The Extra Mile

Call Home for Frequent Flyer Miles

Q&A: Frequent Flyer Miles Redeemable for Hotel Stays?

March 24, 2003 - Local, long distance, wireless... wherever and however you call, there are frequent flyer miles to be earned for staying in touch.

Until a year ago, MCI was the undisputed king of the miles-for-telecom hill, offering consumers miles in most major airline programs. But with the collapse of its parent company, WorldCom, MCI has ceded the mileage throne to AT&T, Nextel and Sprint.

AT&T
Through the programs of Alaska Airlines, American, Continental and Delta, AT&T offers five miles per $1 spent on a range of services (local, long distance, international, wireless, Internet access, calling cards, etc.), plus in some cases a sign-up bonus for new customers.

MCI
MCI remains a player in the mileage game, offering 3,000 sign-up miles plus five miles per $1 spent on long distance in the programs of British Airways, China Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Korean, Northwest, and Southwest.

Nextel
For Nextel wireless service, members of the programs of Northwest, Southwest, United and US Airways can earn 5,000 miles (or four Rapid Rewards credits in Southwest's case) for opening new accounts. No additional miles are awarded for ongoing service.

Sprint
Members of the programs of Alaska Airlines, America West, Midwest, United, US Airways and Virgin Atlantic can earn up to 5,000 bonus miles for signing up for Sprint long-distance service, plus an additional 1,000 miles for signing up online. Monthly phone fees earn five miles per $1 spent.

Sprint also offers a 5,000-mile bonus for new PCS wireless lines through the America West, United and US Airways programs, but no miles for recurring monthly charges.

Check your preferred program's website, in the "Telecom Partners" section, for more.

Current News & Offers

When e-tickets were introduced in the late 1990's, airlines used mileage bonuses to wean travelers away from paper tickets. Now that e-tickets are the norm, those mileage incentives have disappeared.

Next up in the high-tech pipeline, and another mileage opportunity for early adopters, is electronic check-in.

There are two versions of this emerging technology. One allows travelers to check in via the Internet, the other uses ATM-like kiosks in airport terminals. Both allow travelers to bypass lines at the ticket counter and at the gate.

American is offering AAdvantage members a one-time 500-mile bonus for checking in and printing a boarding pass online at http://www.aa.com through June 30.

At Delta, SkyMiles members who check in at a self-service kiosk through May 15 will receive 500 miles for their first check-in and an additional 100 miles for up to five subsequent check-ins.

Through April 30, Northwest customers can earn 1,000 WorldPerks miles the first time they check in a via the Internet or at an E-Service Center airport kiosk.

And at United, Mileage Plus members can earn 500 bonus miles the first time they check in at a United EasyCheck-in unit and 250 bonus miles for the next two check-ins.

Readers: Miles on their Minds

Question from Bob S.

I am trying to find out if you know of any frequent flyer programs that allow you to redeem miles for hotel stays. How would this work?

Answer

In the programs' early years, hotels participated as "earn and burn" partners, allowing frequent flyers to both earn miles for hotel stays and redeem miles for free nights. Today, hotel awards have all but disappeared, leaving very few options for using miles for hotel stays.

AA Vacations, American's packaged tour division, allows AAdvantage members to redeem miles, or a combination of miles and cash, for vacations which include flights and hotel accommodations. Call 1-800-321-2121 for more.

In a variation on the travel-package theme, members of Continental's OnePass program can bid their miles at OnePass auctions (http://continental.ebaytravel.com/) for trips including air and hotel.

Another option: convert miles from participating airlines into Hilton HHonors points, which can be redeemed for free stays at hotels in the Hilton family.

Precisely because hotel awards are so difficult to obtain with miles, many savvy travelers make it a point to earn points in the frequent-guest program of one or more of the major chains (Hilton, Marriott, Six Continents, Starwood). Those points can be redeemed readily for hotel stays.