How to Accumulate Airline Miles

Several friends have asked me before how to get more miles. I can be very obsessive with this subject since I am always trying to get a few extra miles. I've tried to explain this several times, but I probably overwhelm the person who asked with so much information. There are many ways to earn miles other than flying. Flying to Colombia only accumulates 3,000 miles round trip, so I would need to fly 10 times (round trip) to get an award ticket in low season. It took us over 2 years to accumulate 60,000 Delta SkyMiles (each) for our upcoming trip to Chile. Also, last year we used 45,000 American Airline's miles to fly to Hawaii for our honeymoon. I can't complain with the frequency of the awards flights that we've got in the past year.

The credit cards are a great way to get a lot of miles since most of them offer a big bonus when you open an account. If you are responsible and pay your balance every month this is really the best way to earn miles. However, I don't have a good history with keeping a low balance in my credit cards. That is why my latest obsession is with Delta since my bank has a debit card that accumulates miles. It is perfect not to pay the high interest and still earn miles. Delta is a little more "expensive" with their award tickets as you need to use more miles for a ticket compared to other airlines. I have been an American Airlines frequent flyer member for almost 8 years. I have earned many miles and several free tickets. I always try to use American Airlines. Sometimes, I have to fly to Colombia with Avianca because the price difference is extremely high. I have a frequent flyer number and several thousand miles with them as well.  The number of miles to redeem a ticket are the same, but the taxes with Avianca are $250 instead of $100 with American. Avianca's airplanes are better than American's, but I only claim the miles for a flight from Miami to Colombia since their hub is in Bogota, Colombia. As you can see, I am breaking the number 1 rule to earn miles quickly which is to be faithful to one airline. 

I use the dining rewards program constantly as well as the eshopping program. For the dining rewards all you have to do is register your credit cards and find restaurants that give you a number of miles (3 to 5) per dollar spent. This is probably the easiest way to get some extra miles in your account. American has the AAdvantage Dining Program and Delta has the Skymiles Dining. I tried registering my credit cards for both dining programs only to discover that you don't earn double miles for the same meal. They send bonus offers all the time. The shopping program is my favorite way to earn miles. I shop online a lot because of this. Instead of going to Barnes and Nobles to buy travel guides, I order them online and get 5 miles per dollar. Most retailers offer free shipping, so its only a matter of patience. Groupon is part of this program and with 8 miles per dollar is probably my favorite. You have to create a user name and password for both programs. Also, you have to always open this website first to log in, and get redirected to the retailer that you want. Delta has the SkyMiles shopping website. I haven't used it since I always see that AA offers more miles for the same retailers. Other airline programs also have the dinning and shopping programs, but I'm not sure how good they are. 

Using the airline partners is also a good way to earn miles. On our last trip to Ecuador we used LAN which is an AA partner, the miles were added to our AA account. I will continue to fly LAN as much as I can. Their seats are better than Delta’s or American’s because you get a personal TV with lots of movies and games options. Also, you can drink as much Chilean wine as you want for free. Avianca has the same seats with the personal TVs, but I prefer to accumulate AA miles. The only thing missing to make LAN my favorite airline is that they don't have direct flight to Cali, Colombia (my hometown). Not all partners give you miles just because you use them. I was convinced that I would get credit for the Hawaiian Airlines flights from California to Oahu (in 2008). When I asked for the credit, I found out that they will only credit the miles for inter-island flights not from the US mainland to Hawaii. I love Hawaiian Airlines, but I don't go to Hawaii often enough to open an account with them. Recently, I started booking rental cars using the AA website. I only earn about 50 to 250 miles per rental but it's a way to get closer to a free ticket. You can also book hotel rooms and get miles per every stay.

I used the AA mileage multiplier on my last trip to California. This is basically a way to buy the same amount of miles that you will be flying at a cheaper price. I think I paid around $70 for 2,500 miles. Not bad at all. I'm not sure if the other airlines have a similar program.

Hands down, American has the best value for their miles. I'm not saying that AA is the best airline but they do have a great program. I truly believe that the AA miles program is superior than SkyMiles. However, I will continue to earn miles for both. Tampa is not a hub for any airline, and that would probably win my loyalty forever. There aren't many direct international flights from TPA. I have to either stop in another airport or drive to Miami or Orlando. In the mean time, I am happy if once every 2 years I get one international free ticket from either American or Delta. Some people like to accumulate miles to reach higher member levels and get more benefits. Keep in mind that miles expire, but as long as you have some activity in 12 to 18 months they wont. Does anyone have any other tips to accumulate miles? I might be missing out on some.