I’ve concentrated my earning to 4 or 5 legacy airline programs and 1 hotel program. More that that seems impractical for me. We read here of people who have accumulated miles and points, usually via credit card bonuses, in many more programs than 4 or 5. Curious how they manage things.

I’m a rare business flyer and single without children and do not own a business. I’ve maintained the 50K elite level in UA for about 7-8 years via bona fide travel with occasional double/triple EQM promotions and a sporadic domestic MR or 2. Although I spend about 40-50 days away from home each year, only about 15 - 20 are in a points earning hotel, others are a week or 5 nights (with family or friends) in a condo or a resort hotel not offering points. At this point in my life I tend to be more of a saver (several million miles across 4 or 5 programs) than a spender; in the future (just like a retirement plan) that will change. Other than one time (first BA 100K a couple of years ago) I’ve never paid a credit card annual fee just to accumulate bonus miles in a program in which I had zero miles. I get cards with no annual fee or fee waived for 1 year and I much prefer (almost require) cards with reasonable spend thresholds. With about 15 open credit card accounts, I feel like I’m at the max I should have.

I’ve never pursued miles in many other programs; for example Jet Blue, Southwest, Alaska, Hawaiian, Citi Thank You, Capital One (not picking on any of them, just “for examples”). I realize we each must decide what’s “worthwhile” and what’s not. To me it doesn’t seem worth the dollars or the credit pull to spend $79 to get a 35,000 bonus in Hawaiian Airlines or 50000 in Southwest Airlines. Even a no annual fee card for a program in which I’m not active makes little sense to me. These days I only travel on award tickets for premium international travel which generally requires more than 35,000 or 50,000 miles. My domestic travel is paid travel in order to maintain status. I think that if I did get 35,000 XYZ Airline miles I would have to manage them only to avoid their expiration and they would eventually go unused.

I am most definitely a miles (near) fanatic, I just concentrate on a handful of programs and those other programs which allow me to transfer to my preferred programs. I’m wondering if I’m shortchanging myself. It doesn’t seem that I would be able to use and/or manage points and miles in 8 different airline programs and 3 or 4 different hotel programs. But perhaps I should expand my horizon and have miles in 3 or 4 other programs that are just waiting for a good use and perhaps I should have another handful of credit cards. Should I be accumulating miles just to accumulate miles, without any plan as to how to maintain and/or use those miles? I’d appreciate reading what others think, especially those in similar situations to mine. Thanks FT.

(To the moderator(s): This is absolutely all about earning miles. I respectfully request that it be allowed to remain on the MilesBuzz forum. Thank you.)

Not sure why you would want to accumulate miles just to have them. Isn't the point of accumulating miles/points to travel?

I am close to pulling the trigger on a huge trip on OW with miles I have been collecting for the last 4 years. I have just started collecting with US for a *A trip with the DW when the last kid leaves for college. Just having miles for the sake of having miles makes no sense.

I think while the OP has no immediate plans to redeem awards, he's planning on using them during retirement.

Thanks for the replies. A clarification or 2.

I should probably have written “Should I be accumulating miles in additional programs (“orphan” programs to me) just to accumulate miles, without any plan as to how to maintain and/or use those miles?”

And I’m not a complete miser. In the past few years I’ve redeemed miles for 5 different international premium awards. I wanted to imply that I don’t spend them as soon as I earn them and I want to have enough so that I don’t have to worry about award inflation or how many I need for a desired award.

The problem with having such a narrow vision of what is "worthwhile" is you may very well miss out on phenomenal deals. Capital One, for example, earlier this year had what I am convinced was the best deal ever for someone with your profile. They "matched" up to 100,000 of one's airline miles in a single program. Those capital one miles while not miles in the truest sense could be used for $1000 worth of paid flights/mileage running/hotels/rental cards/train tickets/taxis/anything that could arguably be travel related. Hardly chump change. Additionally you'll see other posters switching less needed airline miles to hotel miles or other items of value. So yes, you may be shortchanging yourself. It doesn't take *that* much work to keep track of your points, but to each his own.
That said, I'm not sure it is worth stockpiling for retirement or some such. Miles are a lesson in devaluation. Heck, I wouldn't count on any of the airlines as we know it necessarily to be around in 30-40 years.

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If you frequently rent cars, I would join one of the foreign airline FFPs, as they tend to have a much better earning rate from car rentals, and there's no excise tax offset to worry about. I regularly earn 1,000 miles in Virgin Atlantic's program for even one-day rentals with Hertz/Avis. And VS miles can be redeemed for travel on many domestic and international partners, with an inter-Island roundtrip on HA available for 6,000 miles in Coach, and 9,000 miles in First, for example.

I have not redeemed any of my VS miles yet, but it just seemed a waste to leave so many miles on the table when renting cars. (And Avis off-airport locations were not crediting to domestic FFPs, but do credit to foreign FFPs.)

I think you are shortchanging yourself by only collecting points in one hotel program. I think it is even more important to diversify hotel points than airline miles.

There's nothing wrong with concentrating on 4-5 frequent flyer programs, but keep an open mind and consider how credit card points can transfer to other programs, or cover other travel expenses like the Capital One Venture card. Only you can decide whether another credit card will help meet your travel goals.

Either your story is a thinly veiled brag or I'm just jealous....

I always figure you should know your travel goals before you pursue (rather than register for) any hotel/airline program. I register for every airline or hotel I ever use because I never know when that program will become useful and there's no reason to have wasted the flights/stays I've already made. Pursuing a program, however, means shifting spending patterns (not necessarily mileage/mattress runs). If a flight is $25 more expensive with one airline or my hotel night is $10 more expensive, but I would have flown/stayed anyway, then there is a value to the extra spending done now.

Essentially, that's my problem with mileage/mattress running. Running seems to imply that you've just spent several hundred (or thousands) of dollars that you wouldn't have otherwise spent. Shifting spending is different; I would have spent anyway, but I'm willing to pay the extra (insert acceptable amount here) to achieve a goal I might not otherwise.

My example: I had a number of spring/summer stays in 2011 I knew I needed to do. I shifted those to SPG because they were an option where I was traveling, and I had a specific purpose in mind--taking advantage of their Free Resort Night promotion to get a free night at the Turnberry Resort in Scotland, where I'd planned a trip in August, for every three nights I was already going to stay. So, maybe I spent an extra $200 over nine stays. At $450 per night at Turnberry, I was saving over a thousand dollars.

I understand your original use of the term "orphan." I'd suggest that knowing your short and long-term travel goals makes it a lot easier to understand that all programs may prove to be worthwhile orphans.