Common Mistakes to Avoid When You Redeem Points of Your Frequent Flyer Program

From the time you get started with collecting reward points till the time you have enough to redeem them, is easy. The tricky part begins right after. Mistakes are common, but here are some tips to help you avoid some common mistakes when redeeming your air miles.

If the thought of redeeming your airline miles has just crossed your mind, we understand how overwhelming it can be. While collecting miles is easy, redeeming them so you can take complete advantage of their value is not.

There are so many ways you could redeem the points – flights, hotels, cabs, merchandises, etc. But, understanding what gets you the most out of your hard-earned points is the key. This article talks about five common mistakes that you should avoid when you go about redeeming your points.

Start With Checking The Air Miles You Have Collected

This has to be your first step. If you have been collecting miles for a while now and are redeeming them for the first time, then you have the advantage of selecting better deals. But, if you have recently started collecting miles, its better you wait till you have a good number. Moreover, most programs require you to reach a certain minimum balance of air miles or threshold, before you can redeem them.

Relying Only on Airline’s Website

When trying to redeem your points for a free flight or an upgrade, it is a bad idea to just rely on the official website. Most of the times, the sites do not show the partner airlines, availability of seats, or the dates that you want to travel on. One of the best ways to go about this is checking multiple travel websites to do your own research or calling the airlines service centre.

Spending on Merchandise and Gift Cards

As soon as you click on the “Rewards” section of your FFP, you’re welcomed with tons of deals for attractive merchandise, gift cards, and other products. They sure are attractive, but they may not be as valuable as they appear to be.
One way to check if what you’re spending on is value for your points is to calculate RPM- Rupee per mile. Taking the real cost of the product and dividing it by the number of air miles required to buy it gives you the RPM.

Not Being Flexible

Award seats and travel upgrades are not available every day. If you’re looking for travelling on a particular date, there are fewer chances that you will find what you’re looking for. Therefore, when looking for redeeming your points, it’s better to be flexible with dates, so that you can get the best out of your reward points.

Letting Them Expire

Last but definitely not least is the mistake of not using the air miles at all. Just like most things, air miles come with an expiry date too. Although the time limit is more than enough for any traveller to find the opportunity to redeem points you still need to use it at some point. And booking flights is not the only way to use air miles. You can use them for a cabin upgrade, filling fuel in your car, shopping online, and even transfer or gift them to a friend or relative.

Learning from mistakes is good, but in this regard, you have the choice to think wisely and then act. Educating yourself on how to not make mistakes and how to get the maximum out of your efforts of collecting points will also prove to be beneficial. Hopefully, these tips will save you some trouble.