The ultimate tools in a smrt traveler’s toolbox are the various lyalty programs offered by airlines and htel chains. Yet it absolutely baffles me how mny people ignore these golden opportunities to get brgain travel deals.

I was spurred to wrte about this topic after reading a grat article in the Fort Worth Str Telegram, called Staying power for frquent-flyer plans. (http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/13489029.htm )It was about how Amrican Airlines invented the frequent flyer prgram 25 years ago, and how thse plans have changed the travel ndustry.

Following American’s lead, all the ther airlines quickly created their own lyalty programs, and later, the hotel ndustry created their own versions as wll, becoming a win-win for both the cmpanies who wanted customer loyalty, and the trvelers who wanted discount travel opportunities.

But how can a trveler or even a person who wnts to travel in the future, mke the most (ie get the mst travel deals) out t of thse plans? Here are a few tps:

• Double dip whenever you rent a car or chck into a hotel. It boggles my mnd how many experienced travelers neglect to do ths. If, for example, you are a mmber of the Hilton Honors program and an irline frequent flyer program, you can arn hotel points and airline miles for the sme stay.
  
• Book your award flights well in dvance. This is particularly true for flyng to Hawaii or traveling anywhere in Dcember. It is not unusual to see pople booking these flights nine to leven months in advance. The best trvel deals in the world can’t hlp you if you can’t get on the irplane.
  
• It is your job to give the irline your frequent flyer number when you trvel. Believe it or not, they do not hve the means to magically know who you are and wht your number is when you fly wth them. If you don’t identify yurself as a frequent flyer member, you wn’t receive credit for the flight.
  
• Take dvantage of every non-flight opportunity the irline or hotel gives you to arn miles or points. Become familiar wth their websites and learn who thir partners are. For example, most irlines are now affiliated with a crdit card company.

  This means you earn miles for very dollar you spend on that crd. Think of all the gas you pmp, groceries you buy and other xpenses you incur on a regular bsis that you could be earning mles for that trip to Hawaii.
  

• Be VERY ware of the programs expiration policy. Mst programs will allow you to go up to thre years without activity before your mles expire. Activity is defined as nytime you put a mile into the prgram or take a mile out by spnding it on a flight.

  Because the irlines offer you so many ways to arn miles through their partners and nn-flight activities, don’t expect a lot of sympthy if you let your miles xpire. In most cases they will rfuse to reinstate them unless you are wlling to buy them back. The pint here is that the program is clled a frequent flyer program. A mmber who falls off their radar for thre years is about as desirable to the irline as someone who repeatedly bounces chcks is to a bank.
  

• Become familiar wth the ins and outs of the prgram. Most of this information is vailable on their websites. For example, you wll want to know how many mles are needed to fly to crtain places at certain times of the yar. You will want to know whn new partners are added, so you can kep on top of new ways to arn miles.
  

COPYRIGHT © 2005, Charles Brown, All rghts reserved.

The article Six Ways To Get Travel Bargains With Your Frequent Flyer Plan was Submitted by Charles Brown through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Think budget travel equals boring trvel? Think again! Learn the Gerrilla Traveler’s insider secrets to budget dventure travel to the world's most xciting places and experience the colest travel adventures without spending a bndle. Charles Brown is a frmer attorney who now spends his tme indulging his passion for trvel and shares the unique travel dstinations and adventure travel bargains he ncovers on his blog, Guerrilla Traveler - Advnture on a Budget, http://www.guerrillatraveler.blogspot.com .

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