In the past, air mile programs were simple to understand--earn miles by flying, then exchange earned miles for free flights. However, in recent times, the air mile industry has exploded, and now there is a confusing mix of air mile earning and redemption opportunities for consumers. Miles can now be earned through many non-flight activities, such as shopping or opening bank accounts, and miles can be "spent" on everything from hotel rooms to golf clubs. Comparing air mile programs now involves much more than simply looking at flight redemption matrices.
Research earning opportunities. Mileage programs used to be simple--you fly one mile, you earn one mile. But now airlines have varying rules on what qualifies for mileage. For example, while some expensive fares, such as first or business class, may qualify for extra mileage, some discounted fares no longer earn any mileage at all. Part of the reason for this is there are extra opportunities to earn miles that have nothing to do with flying. Many retailers offer three, four or even five or more air miles for every dollar spent in their online stores. Oftentimes, airlines run special promotions and offer bonus miles for certain non-air purchases made with their preferred vendors. The more promotions and additional earning opportunities an air mile program can offer, the better (see reference 1).
Analyze the redemption options. While opportunities to earn miles are rising, the number of miles it takes to purchase a flight are increasing as well. The industry standard for a domestic roundtrip flight used to be 25,000 miles. Nowadays, depending on the length of flight, how far in advance the ticket is purchased, and how popular the route is, that same ticket may range anywhere from 15,000 miles to more than 40,000. Try to find a program with the smallest redemption amounts on the routes you fly--and this includes internationally, where the number of miles per ticket still varies among carriers. Additionally, examine the availability of free seats on the various carriers; some airlines are severely restricting the number of tickets per flight that can be bought using air miles, while some still offer free tickets if there are available seats on a flight.
Check for airline partners and alliances. Regardless of seat pricing and availability, if an airline doesn't fly where you want to go, that air mile program will be worthless to you. Fortunately, the trend in air mile programs has been for airlines to partner up into alliances, in which you can earn--and redeem--air miles on any airline in the group. For example, if you are a member of United Airline's popular Mileage Plus program, you can earn and redeem air miles on any of the 26 "Star Alliance" member airlines, which include such prestigious lines as Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand (see reference 2). Similar alliances exist between domestic and foreign airlines, such as the 11-member "SkyTeam" alliance, featuring Delta and Korean Airlines, or the 11-strong "oneworld" alliance, anchored by British Airways and American Airlines (see reference 3, resource 1).
