Frequent Flyer Miles

A Business Week Special Advertising Section

Currency for High Flyers

Miles Are Where You Find Them, and These Days, Thatís Everywhere

Like the trading stamps of old, miles have become the new alternative currency. Long since expanded beyond a means to build loyalty among frequent airline customers, miles today appear like the fallout from a confetti bomb. They add a colorful icing to almost every product in the market from flowers to mortgages, from online brokerage accounts to the simple act of clicking around the Web.

The bottom line? ìYou can earn an airline ticket without flying,î says Dean Headley, associate professor of marketing at Wichita State University. Conversely, miles ó or points, as the case may be ó are becoming legal tender for almost anything including (surprise, surprise) airline tickets.

During a promotion that ended December 31, David Phillips, a civil engineer at the University of California bought $3,150 worth of Healthy Choice puddings and soups. In return, he earned 1.253 million miles. He allocated some of the miles to his mileage accounts with United, Delta and Northwest. But by stashing just over a million miles in his American Airlines AAdvantageÆ account, Phillips ensured himself Gold status for life.

Without buying a ton of pudding, the best mileage bonus opportunity for most people today is when they buy, sell or finance a home. Fern Baker of GMAC Mortgage notes that people who list or buy a home through GMAC Real Estate and Better Homes and GardensÆ Real Estate can get miles with Northwest, TWA or Delta. Finance the purchase with a loan from GMAC Mortgage, and you add miles to your Northwest or TWA account.

ìItís exponential, which means you get credit for all transactions if you sell, buy and finance through us,î Baker says. As an added incentive, people who belong to the American Express Membership RewardsÆ program and borrow from GMAC Mortgage can earn 1,000 bonus points for every $10,000 of loan value. Those points in turn, can be spent on air travel or merchandise. Although state law limits availability of such real estate programs, they are available in two-thirds of the country, so it definitely bears exploration.

ìThe new currency is mileage,î says Walter Sanders, vice president of corporate affairs for the Citicorp Diners Club and its charge card.  

Diners Club boasts that it alone lets customers convert Club Reward points worth a dollar into a mile on any airlineís frequent travel program. That may explain the cardís popularity among frequent travelers as evidenced by its repeated Freddie Awards.

Itís not the only way to bank convertible points. Online shoppers at Netcentives www.netcentives.com can earn ClickRewards that convert one-for-one to miles with Unitedís MileagePlusÆ, Continentalís OnePassÆ and Americanís AAdvantageÆ programs, among others.

As travelers find it increasingly easy to rack up the miles, they will expect more opportunities to spend those miles. ìWhat we find is that a lot of card members are such frequent flyers that the last thing they want is mileage,î says Sanders of Diners Club. ìSo, weíve created a brochure that offers them a quality array of merchandise. Tell us what you want and weíll get it for you. We had a lady put braces on her daughterís teeth with Club RewardsÆ points.î

Braces are great but for most people, travel is still the preferred prize. Here are just a few of the ways you can pour miles into your favorite frequent flyer account.

Diners Club International (Club RewardsÆ Program)

Reverse Conversion

Pioneering a way to turn small quantities of airline miles into more liquid points, Diners Club now will offer one Club Reward point for each mile transferred from United MileagePlusÆ accounts. Those points, plus others from card purchases, can be combined and spent on merchandise. Get details at www.dinersclubus.com or call 800-234-6377.

Piles of Points

For new Diners Club card members, using the card once a month during the first year can earn 24,000 Rewards points. Under the program, two points equals one mile, so thatís a simple way to bank 12,000 miles on card purchases. Points never expire and by keeping them with the Club Rewards program, you donít have to worry about losing value of miles in your preferred airline program. Again, call 800-234-6377.

Delta Air Lines (SkyMilesÆ)

SkyMilesÆ members can earn 25,000 miles ó and a free flight ó simply by depositing $50,000 in a new online investment account with E*TRADE www.etrade.com. Smaller start-up deposits also earn miles. Score 5,000 bonus miles for a $1,000 deposit or 10,000 bonus miles for a $10,000 deposit. E*TRADE lets investors buy stocks, bonds, options and more than 5,000 mutual funds.

America West (FlightFundÆ)

Buying a car? Anyone who buys it through America Westís FlightFundÆ Auto Buying Program can add up to 15,000 miles to their FlightFundÆ account. A car under $20,000 earns 5,000 miles. A car over $40,000 earns 15,000. Before buying, visit www.americawest.com or call 800-853-3551 first.

Rental Rewards

Through April 30, travelers who rent from Thrifty Car Rental will earn 500 bonus miles for their AAdvantageÆ account, plus another 50 miles for every day of the rental. The offer carries a two-day minimum and extends to customers arriving at U.S. airports only. Get details at www.thrifty.com or by calling 800-THRIFTY (800-847-4389).

Northwest Airlines (WorldPerksÆ)

Wheeler Dealer

Rent a full-size or larger car from Hertz for two or more days, and earn up to 1,000 bonus miles. Weekday rentals before May 31 earn 500 bonus miles in the WorldPerksÆ program. Weekend rentals earn 1,000 bonus miles. Book online at www.hertz.com or by calling 800-654-2210.

Phone Tactics

WorldPerksÆ members who switch and bundle a host of services from telecom partner Sprint can stash as much as 17,650 bonus miles. The hitch? Subscribe to Nickel Nights calling plan, Sprint Toll-Free service and Earthlink Sprint Internet access. Then stick with the plan for at least six months. Interested? Get in line at 877-455-8220 or sign up online at http://csg.sprint.com/airline/northwest/index.html.

United Airlines (MileagePlusÆ)

Dialing for Miles

Score 500 Mileage PlusÆ miles with the $50 purchase of a Mileage Plus/ATT Global Phone Card. The card carries 142 minutes of U.S. long-distance (International calling rates vary). Every time you recharge the card, you earn another 500 MileagePlusÆ miles. Get connected at 800-PRE-PAID (800-773-7243).

Eat First, Fly Later

Now, MileagePlusÆ members can amass miles every time they shop at Safeway, Dominickís, Vons, Pak n' $ave and Pavilions grocery stores. Under the new relationships, shoppers can earn 125 miles for every $250 in groceries they purchase through December 31, 2000. The offer requires membership in MileagePlusÆ and the appropriate store savings program ó Safeway Club, Dominickís FreshValues, VonsClub or Pavilions ValuePlus. For details, inquire where you shop.