurely.

Since 1999, the industry-standard policy on mileage expiration has been a benevolent version of "use it or lost it": any transaction which affects a member's mileage balance will extend the life of all miles in that account for 36 months from the date of the transaction. So, earning or redeeming miles just once every three years will extend their validity indefinitely.

Buying a ticket simply to protect your miles rarely makes economic sense.

As a quick reality check, assume miles are worth two cents apiece, and compare the value of your expiring miles with the price of a ticket purchased to preserve them. Clearly, it doesn't make sense to purchase a $100 ticket to shelter $50 worth of miles.

Because you're facing an imminent deadline, also bear in mind that miles are credited to your account only when you travel, not when you buy the ticket.

Depending on how many miles you have banked, you could redeem miles for an award. While the miles will be deducted from your account immediately -- thereby extending the validity of any remaining miles -- award tickets are valid for 12 months, so there's no rush to actually travel.

Another option: redeem a combination of cash and miles to purchase discounted merchandise through MilePoint (http://www.milepoint.com). Or, redeem as few as 500 miles and no cash co-payment for a magazine subscription.

For the future, consider signing up for a mileage-earning credit card, or using a long-distance carrier which awards miles in your program. Since both generate regular account activity, the life of your miles will be prolonged automatically.