How to Manage Family Points
Feb 25, 2019, 8:20 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 6
How to Manage Family Points
Our family only flies about once a year on vacation and at least on the few airlines I've flown everyone has to have their own miles account and there is a good chance we won't fly that airline again for a couple years and their points expire. For a while I was trying to do all the little promos, dinning etc. to keep all their miles alive but it just got to be too much trying to keep four different accounts alive for two or three different airlines. Is there any better way to do this? Can the points be rolled into one somehow? I still don't understand why I can't get all the miles when I am the one buying all the tickets.
Feb 25, 2019, 8:26 am
#2
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Our family only flies about once a year on vacation and at least on the few airlines I've flown everyone has to have their own miles account and there is a good chance we won't fly that airline again for a couple years and their points expire. For a while I was trying to do all the little promos, dinning etc. to keep all their miles alive but it just got to be too much trying to keep four different accounts alive for two or three different airlines. Is there any better way to do this? Can the points be rolled into one somehow? I still don't understand why I can't get all the miles when I am the one buying all the tickets.
Certain programs have pooling such as JetBlue, and Delta miles never expire. Otherwise, combining miles across different programs are not possible.
Feb 25, 2019, 8:39 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 6
I never asked about combining mile across different programs. I just wanted to consolidate the points from my wife and kids into my account for that program so I only have one account's points to keep alive instead of four for each airline we fly.
Feb 25, 2019, 8:40 am
#4
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Most programs have a way for you to give miles to another member. It's not free. The cost of the transfer usually makes this a poor choice unless you need to transfer just a few miles to "top up" one account for an award; if you have the time and do a bit of research, you can often earn more miles for less money by getting on a plane. Still, it counts as activity for both accounts, so transferring the minimum number of miles can also be a way to extend expiration dates.
Feb 25, 2019, 9:30 am
#5
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We are flyers. The actual keyword here is frequent. If you're going to be a smart ... at least do it right.
I never asked about combining mile across different programs. I just wanted to consolidate the points from my wife and kids into my account for that program so I only have one account's points to keep alive instead of four for each airline we fly.
I never asked about combining mile across different programs. I just wanted to consolidate the points from my wife and kids into my account for that program so I only have one account's points to keep alive instead of four for each airline we fly.
Feb 25, 2019, 10:15 am
#6
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: South Park, Metropolis
Programs: AA LT PLT 3MM, Hilton/Marriott/SPG/Club Carlson GLD, IHG PLT
Posts: 4,608
May I suggest that you monitor your families account with Awardwallet, it will give you the expiration time in a simple and easy format to view. This will help you in doing the activities needed to extend the expiration date. If you are not that "frequent" of a traveler, it will certainly take time to build up the miles or points that will make it worthwhile for redemption. Not knowing where you are flying, perhaps see if one the household or polling accounts previously mentioned might be an option for you. Good luck.
Feb 25, 2019, 10:18 am
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 6
Thank you for the replies. One of the airlines we've flown on is jetBlue which I did find lets you pool your points and I did that. The airline we have the most points with is United. Is there anything I can do to combine those points or accounts somehow or easy way to keep activity on all the accounts besides flying? I do the dinning and shopping but I found it hard to do it on four accounts.
Feb 25, 2019, 10:23 am
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 6
May I suggest that you monitor your families account with Awardwallet, it will give you the expiration time in a simple and easy format to view. This will help you in doing the activities needed to extend the expiration date. If you are not that "frequent" of a traveler, it will certainly take time to build up the miles or points that will make it worthwhile for redemption. Not knowing where you are flying, perhaps see if one the household or polling accounts previously mentioned might be an option for you. Good luck.
Feb 25, 2019, 10:32 am
#9
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: South Park, Metropolis
Programs: AA LT PLT 3MM, Hilton/Marriott/SPG/Club Carlson GLD, IHG PLT
Posts: 4,608
Thank you for the replies. One of the airlines we've flown on is jetBlue which I did find lets you pool your points and I did that. The airline we have the most points with is United. Is there anything I can do to combine those points or accounts somehow or easy way to keep activity on all the accounts besides flying? I do the dinning and shopping but I found it hard to do it on four accounts.
Feb 25, 2019, 12:21 pm
#10
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As above, some ffp's allow miles to transferred at a cost. For most(all?) is poor value.
How many UA ff miles? Does any account have enough ff miles to be redeemed?
For UA keep doing what you are doing. Not many other options
UA thread Consolidated "How to Keep/Refresh Expiring Miles" Thread
Expiry thread Miles/Points that Do and Don't Expire. Click to open the wiki.
Feb 25, 2019, 2:54 pm
#11
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Thank you for the replies. One of the airlines we've flown on is jetBlue which I did find lets you pool your points and I did that. The airline we have the most points with is United. Is there anything I can do to combine those points or accounts somehow or easy way to keep activity on all the accounts besides flying? I do the dinning and shopping but I found it hard to do it on four accounts.
Feb 25, 2019, 4:14 pm
#12
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We are flyers. The actual keyword here is frequent. If you're going to be a smart ... at least do it right.
I never asked about combining mile across different programs. I just wanted to consolidate the points from my wife and kids into my account for that program so I only have one account's points to keep alive instead of four for each airline we fly.
I never asked about combining mile across different programs. I just wanted to consolidate the points from my wife and kids into my account for that program so I only have one account's points to keep alive instead of four for each airline we fly.
.
Frequent is subjective.
You certainly weren't clear about consolidation, whether amongst the family or across various platform:
keep four different accounts alive for two or three different airlines. Is there any better way to do this? Can the points be rolled into one somehow?
Feb 25, 2019, 5:01 pm
#13
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Feb 26, 2019, 10:00 am
#14
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