How To Get And Use Airline Miles

You hear about miles all the time. I know before I used them I thought they were a waste. It seemed like it took forever to get enough miles to go anywhere decent and the process was confusing. Well now that I have used miles for a few years I understand a lot more about them and see the value in them.  Here is my guide on how to get and use airline miles.

1. Research credit cards – Gaining miles is all about the credit card. Research each of the different cards and look for the one giving the best sign-up reward. Usually the best deals are sign up and get 50,000 miles after spending $3,000 in three months. If you don’t see any cards giving away 50,000 miles sit back and wait because they will put that offer out again soon. My personal favorite miles card is the United MileagePlus card. It’s flexible, I haven’t found a place where it won’t get me, free baggage, and I got 50,000 miles when I signed up.
2.  Use that credit card for everything – Once you have a credit card use it for everything. I use my credit card for every purchase I have. I also PAY IT OFF WEEKLY. Most cards require you to spend for example $3,000 in 3 months in order to receive the sign-up miles. This is easy when you use your credit card to buy everything. Rent or mortgage alone will take care of that. This also helps rack up those miles.
3. Use all benefits of the credit card – Don’t forget to look in to the other benefits with your miles card. For instance most have a reward where if you book any travel with that card you get to check one bag free. Some cards give you access to their clubs once a year and who knows what else you might find.
4. Research cost(in miles) of flights – Once you have the card look at how many miles it takes to get somewhere you’d like to go. This way you know how many miles you need to save up.
5. Purchasing flights using miles – Once you have a place and an idea of where you want to go purchase(in miles) your flights ASAP. The miles rarely if ever drop on flights. Instead they disappear when that plane is full. Be flexible and look at a calendar view. Many times the price(in miles) drops a lot if you leave a day or to earlier or later and same with return.
6. What to do if you don’t have enough miles for an upcoming trip – If you would like to purchase a trip but don’t have enough miles consider buying more. If you are just under it may be worth it to purchase that last little bit. If you are significantly under then consider using your miles for a one way flight and purchasing(with money) your flight back.

Hope this helps! If I am missing any tips you know of please share.