Budget Travel, March 2007 issue has a timely article on how to keep your miles accounts active. I'm sure much, if not all of this, is posted in individual airline forums, but I haven't seen it all. Best method I spotted was a $0.19 photo from Shutterfly to keep a Delta Skymiles account active for another 2 years.

But shipping of 1 photo at Shutterfly is $1.79, according to their pricing sheet.

I refreshed my daughter's USAirways account for 18 months with a $0.99 iTunes purchase.

I think the problem is for most people's expiring accounts is that they miss the deadline and don't see/get the correspondance that their miles are expiring...

I got several notes, both email and snail mail last year, from US Air, warning me. I give them a lot of credit for this - and I only had a few thousand in that account.

I ordered a magazine.

I tried to order a magazine from USAirways but could not find where to do that. Apart from free flights or upgrades I could not find any other way of spending the miles.
help.
thanks

Same here; I'm not a big USAirways flyer, but I'd like to keep the miles I have, and I'd rather spend a miles than spend a few dollars. But thus far I can't find a way to do that. May have to sign up with Itunes or something.

iTunes still cost dollars, or cents. Go to the Mall http://www.skymall.com/usairwaysmilesmall/homepage.htm and spend a couple bucks once a year and your miles will never expire.

For each miles account you have, sign up a different credit card on idine with that miles account number. I never go to a restaurant because it participates, but pick one up every month or two by accident.

In my case, one of the snail-mail pieces I got warning of the impending expiration included a form to mail back to order, and even suggested that as a way to keep the account alive.

Not sure about doing it online...

I donated 1000 miles on the US Airways site. The deadline came and went and I still have my miles, so it must have worked.

Hmm...good idea.

I guess I shouldn't get so exercised over how to retain the miles....they're the result of 1 flight 18 months ago; I'm typically a Delta flyer. Still....it kills me to lose them, so I'll probably do what you suggest.

OK, ... does all this mean anyway?

First, some info:

My wife has had the Chase Visa account posting miles into MP and her last post was in Jan/Feb and she now has 35,555k. This is fine, btw, because someday she can use it to take a trip to Hawaii or something. (yeah, right. As IF there will be econ FF seats avail!)

Anyway, here below is her current balance and other info, and the text/format from the front page of how pretty much everyone's UA account looks online:

My mileage summary
Account summary
Account number: XXXXXXXXX
Membership level: Member
Current redeemable miles balance: 35,555
Year to date Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM) 0
Year to date Elite Qualifying Segments (EQS) 0
Lifetime United flight miles: 31,189
Redeemable miles expiration date: Jan 31, 2010

Please note that if your expiration date is after 12/31/07, your new expiration date will be 18 months after your last activity. Activity includes flying, redeeming miles, using your Mileage Plus Visa and more.

OK, so, if she does NOTHING with her UA account starting right now, then 18 months from right now (Feb 2007) is August 2008, right?

WHAT then, is "Redeemable miles expiration date: Jan 31, 2010???"
Is that like TOTALLY confusing to the layperson or what?

I mean WE here in FT know how to continuously check our accounts and calculate miles and activity within the accounts of loved ones and all, but ...!!!!!!

To me, it looks like they expire so far off she would not have to do anything until HAL predicts the coming of a second sun!

Yes, Aug. 2008. Basically UA hasn't updated expiration dates on their website yet and added a note to give you a heads-up. At least they seem to be emailing people about the upcoming change (unlike DL).

seems to me it's a lot harder to email an entire database than it is to fix an automated function field that relates to one's own account details. In other words, why cant UA just make it so if your last activity is Feb 07, that "redeemable" note at the end calculates 18 months out from there?

Oh wait, it's an airline. I forgot. Sorry

They are doing both. I don't know if you've worked on software, but adding a note is a quick way to address a problem when there isn't time to fix and test it properly.