Tips for Keeping your Miles from Expiring

Frequent-flier airline miles tend to expire. While regular business travellers and weekend warriors don't have to worry about the expiration date, the occasional travellers might feel the pinch. These infrequent flyers can lose their airlines miles, which they have earned over the years post expiration. You do have an option to sell miles, though.

But don't you worry, since there are many options available to keep these airline miles active, even when you do not have plans to fly anytime soon. Use these savvy strategies that help to retain your miles with minimal efforts and expense.

1. Learn about the expiration terms:

Every airline has their own set of rules when it comes to air miles expiration dates. Each frequent-flier programs have their unique set of conditions which make it hard to keep track of the miles. Some plan has conditions which close when there's no activity in your account for a specified period. While some programs provide you with grace time. When you are clear about the terms and conditions, you can avoid the surprise of having your account closed down.

2. Take Flight:

This might sound too obvious, but this is the best possible way to make use of airline miles. There are two benefits to this - one, you get to fly for cheap. Two, you extend the life of your account. Each flight extends the expiration date of the airline miles.

3. Get an airline credit card:

Every time you sell airline miles or redeem as little as a single airline mile, your expiration date resets. That's why it can be extremely beneficial to carry an airline's credit card. Every time you buy something with the card, you earn miles for it, and thus resetting the account expiration clock. Plus, there are additional benefits like free checked bags and priority boarding that make your flying experience premium.

4. Redeem your miles:

You can redeem your airline miles by buying award tickets. This action also registers as account activity, further resetting your expiration clock. If you have been saving up your miles for quite some time and with the expiration date nearing, redeeming them will keep the rest of the miles active.

5. Sell your airline miles:

If you want to make a profit out of your accumulated miles, you can sell them for cash. Selling your airline miles can get you comfortable money, and you won't worry about those expiration dates anymore! You can even sell a part of your accumulated miles and keep the rest for future use.

6. Shopping portals:

There are plenty of shopping sites of airlines where you can earn miles by making online purchases. Many shopping portals are linked to major retailers and hundreds of other merchants. When you log into such a portal, you enter your frequent-flier number; then you select the merchant you would like to shop at, are redirected to its site, and can shop as you would normally. When you make your purchase, a cookie will register that you have come through your airline's portal and you will earn bonus miles on your transaction. This way, it's easy to make miles on your everyday purchases and keep your account active longer.

If you do not want your miles to expire, you just have to keep track of them. Many programs allow you to reset the expiration date only by having activity in the account. Make use of your miles before you lose them.