As compelling as cheaptravel options, such as cheap airplane tickets, discount hotel rooms, discounttravel deals, and cheap vacation packages are,free travel earned by redeeming miles or points can be even more satisfying.
The trick is getting the greatest possible value whenredeeming your travel rewards. Determining the real value in your mile and point redemptions requires onlybasic math.
Points and airline miles in particular should be valuedbetween one to two cents each. Unlesswhat you are receiving when cashing in a reward is at least in that range, thenyou should reconsider how to make the best use of those miles or points.
The following are common mistakes you should avoid when decidingwhether to trade in miles or points, according to Jake Redman:
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Free(as in no cash trades hands) over valued merchandise for point exchange. If you are going to trade in 50,000 frequentflyer miles for merchandise make certain that item has a dollar value ofbetween $500 to $1,000.
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Transferringmiles to someone else is usually a very poor way to spend those miles. Unless your airline is offering a verymeaningful mileage bonus when you transfer your miles, it is almost always abad transaction. Be ready to do simplemath before spending or transferring miles. Also remember that airlines charge a range of service fees whentransferring miles. A 75 percent to 100percent transfer bonus might make a transfer worthwhile, but such bonus offersare far and few between.
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Forgettingis the single worst way to spend (i.e., lose) your miles. While there are a few programs that offermiles that never expire, most only give you a certain amount of time (oftenonly 12 months) to use them before they are forfeited. Most programs keep miles/points alive when customersmake purchases that earn additional rewards through the travel program inquestion.
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Customerswho do not plan to fly before their miles will expire should look on theirairlines websites to see if there is a shopping link that will generateadditional miles for any purchases made via that site.
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Do themath before being seduced by offers in the mail to redeem your miles/points forexperiences. A little research oftenshows that the opportunities to try things like driving a real stock car orgoing for a hot air balloon ride is valued at one cent per mile. Your goal should be to redeem miles/pointsfor as close as possible to two cents per mile/point and never for less thanone cent.
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Do nottry to accumulate miles/points in the same manner that you save money at abank. Miles and points tend to bedevalued over time. You will benefitmore from redeeming rewards when you come across offers that value yourmiles/points close to, or above, two cents each.
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Oftenthe best value rewards can be found by looking into seat upgrades on long flights(usually international ones) or hotel rooms that cost much more than you wouldusually be willing to spend.
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