European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 23, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Travel tips maximize your by the Washington Post All major . Airlines and increasingly foreign carriers have established frequent flier mileage programs. You earn Points for the Miles you Fly with the airline and As the Points accumulate you can Exchange them for free tickets and upgrades to business class or first class. You also can earn mileage Points by using hotels and car rental firms affiliated. With frequent flier programs. In addition some airlines have links with charge card and credit card companies offering Miles for items you buy with the cards. Since Miles can accumulate quickly any. Traveler who flies regularly a even if Only once or twice a year a should join a frequent flier program. To do so simply Call the airline of your Choice. There is no fee. Fliers can join As Many frequent flier programs As they choose and Many business travellers belong to All of them. The mileage Points mount faster of course if you limit your flights to Only one or two airlines. If the Miles Are scattered in several programs you run the risk of seeing them expire before you have earned enough to qualify for a free ticket since the programs began More than a decade ago the rewards have become less generous and the trend May continue As the airlines struggle economically. Meanwhile some airlines Are More generous than others offering free trips for fewer mileage Points. Most airline frequent flier programs mail out notices to members detailing new mileage promotions although sometimes the information appears first in newspaper ads. Travellers also can keep tabs on the promotions by subscribing to one of several stateside based frequent flier publications. Included Are a Best fares at Telephone number 800-880-1234 a inside flyer Quot at 719-597-8889 and a the flyer s Edge Quot at 800-248-1826. A Telephone card is needed to Access most 800 numbers in the states and you will Likely be charged a fee for the Call when choosing a program a pick an airline that serves the destinations you Are most Likely to visit. A consider the airline s Reward Structure. On some airlines you earn a free Domestic ticket for fewer mileage Points than on others. You can qualify easily for first class upgrades on some. Airlines while other carriers seem to discourage upgrades. On some airlines mileage Points expire if you Don t use them within a specified number of years on other airlines Miles accumulate indefinitely. A if you have a specific goal a a free ticket to Alaska for example a make sure the airline flies there. A consider the airline s economic stability. If an airline goes bust your accumulated mileage could be worthless. Randy Petersen s the official frequent flyer Guidebook is a Good resource for frequent fliers intent on maximizing m i leage. The b go k Ca n so Meti m is be found at stateside bookstores or can be ordered by calling 800-487-8893. The following Are among the Book s tips a pay close attention to the minimum Miles an airline awards for Short flights. United offers 500 mileage Points for flights under 500 Miles in length Northwest gives 750 Miles for flights under 750 Miles and Delta has set its award at 1,000 Miles for flights under 1,000 Miles. If you Are booking a Short flight you obviously will earn More Miles by flying Delta. A Don t always Book the cheapest flight which might Cost More in the Long run. Instead look for other flights in the same Price Range with better mileage Point a awards. A. A amps Kan Georg a keep your own records of the mileage you be logged and when the airline s mileage statement arrives in the mail Check to make sure you have been credited with All the Miles you Are due. Petersen says airlines Don t always credit passengers s accounts properly. To make a claim for missed mileage you must have ticket receipts and boarding passes. A Book far ahead for free flights especially if you want to go to a popular destination during Peak travel periods when they Are often booked months in Advance. A be careful if you Hope to build Miles on a foreign Carrier some of which offer mileage Points Only if you Are flying business class or first class. The following Are among recent developments in the frequent flier picture a some major . Airlines Are giving their most frequent fliers preferential seating setting aside seats for them far Forward in Economy class and giving them first Choice for Advance seating assignments. To qualify a passenger must Fly 25,000 to 30,000 Miles a year and be registered in the frequent flier program. A in their eagerness to attract passengers the nation s airlines have created so Many frequent Fiir gimmicks that now you can earn enough mileage credits for a free round trip ticket without Ever leaving the ground. Among the Many ways to earn such credits Are by using charge cards or credit cards. Most major . Airlines offer a Affinity cards Quot either a visa or Mastercard and for every Dollar you charge and pay for on them you earn a mileage credit toward a free ticket. To Issue an Affinity card the credit card or charge card companies impose an annual fee that varies by card and there is an interest charge on any unpaid balance. To sign up for Affinity cards Call the individual airlines. The american express program is called membership Miles and its Telephone number is 800-274-6453. Under its plan you earn a mile for every $1 you charge and pay for on the american express card. You can apply the mileage to Continental Delta Usa Irand Southwest. Before you can use any Miles however you must accrue a total of 5,000 mileage credits a which is the equivalent of charging $5,000. There is an annual fee of $25 to participate in membership Miles but it is waived during the first year of enrolment. Diners club has a similar program although you can earn mileage credits at the rate of one mile per $1 charged and paid for on 12 major . Airlines. Its Telephone number is 800-234-6377, a another Way of earning mileage by not leaving the ground is by staying at hotels. Most major . Hotel chains offer frequent flier credits when you Check in each of them associated with one or More airlines called  to qualify for. Mileage credits generally you have to Fly a partner airline and Check into a partner notel. A several airlines have hooked up with Telephone calling card companies to offer mileage depending upon the amount spent monthly on Long distance Calls. As an example Twa and sprint offer five Miles for every $1 spent in Long distance Calls after six months of service with a 2,000-mile frequent flier Bonus for switching to sprint. A lastly keep a Lookout for special offers. Sometimes airlines hotel chains or car rental firms will put together offbeat promotions that award frequent flier mileage where you would least expect to earn it perhaps by patronizing certain restaurants or making contributions to certain charities Check with individual  Sailor plans offered by Barbara Shea new Day most cruise lines Reward frequent passengers with discounts and private parties but Cunard is launching a seagoing version of the airlines frequent flier programs. Passengers who sail on any of 10 Cunard ships will earn a cruise Miles Quot that can be redeemed for awards ranging from upgrades to free voyages. Cruise Miles will be awarded on a per person per Day basis according to ship grades of accommodation and length of trip. How fast will cruise Miles add up on a five Star ship such As the Queen Elizabeth 2, Columbia class passengers the lower first class tier will earn 200 Miles a Day. On Cunard Crown vessels which Are less formal than the qe2, sea goddesses and other top of the line ship you la earn 50, 100 or 150 cruise Miles a Day depending on Cabin class. Once you be accumulated 600 cruise Miles you can redeem them for a one category upgrade on a seven Day trip on a Cunard Crown ship. Seabourn cruise line has offered a somewhat similar plan for its frequent sailors since 1988 a Royal Viking which claims a 66 percent repeat rate on its cruises gives gifts of merchandise after a certain number of sailings. The Queen Elizabeth 2 is greeted by a flotilla of sailboats. Its owner Cunard is starting a seagoing version of the airlines frequent flier plans. June 23, 1994 stripes Magazine 21