Tips for Earning Quick Air Miles

Are you signed up for an airline rewards program? If not, then you are missing out on a lot of great benefits including affordable travel and upgrades. Many people don’t use their miles because they think it takes too long to get a reward. However, there are many ways that you can accrue air miles quickly, and they are easier than you think.

Choose the Right Program

One of the fastest ways to earn miles is by traveling via plane and getting air mile points for every mile that you fly. However, to earn the greatest number of miles, you have to be smart about which airline program you sign up for because if you sign up for a program, but you never fly, then you are wasting your time.

When you are researching these programs, ask the right questions:

Does this airline travel to the places that you go to the most?

Do you fly with one airline more often because you live near the hub?

Do you think you fly enough each year to get to elite status (that is when the miles pile up)?

Are you going to be serious about spending the air miles that you accrue when the time comes?

If you fly on one airline more often than others, then you can rack up miles quickly and use them to sit in first or business class as your reward.

Use Credit Cards

Here are the two most popular ways to earn miles: by flying and by using a qualified credit card to spend money on goods and services. Do some research to find the best rewards credit cards as some of them will even give you up to 100,000 miles just by signing up! After that, you can earn miles with every dollar that you spend.

Use this as your primary card for paying for groceries, school supplies, and meals, and you will really see the miles add up. You can even add your home expenses like the electric and cable bill on the credit card, and you will gain miles each month without even thinking about it.

Utilize Airline Partners

When you sign up for a rewards program with your favorite airline, look through their website for the popular retailers that they partner up with, companies like Target and Best Buy. When you shop through these partners, you can often get bonus miles, sometimes as much as 30 miles per every dollar that you spend. Some restaurants will also award you with five miles per dollar spent.

Buy the Miles You Need

If you are on a time crunch or you are taking an international flight, and you want to sit in an upper-class cabin, then you can even buy the extra miles that you need. Many different airlines partner with mileage sites and sell miles for as low as 1.6 cents per mile.

Take Advantage of Promotions

Do yourself a favor and sign up for the email alerts from your favorite airline. In between the advertisements you might receive, they will also send out promotions such as getting extra points for signing up for a newsletter or playing online sweepstakes.

Airlines are happy to give away these miles, but it is up to you to spend them when you get enough for a reward, so they don’t go to waste.