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Making the Most of Air Miles

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The Air Miles scheme is a great idea. They were first introduced in the UK in 1988 before the concept was taken up by companies included AT&T Corporation, Citibank, General Cinema and Lenscrafters and introduced to America in 1992. A year later, Air Miles was abandoned in America although the concept lives on thanks to credit card firms and national airlines. General travel cards and co-branded airline credit cards offer consumers the chance to accrue miles when they shop. Some restrict the airline you can travel with, others only offer business miles, and some cards charge annual fees that might make them unattractive unless you really are a frequent flyer.

How to Get Air Miles Cards

Airline miles cards are very common in the market now so they're available to those with all types of credit rating, although the cards that offer the most miles are only available to those with high credit ratings. The recommended FICO score for travel rewards cards is 670 or higher so keep that in mind if you're trying to get a card from one of the major airlines. The approval process is the same as with any credit card so make sure you know your financial history and your current income and outgoings before applying.

How to Redeem Points

Your airline miles will accrue as you spend and they'll show on your statement along with your credit card balance. You might have access to this through an app or online. If so, that's where you'll head when you want to spend the miles you've made. Each card provider deals with this slightly differently but none makes it very difficult to use as they want you to feel rewarded so you'll stay with them and keep spending on their card.

Best Card for Miles

The cards attached to individual airlines normally offer more miles than general travel cards. It's the same principle as you find with cashback credit cards that offer rewards for one chain of stores – the rewards are higher because of the restriction that you can only spend them in one place. Taking out an airline specific card is great if that airline flies out of airports near your home but if they don't, you'll be left with miles that are hard to use. As with any credit card reward, do your homework and work out what's best for you.

Fly with Airline Miles

The process of spending the miles is normally easy if you book directly with the airline through their website. There will be a box that allows you to see the ticket price in miles rather than dollars. If not, Google the airline's frequent flyer program and you'll land on the right page. If you don't have enough miles, most airlines will let you buy the remainder. If you bought each mile of the trip, you'd probably pay more for it than the ticket price but a small top up is normally worth the cost. If it's not, save the miles and use them later.

Flying with Airline Miles

As ticket prices vary from flight to flight, the value of your airline miles fluctuates depending on the airline, the destination and whether you're taking a domestic or international flight. You'll get the most value for money if you chose a cross-country flight or a long-haul international trip with one of the biggest airlines. Using the reward to upgrade to a business class ticket or to fly first class is another way of making the most of your airline miles.

Other Tips

As well as signing up with a credit card that gives you miles, you can also get them by shopping with the airline's retail partners. You might also want to hold off on buying your tickets to maximize the time you'll have to accrue airline miles. Don't wait too long though as the price of the flight will increase as the plane begins to be booked up. You also need to be aware of blackout dates as these are periods in which air miles can't be used so don't book a hotel and then arrange your flights if you're relying on using your miles to get there.