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How to transfer worthless points into valuable miles
How to transfer worthless points into valuable miles
Frequent flyers often want what they can't have. They have Delta miles, but wish they had Northwest. They've got extra American miles lying around, but what they need is United. And one of the most frequent questions we get is "how can I transfer miles between programs?" The good news is there are several ways to transfer miles between frequent flyer programs. The bad news is the options are restricted to specific airlines, involve a middleman, can be costly, and may result in a significant loss in mileage value. If you're still interested in practicing a little mileage alchemy, here's the scoop on four programs that let you transfer miles from one program to another. Amtrak Guest Rewards Amtrak is the only program that exchanges miles at a rate of 1:1. While you won't lose any mileage value during the transfer, you do have extremely limited program options. Amtrak partners only with Continental and Midwest. You can transfer miles into Amtrak's Guest Rewards program at a rate of 5,000 miles for 5,000 points, and then out again at the same ratio (with a limit of 25,000 miles per year for regular members). If you need to transfer miles between Continental and Midwest, Amtrak is your best bet. For all other exchanges, Amtrak won't be of any help. For more information on Amtrak's program, visit its Guest Rewards website. To learn how to transfer miles out of your frequent flyer program, go to Continental's or Midwest's website. Diners Club Rewards Diners Club gives its cardholders the opportunity to join its Club Rewards program, and through this program exchange miles. The catch is that you can only transfer American or United miles into Club Rewards points, though you can trade your points for miles in many programs, including Alaska, American, Delta, Frontier, and Southwest. You should note that you will no longer be able to transfer points into United miles as of April 28, 2006. You can transfer your American or United miles into points at a rate of 5,000 points for every 10,000 miles you convert. Transactions must be made in 10,000-mile increments, and you can convert a maximum of 50,000 miles each year. You can transfer points back into miles at a rate of 1,000 miles for 1,000 points (or one Southwest credit for 1,500 points). Ultimately, you'll experience a 50-percent conversion loss. You also must pay for the privilege of exchanging miles. The Diners Club annual fee is $95, and every transfer costs 95 Club Rewards points or 95 cents. As most transfers are in increments of 1,000, you'd be paying $9.50 to exchange 10,000 points for miles. The price isn't too high if you already have a Diners Club card, but if you sign up for the card just to make a transfer, you'll be shelling out $100 or more to trade miles. For more information, visit the Club Rewards website. Hilton HHonors The Hilton HHonors program is another vehicle for exchanging miles, but like Diners Club, it allows fewer transfers of miles into points than points into miles. For North American programs, you can only transfer American, Hawaiian, Mexicana, and Midwest miles into HHonors points. However, you can trade your points for miles in many more programs, including Air Canada, Alaska, America West, Continental, Delta, Northwest, and Southwest. Continued... Next Page Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 http://www.smartertravel.com/advice/...7&u=SL4F6B4DC5 === "Work like you don't need the money, Love like you've never been hurt, Dance like nobody's watching..." -- Richard Leigh _________________________________________ Usenet Zone Free Binaries Usenet Server More than 140,000 groups Unlimited download http://www.usenetzone.com to open account |
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