MilesBuzz! - Any decent mileage swap programs out there ?

I stumbled across a site called POINTS.COM the other day that seems to exist solely to track and swap mileage between programs. It seemed like a really good idea until I did a trial run-through and it looked like it would take a 90% hit to swap miles from one program to another - i.e., 'swapping out' 11,000 miles from my Alaska Airlines account would only 'Swap In' 1100 miles to my American Airlines account.

Is this the norm for this sort of thing, or is this just a particularly disreputable site ? Any better deals out there for transactions like this?

With programs like NorthWest's Worldperks that work with a number of airlines, it no longer seems to make sense to maintain individual accounts for each airline. But what do I do with the existing miles ? Heck, I'd rather donate them to charity than take a 90% hit.

- FM -

Welcome to FT!

Most times you try to swich FF miles between programs, you will get hit with a large devaluation of miles, as you stated. :(

Also, as you stated, due to the large number of partners and alliances, it is easy to accumulate miles into a specific program so you can use them for awards.

And don't forget - with the numerous alliances, you can use the FF miles from one program to fly on another airline (in that alliance) ! :D Just this past September, I had to fly from PVD-PDX. I wanted to reduce my NW FF account. Of the 5 flights that I used, 4 were on partner airlines (DL and CO) - but I used only NW miles! :D

So unless you really want to take the large devaluation, I would not recommend a transfer of miles.

Welcome!

http://www.webflyer.com/programs/mileage_converter/ is your friend. You can track various ways to change from 1 program to another. Almost always, it's not worth it however...

When using the site, it's usually a good idea to put in a much larger number of miles than you actually have. Sometimes there are thresholds - above 20,000 miles you may get a better redemption for example. Depending on the circumstances, you may be able to boost up miles in 1 account to get to the next higher level.

Also, depending on why exactly you want to move them, you may not need to. You can redeem miles from Alaska Air for rewards on other airlines. Again, it takes more miles than you have, but there are ways to get miles...
http://www.alaskaair.com/mileageplan/AwardsUSACanada.asp

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