Whether you have been traveling quite often or have a hidden desire to explore the world, you must have heard about the term ‘airline miles.’ It’s the best way to travel, especially when you don’t have enough money to buy flight tickets. Maybe not completely, but yes, , it can help save a lot of your money, making traveling really, really cheap. So what are airline miles and whether you should buy or not? Here is a detailed blog on the same.
What Are Airline Miles?
Before you start to buy airline miles, it is important to understand airline miles, also known as frequent flyer miles. These airline miles work as digital currencies that you can earn by flying frequently through the same airline company or their partner companies and then redeem them for flights, hotel stays, and other rewards. Not all airline companies call them “Airline Miles”, some also call them “points” rather than miles, but the concept is the same. The terms of use depend on the service provider, so it is recommended to understand the terms and conditions to make the most of your rewards.
How To Earn Airline Miles?
Some of the ways you can get airline miles include below:
- Earn By Flying – One of the best and easiest ways to get more airline miles is by flying frequently with the same airline company because the default way to earn is to be a loyal customer. When you fly with the paid fare, you are entitled to earn free airline miles for the trip as a reward. Based on the terms and conditions along with how far you travel, the number of miles can vary. In most cases, the travelers are rewarded with several points per dollar spent or per mile flown.
- Earn By Spending On Credit Cards – Almost all airline companies have credit cards available for those who are frequent flyers. These credit card work as traditional cards, but the only difference is that they can be used only to book flight tickets, make purchases at airports, book hotels, etc. Every time you use a credit card to make a purchase, you will be rewarded with airline miles.
- Buy Airline Miles – When you are not a too frequent flyer yet would like to save some money on your flight tickets, then you can simply choose to buy frequent flyer miles, which can be used to save money on airline tickets and other purchases. The decision to buy airline miles can be the easiest way to get more miles on your account.
- Earn By Traveling With Airline Partners – Another way to earn more airline miles is by traveling with the partner companies of the airline along with booking hotels and rental car companies that will allow you to earn awards with one program while spending with another brand. It is recommended to check with the service provider about the list of partners so you can save more and earn more airline miles.
Pros And Cons Of Buying Airline Miles
The Pros:
- Premium Experiences on Budget – One of the best parts about deciding to buy airline miles is that you can get first-class treatment at a fraction of the cost. For example, you can enjoy booking Business Class tickets at the airline, save more money, and also stay at the VIP lounge without spending a fortune.
- Priority Boarding – When you are a busy professional and would not want to waste your valuable time waiting in the long queue at the airport to check in or board the plane as you can simply use your reward points to be the first to board a flight.
- Earn Even When You’re Not Flying – Unlike the common belief that you can only earn airline miles by flying more frequently, the fact is that you can also earn more rewards even when you are not flying. Many airline companies also allow their members to earn free miles through activities like booking hotels, online shopping, booking taxis, dining programs, and more.
- Unlock perks for linking accounts – Many airline companies allow their frequent flyers to attach multiple accounts to join additional airline rewards programs. For example, the members of Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite or Ambassador Elite programs can have a chance to claim United Silver Elite status by linking their Marriott and United accounts. This gives you a chance to earn more and enjoy amazing benefits like free extra-legroom seating at check-in, upgrades to first class, and more.
The Cons:
- The temptation to Spend More – It is a human mentality that you will want to spend more money when you have cash in your wallet. The same goes for airline company reward points. Most of these come with an expiry date, which means you would want to spend them before they expire. Apart from this, you also would have the desire to book a flight ticket just to make use of your reward points.
- Dynamic Pricing – The worst part about booking flight tickets with airline miles is that dynamic pricing is applicable, as not all companies offer fixed award pricing. For example, when flight tickets are expensive, it will take away the advantage of using points to keep your costs down. And since not all companies will offer you a transparent award chart, it will make things quite hard to predict how much your points bookings will cost.
Final Words:
Regardless of the cons, the option to buy frequent flyer miles is always the right choice as you can save more on your flight tickets as well as other activities like shopping online, booking hotels, and a lot more. And the best part is that you earn more points as you fly with the airline company or its partner airlines. So, when you are a frequent flyer and would like to save more on your flight tickets, it is highly suggested to buy Air Canada Miles online..
