redeeming miles for products
 

I have collected some miles from various airlines with whom I no longer fly. I hate to see these miles go to waste. I am wondering how and where can I redeem these miles for products such as magazines or books? Thanks in advance for any inputs.

I've gotten mailings from airlines, usually around November when I had miles that were going to expire, with subscription offers. Try calling the ones you have miles with to see if they have anything like that out of season.

Another option is to switch them into Hilton HHonors points if those airlines are in HH. (Join if you haven't. You may even stay at a Hilton someday.) You lose some value in the conversion, but HH points don't expire, and pooling all your odds and ends might get you an award. Hilton's Web site has specifics.

I am no longer flying on business and therefore have several airlines miles in various accounts. With the use of switching phone cos, signing up and using visa cards and the previously mentioned conversion to hotel points most accounts can be used or brought up to a ticket level.

It seem that the magazine deals are unsolicited and meant to be that way. I have received three. One was magazines for points and could have been of value. The second was magazines for points BUT required payment of $2 per magazine selected. A third offered other items for little points BUT too much money!!!

I do not believe Hilton points are never expire as previously mentioned. The can be cancelled if you do not stay in one, for I believe 3 years.

Another idea:

If you are getting close to an award, top off your account (with Amex, DC, long-distance switching, etc) and cash 'em in through a travel broker. You can get around 1-1.5 cents per mile by selling the awards.

I'm not a broker, just a disinterested observer. For a listing of several, go to http://www.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Companies/Travel/Frequent_Travel_Programmes/

Please note that IT IS ILLEGAL TO DO THIS...
not necessarily in the legislative sense, but as far as the airlines are concerned... don't do it to any airline with which you want to maintain a good relationship...

with many airline-ff-programs you can give them to charities - why not?

If you have birthdays or special occassions coming up... a subscription to one's favorite magazine might make a great gift!

A really noble gesture is to give the miles to a charity to let some poor child in need of care and his/her family to fly to their destination. I think that's one of the best programs for FF miles! Sometimes I give a few hundred just to help someone. CATMAN

ILLEGAL in the sense that an airline "with whom demeter no longer flies" might get a little upset?

If demeter no longer flies an airline, or does so very rarely (i.e., not enough for any elite benefits), there is not one reason why demeter shouldn't sell the miles.

What about the legality of offering someone frequent flier miles with no intention of ever letting them be redeemed? If the latest airline consumer bill passes (a longshot), the law will shift dramatically to the flier. I've got >10^5 airline miles that I can't get redeemed for flights that I want.

Hey, thanks for the great idea. I think I will just donate my miles to a charity....

I miss my subscription to The Economist. Anyone know of miles-for-mags offers that include The Economist?

I would prefer to use AA, UA, DL, or TWA miles.

Thanks!

Donating miles to charity gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling. Good on you, demeter!

First--this is a great site...I've been watching and reading for months...but this is my *first* post.

I registered with Milepoint.com before it even became a site because I heard about it through a friend in Mpls. They started with just a few partners but I see now they've gotten quite a few more. Their site
allows you to consolidate points from various frequency programs. In their marketing speak...they turn miles into money.

I personally haven't used it, although all my mileage programs are registered and it's kinda neat to see how much in $$ Milepoint says they are worth. For some shopping you can only use 20% of the cost in miles, but I do know they accept 100% miles for magazines.

Sorry Juanvaldez...I just looked and the Economist is not on their list.