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Budget Travel

Maximize Savings: The Benefits of Collecting Miles with Airline Loyalty Programs

23 Aug 2024

If you find flying a costly affair, you can choose to enroll in an airline loyalty program, which is one of the best ways to lower your airfare. This will work more for you if you fly with a single airline again and again. Almost every airline in the world has its loyalty program, often called a frequent flyers program. Their part of the deal is that they expect it to make passengers choose them over their competitor airlines. The way these points work is that you can use these to pay part or full air ticket prices. You can also use these for other travel-related activities with partners of these airlines.

Making the best use of your money

There are as many loyalty programs as many airlines are out there and they have given these fancy names to not just attract your attention but to describe what is on offer. Some airlines will be offering these in association with their partner airlines, so you will be earning points no matter which one of these you fly with. These will work particularly when you are flying internationally to destinations that the airline you fly regularly with cannot reach. These programs will also be more useful to those who fly more often than those who don’t as quite a few of the airlines will expect you to spend your points within a fixed period of time.

How to enroll in loyalty programs?

Most airlines will give you the option of registering for these online or when you are purchasing your air tickets. This will mean that you will not have to provide additional information other than what you will be providing for booking your flights. Once you do, you can expect to get weekly or daily emails with offers from the airlines, which can be for specific routes or destinations or there will be more generous discounts applicable to all flights you book with them. Of course, you will need to specify your Loyalty program registration number to make use of these discounts. Some airlines are now offering banking cards in association with some banks which you can use to make any kind of purchase and you will keep earning your points as you keep using this card.

So, what will your miles buy for you?

Most passengers will be expecting to use their frequent flyers miles for their air tickets. Though now the airlines will allow you to use your points with their partners offering accommodations and rides in cabs. Some airlines have gone even further and will allow you to use these points when you make a purchase from hundreds of retailers. You may feel that this will limit the way you can use your points, but it is better than not being able to use them at all for these commodities. These points will also allow you a lot of comfort at the airports too, for instance, if you have a certain number of points or more you will be allowed free access to the airline lounge at the airport.

What difference do the frequent flyer tiers make?

Every airline offering these programs will divide the passengers into different tiers, i.e. the more points you have the better tier you will be in terms of what you are offered. These are usually divided into a lower, medium, and highest tier. If you are in the highest tier you will be allowed more benefits like priority check-in and priority treatment while boarding or de-boarding. If you are in the higher tiers you can expect to earn more bonus points. You will also have the options for seat selection and for upgrading your seats if again you are in the higher tiers. The option of more free baggage will also depend on what tier you are in. You will also have the option of canceling or changing your flights without any charges if you have the right number of points. The same goes for free Wi-Fi connections and free meals or drinks. Even the emails you get with offers will be customized according to the tier you are in.

Which loyalty program is right for you?

Different airlines offer different benefits to those enrolled in their loyalty programs. There are some Online Travel Agencies out there that will offer similar points when you make your flight booking through them. You will have more choices for such programs if you can access a major airport offering flights from multiple airlines, than if you live in a remote city served by fewer airlines. It also depends on whether you prefer to fly with a budget airline or a major airline, i.e. what you wish to pay for your flights. The benefits associated with such programs from airlines change from time to time, so you may regret choosing one over the other later. So, you should get your priorities right and choose a loyalty program according to your spending preferences and what you expect from the flights.

Conclusion

If you get an email offer from any airline, you will notice that if they are offering discounts, they will be offering much more to those who are enrolled in their frequent flyers program, which clearly shows the advantage of doing this. If you are thinking of enrolling for these with different airlines, you should note that this will lower the advantages than if you follow such programs of just one airline. There is no harm in registering for these as there are only advantages and no disadvantages.

By FlightsChannel Team
Category
Featured Blog
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