Air miles reward program

The reason I love my air miles reward program so much is that I am an upgrade junkie.

On almost all the different programs you will get maximum value by using your miles for upgrades.

However, no matter whether you prefer upgrades, cheaper business travel or free vacations, smart consumers can save money by carefully selecting the most suitable air miles reward progam.

Often we use this phrase generically, but "Air Miles Reward Program" is actually the registered proprietary business name for Canada's largest, market leading flyer miles plan. Rather than originating as a joint credit card plan with a major card issuer, Air Miles was started in partnership with an advertising agency. You can lean more in this Wikipedia article about the Air Miles program.

Air miles reward program can get you to Paris

Credit cards comparisons are critical to figuring out the best air miles reward program because each program is slightly different:

1. Some cards are issued via a particular airline. The downside with such schemes are points can only be used with a particular airline, for example Delta.

2. Certain of the airmiles rewards cards issued by the banks can be used by a wider range of airlines. Obviously this extra flexibility is great, but often comes at the cost of other restrictions we will discuss in a moment.

3. The fine print differs dramatically! By this I mean that every air miles reward program awards you a different amount of points/miles per dollar spent with your credit card. And to further complicate things, the number of points required for the same flight varies by airline scheme, even when the route is identical and they are codeshare flights.

The majority of frequent flyers could double their benefits if they understood exactly how each scheme works. A great example is American Airlines versus Qantas. You can fly on the same Qantas jet from LA to Sydney as either an American Airlines or a Qantas customer. This is because these two airlines codeshare. The kicker is that a member of the American Airlines loyalty scheme gets a much better deal than a Qantas frequent flyer with far more miles rewarded free for fewer points.

When searching for the best air mile credit card there are four main things to watch out for:

1. Blackout dates: Some schemes do not provide any reward (points based) flights during peak times such as popular holidays. This means that if you need your points in order to visit your Grandma for Thanksgiving you may never get the benefit of all your points.

2. Expiration dates: If you are not a high roller, the expiration dates can really kill you. Sometimes points expire after a certain period and you need to start all over again. These points are effectively wasted and such an approach makes it dificult for a modest spender to ever accumulate enough points to benefit.

3. Poor seat availability: Always one to watch for! Lately it seems as if all the airlines are allocating fewer and fewer seats on any flight for rewards customers. This means that you need to be flexible or book a long way in advance. Never count on being able to use your hard earned points for spontaneous or emergency travel.

4. TRUE value for money: This is the hardest one to advise on as individual circumstances vary so much. Currently credit cards charge different interest rates to different customers. A customer with a great FICO score typically pays a lower APR than a customer with a lower credit score. Each consumer needs to look at the interest charges and any annual fees and decide if the "free" flights are really worth it. For example, a low fixed rate card like a Pulaski Bank credit card may save you more money over the course of the year, giving you enough in cash saved to simply go out and buy a great priced ticket.

What do I mean? Imagine that it takes a card user two years to earn enough points (miles) for a "free" ticket worth $500. If the cosumer maintained a $2,000 on their card over those two years, with an APR of 14.99% and a $75 annual fee, it is actually costing around $750 to be "rewarded" with a $500 flight. The $500 flight leaves you with a net expense of $250. However a low APR of 9.99% and no annual fee would cost $400 instead of $750 in charges over the same two years. In this scenario the same $500 flight really only costs you $150 because you have saved $350 in finance charges. You are effectively running your own personal rewards scheme with no blackout dates and no danger of points expiring.

The deciding factor will be personal and the best deal will vary based on:

1. How much do you charge each year?

2. How much do you travel each year?

3. Do you usually carry a balance or pay in full?

4. What is the absolute best APR you can get?

5. Which airlines service my region? There is no point earning credit cards airmiles on American Airlines if you live in Tallahassee or some other city that American Airlines doesn't fly to.

best air miles reward program from Discover

If I did have to suggest the best air miles reward program, I would say find a flexible air miles reward program that gives you the most opportunities for travel with the fewest strings attached.

This where credit cards comparisons comes in!

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) makes available some excellent publications and interative tools for choosing the best air miles program. ALL CONSUMERS SHOULD REVIEW THIS INFORMATION!

It is helpful to the US and Australia as well as Canada.

And note: many commentators say the average air miles reward program is a lousy idea.

However, if you are a frequent flyer and usually pay your balance in full each month, then an air miles reward program should be an important element in your credit strategy.

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