If you've read a few of my posts, or looked at some of my photos you
might get the impression that I travel a fair bit. And I won't deny it;
my butt was in airplane seats last year for the equivalent of 4+ trips
around the globe. And yeah, I get some benefits for flying that much - I
spent probably 16,000 miles in first or business class, which is a lot
more than I paid for. :)
Let's say you're not like me. You're... sane. You don't set foot on four
different continents in under three weeks. You don't think it weird to
stay home for more than 3 weeks at a time. Airline employees don't greet
you with hugs. Most (though not all) of my contacts fall into this
"sane" category.
But on the other hand... maybe you're a little envious of the perks.
Maybe the idea of flying across the country in first class for little
more reason than a birthday party appeals to you.
The good news is, you can get "free" flights - you pay only the taxes
and fees, which for a round-trip within the United States are about $10!
- without even flying. And I'm going to explain exactly how. I'm
using Northwest Airlines as an example, because I fly Northwest and its
partners (like Continental, KLM, Air France, Alitalia, China Southern,
Hawaiian Airlines, Kenya Airways) most of the time... but you can do all
this on just about any airline that goes where you want to go, or has
partners that do.
Step One
Get yourself a frequent flyer account already! This shouldn't take more
than 5 minutes, and costs you absolutely nothing. You're going to use it
to accumulate miles (which might be called credits, or points, or
whatever.) Actually, you should get a minimum of three accounts - one on
a carrier in each of the three major global alliances. In my case,
Northwest is in the
SkyTeam alliance, but I also have accounts with
American (in Oneworld) and
United (in StarAlliance) - and I have a fourth account with
Hawaiian Airlines, since I do live in Hawaii sometimes.
Why three or more accounts? Well, there have been, and will be, times
where for whatever reason, I can't fly Northwest, or anyone else in
SkyTeam. I probably wind up flying United or other StarAlliance airlines
at least once every year, and the same goes for American and its
Oneworld partners. By having one account for each alliance, I can ensure
that miles are being squirrelled away somewhere every time I take a
flight. Sure, they add up slower in those other accounts... but they do
add up.
Of course, if you're somewhere other than the United States, your
choices will differ. For example, in Nairobi, you'd probably opt for KLM
or Kenyan to collect your SkyTeam miles, SouthAfrican for StarAlliance,
and British Airways for Oneworld.
For best results, you're going to need to have a favorite airline (or
alliance). That way, you can direct most of your miles to one place, and
have them pile up faster. Please be smart about this and pick an
airline that goes places you want to go, or has partners that do! There
are other factors you can consider - I chose Northwest partly because of
the benefits its frequent flyer program provides. But then, I am a
frequent flyer, and if you're trying to earn free flights without
flying, it's safe to say you're probably not.
If your favorite airline isn't allied or partnered with others
worldwide, you can either find one that is, or content yourself with
having a geographically limited range. For example, if you prefer
Southwest or ATA, you're basically limited to flying within the United
States, since they only partner with each other.
Step Two
Look at your airline's web site to see what opportunities you have to
earn miles at no cost. Last year, I earned 300 miles for little
customer-education quizzes on Northwest's web site, 500 miles for taking
surveys online, and 1,000 miles for receiving email notifications from
Northwest (like a monthly statement of my account, among other things).
Step Three
Learn about what non-air partners your airline offers. In my case,
Northwest has partner deals with somewhere over 100 companies including
four different car-rental chains and more hotels than I can even count.
If I do business with any of them, ta-da, more miles accumulate in my
account.
Step Four
If you can get something for the same price from a partner or a
non-partner, go with the partner. And if you can get it for the same
price from the same place, but get miles by going through a "mall" set
up by the airline, do that. I know, this is a no-brainer, but I have to
remind myself to do this sometimes! Spend exactly the same, but get
miles, good deal.
Step Five
Get a mileage credit card from your favorite airline, and use it to buy
the things you'd use any other credit card to buy. You'll probably get
anywhere up to about 15,000 miles just for signing up and using the card
once, and most cards will give you at least a mile per dollar spent.
Ultimately, just using a mileage credit card to buy the things you
already buy with a credit card is probably the easiest way to earn miles
without flying, and will earn you the most. And if you're buying things
from companies that are partnered with your airline, you'll get more
miles piled on top of that - sometimes as many as ten miles per dollar
spent.
Examples
If I want to fly round-trip from Philadelphia to Portland, Oregon on
Northwest (why? I don't know!) later this year, I'd probably spend about
$500-$600. But if I have 25,000 miles in my account (which I could earn
entirely through non-flying activities), I can get the same ticket for
an airfare of zero dollars, paying only the taxes and fees of $10. Same
ticket, same flights, same seats. (If I saved up more miles, I could
even get a first-class seat... for the same $10!)
If I had remembered to check the partner listings I mentioned above (I
didn't), I would have known that I could sign up to earn miles when I
stayed at the Best Western in Guangzhou twice last month, and instead of
just earning about 135 miles for the actual cost of the stays, would
have earned an extra 500 miles.
If I decided to buy a new computer next month, I could spend $600 at the
Apple Store using my Northwest credit card, and earn 600 miles... but
if I went through the "mall" I mentioned above, I'd get an extra 2 miles
per dollar spent, for a total of 1800 miles.
So... doing the same things I (or you) always do... but just being a
little more aware of exactly how those things are being done, using a
certain card, shopping carefully... can really pay off.
