Yesterday on my flight, I read a good article on earning airline miles, Live Well, Get Miles. The Budget Travel article by Brad Tuttle provided various methods for earning miles from credit cards use to shopping to earning miles the through use of more traditional methods, such as travelling. The article provided a good overview of the various methods for earning miles but there were many more that were excluded.

35 Ways to Earn Miles

Here are my top three options for earning miles that were excluded:

• Hotels – Nearly every hotel program offers the option of converting hotel points to miles. Several programs offer bonuses if a certain number of points are redeemed. There are even some hotel reward programs that offer limited-time promotions that can double or triple the conversion rate for points. Although hotel points are more valuable if redeemed for free hotel nights, redeeming hotel points for airline miles can be a great source for miles.
• Car Rentals – Car rental companies are a great source for airline miles. There are several rental car companies that have very generous airline mile promotions that can result in tens of thousands of miles in mere weeks. Avis is currently offering 5,000 miles for a 4 day rental.
• Airline Promotions – Airlines often have generous offers to entice and retain travelers. Before booking do a search of this site, or other travel sites, to see if there are any promotions that can add free miles to your account. A recent Delta CVG promotion offered 25,000 miles for 5 round trip from the Cincinnati airport within a 3 month period just as long as you signed up. Currently, Delta has a targeted promotion that can result in a 10,000 mile bonus for a round-trip purchase. Being aware of these promotions is the key.

My Prescription

Although stated in the article, being an informed consumer in regards to fare redemption costs, and promotions offered by airlines, hotels, car rental, and credit card companies is important. Just as important, if not more so, is to be a savvy consumer in regards to your credit and purchases. It does not make a lot of sense to have your spending outstrip your income just to earn miles. Nor does it make sense to overpay for items just to earn miles when the miles earned do not outweigh the increase cost to purchase the item. Be a wise consumer and point earner.