Agreed with the fellow FTers on this one. I have purchased frequent flyer miles at a discount (i.e. UA's promotion last Jan) but only did so knowing that I'll be using them for an extremely high value redemption (i.e. LH First class) in the immediate future that I would otherwise not pay out of pocket for. Airline program devaluations are common and Airlines and/or their programmes go bust somewhat regularly (just ask those who collected miles to Sun Country or AirBerlin's frequent flyer programme). Most importantly, how do you know you're using the correct airline/alliance for your needs? You may buy some UA points but suppose they don't have availability to where you want to go - then what's the value in the points?

A better strategy is to follow FT and in particular the MilageRun Deals forum as they'll often highlight fare sales to popular destinations worldwide. Lately we've been seeing flights to Europe in the $400s USD and to Asia in the $500-$600s USD which I suspect would be better value than if you were to use your purchased miles on a redemption. So long as you're flexible to where you want to go and when you want to go you'll always get a great deal (might take a lot of researching to find the sweet spot but can be done). Personally, I have a paid subscription to Scott's Cheap Flights (there are many others) which every day sends out fare deals from my home city. As a retiree you'll have the flexibility to travel on the drop of a hat if there's a great deal out there.

Keep in mind that airfare is only a portion of travel spend. Lodging is another sizeable expense which can often times be more than the airfare which airline miles generally won't help you with. As retirees you'll likely need to purchase travel insurance ($100s annually) since most credit card insurance programs conk out after 65 years of age. In addition you need to set aside an allowance for day-to-day spend which in many locations can be non-trivial (i.e. a Whopper combo is $15 USD in Switzerland). Ideally you want to take all of that into account as you make the booking (which you'll be able to do as a retiree) travelling to exotic destinations during low periods where both airfare and hotels are cheap.

I don't want to discourage anyone from travelling but we must all be honest with ourselves before we go out on a trip. The fact is travel ain't free regardless of what program you're enrolled in and how you use your miles - there will always be some cost above and beyond your typical day to day spend. Always assume and take that into account so you don't arrive back relaxed from a trip only to open a large credit card bill for expenses you failed to take into account from the get go. That being said, I travel a lot on points and paid tickets and have been judicious on where and how I spend my travel dollars to squeeze the most value out of the experience.

As others have noted many credit cards would allow you to rack up the miles and hotel points very quickly. Between sign up bonuses and credit card spend I've racked up around 121,500 Aeroplan points and around 60,000 British Airways Avios and another 25,000 SPG points (good for a week's stay at a Sheraton hotel in many locations). Many of these cards allow you to collect bonus miles (i.e. AmEx PRG earns 3 miles per $1 spent with airlines which IMHO is icing on the cake - what's better than being reward by your credit card for doing the things you love?). The key for me is to put literally everything I can on credit cards which is also a heck of a lot safer than debit cards or cash since there 0 liability. Even a $2 coffee I'll tap my card so I can earn those valuable points.

Hope that helps.

Safe Travels,

James