Airport Avenger: Tips and Top Secrets for Airlines, Airfares, Fees, Security and Cancelations

Airlines have been trying to lure and keep customers for more than 30 years with various frequent-flier and rewards programs. Almost all major airlines in the world—and some of the smaller ones—have them. The goal is simple: Keep the customers coming back by giving them a break. Or at least make it seem like you’re giving away something for nothing.

Fliers have bought into these programs big time. There are about 10 trillion frequent flier miles accumulated at airlines around the world. That's a lot of miles. In fact it's almost half-way to the nearest star, which is about four light years away.

You can accumulate thousands of miles by flying, staying at certain hotels, renting a car or just using the right credit card.


Airlines have branded credit cards with American Express, MasterCard and others that award you miles every time you buy qualified items. You generally need tens of thousands of miles to collect something really decent, like a free roundtrip.

You might get a pitch for an airline credit card that sounds terrific. Be sure to read the fine print. Delta, for example, recently offered 25,000 miles, four one-day passes to its airport club and a $99 coupon that someone flying with you can use when you pay full fare, if you sign up for the Gold Delta SkyMiles Card it has with American Express.

The catch? The card is free for the first year, after that you pay a $95 annual fee. That's pretty steep for a credt card when there are plenty of no-fee cards. And that coupon is available only after you renew for a year. So your annual fee actually pays for the partially free ride.

Let the flier beware.

You’d think travelers would be eager to cash in frequent-flier miles, especially in tough economic times. They are. But rewards and upgrades are actually down. That’s because airlines are making it harder to cash in those miles or are offering alternatives like merchandise and restaurant meals instead of flights.

Airlines have reduced flights and planes are fuller. Since only a limited number of frequent-flier seats are offered, it’s tougher to find those seats on the flights you want, when you want to fly. But you can still get free flights and upgrades by using our tips and top secrets.

More tips and top secrets about frequent-flier miles:

Tight Seats

Hidden Costs

Frequent-Flier Programs