By Dan Schlossberg
ConsumerAffairs.com
February 1, 2007
Frequent flyer miles have all the stability of a Lorna Doone in a hurricane.
Originally created as a good-will gimmick to lure and retain customers, they once yielded a free round-trip ticket every 20,000 miles.
Because so many people traveled so often, most carriers soon boosted the minimum to 25,000. And virtually all provided such limited seating and so many caveats that redemption became the consumer version of Mission Impossible.
Without a Saturday night stayover, for example, many airlines require double miles (50,000 instead of 25,000).
Others have different levels of frequent-flyer seating, many requiring expenditure of more miles on a trip where 20,000 or 25,000 once sufficed.
The imposition of expiration dates also clubbed consumers over the head. Although Aloha and Continental miles don't expire, others disappear into cyber oblivion without passing GO or collecting $200.
Even passenger-friendly JetBlue is quick to pull the plug, wiping out miles a year after they are earned. AirTran does the same thing.
Inactivity over a set length of time kills miles almost everywhere: on US Airways after 18 months and Delta, Frontier, ATA, and Southwest after two years. The cutoff date is three years for American, Midwest, and Hawaiian, while United is chopping its old 36-month rule in half by year's end.
Since mileage redemption has become difficult, some carriers offer customers other options, from online product purchases to magazine subscriptions, that will keep dividend miles alive. Others allow customers to reinstate inactive accounts for a price, such as US Airways' $50 processing fee.
Passengers perplexed by constant changes in frequent flyer rules are also stymied by the fact that they don't always fly the same airline. That's especially true for those living in large metro areas, such as New York or Chicago, where there are many flight choices.
A number of credit-card companies have responded to that dilemma by creating mileage accounts good for any airline at any time, without the blackout dates that infuriate frequent flyers married to a single carrier.
Another hassle for frequent flyers comes from the Internal Revenue Service, which may impose a tax on a supposedly-free ticket. That practice is not universal, however.
What is universal is the frustration of finding free seats on packed planes just as airline mergers, bankruptcies, and flight reductions cause a decrease in the overall number of available seats. Fewer seats means less room for frequent flyers.
