(Guest Post)
How many times does a corporate traveller have to fly in a year? Some workers spend more time on the road than they do at home. These frequent flyers should take advantage of one or more of the loyalty programs offered by airlines. The miles earned on the frequent flights help out the individual flyer him or herself in most instances.
Every major domestic airline, along with some discount carriers that are only available regionally, offers some sort of loyalty program that can benefit their best customers. The value of these frequent flyer programs can greatly vary based upon the number of awards available and the ease with which miles can be earned and seats can be accessed.
Some companies have a contract with a specific carrier and expect employees to use the contracted airline exclusively. Others have policies in place that require employees to fly on the cheapest available flight. Some employees will be able to access economy plus seats that have additional room. Other employees will have permission to fly in first or business class. The latter seats frequently offer mileage bonuses. All seats offer passengers the opportunity to earn frequent flyer miles. Those who fly for business should sign up for every carrier that they ever fly on.
What are the best frequent flyer programs?
This answer depends upon what corporate traveller is trying to do. One frequent flyer program that is widely criticized by members is Delta’s Skymiles program. Those who complain about Delta call their Skymiles by the derogatory name of Sky Pesos because they are perceived to be worth less than the miles offered by other airlines. There are relatively few seats available on Delta flights, and those that are available are difficult to access at low redemption levels. It is not unusual to need 40,000 or more to access a seat that is advertised as costing 25,000 miles during the low season. Those who are able to get low-level awards are able to redeem their miles at similar levels as the other airlines.
United Airlines seems to be able to offer more seats at lower levels as long as travelers prepare and grad the seats months before their travel dates. One of the best airlines when it comes to the redemption of award travel is American Airlines. The standard award levels offered by American are very similar to those offered by the other domestic carriers. However, each quarter, American offers flyers the opportunity to redeem their miles for 5,000 to 7,500 less miles than the standard rate to specified cities. Of course, most of these airports are not major hubs, but some of them are very close to major hubs so they are worth checking into.
Most frequent flyer miles are worth about $0.01. This amount can vary depending upon how much a flight actually costs. A $200 flight redeemed for 25,000 miles is a payoff of $0.008 per mile. A $500 ticket would pay off at $0.02 per mile.
An additional benefit of frequent flyer miles is the opportunity to use miles with affiliate carriers. It is important to know what airlines are in each of the three major global alliances. These offer the opportunity for domestic flyers to use their Skymiles or Mileage Plus miles on carriers like KLM or Lufthansa. This benefit can come in very handy on international flights.