Here are ten helpful tips for booking frequent flyer tickets and making the most of your accumulated frequent flier miles!
Persistence is the key to finding the tickets you really want. Availability changes pretty regularly and it's important to check back frequently until you find the right trip for your needs. It's quite rare to immediately discover the exact tickets you want but quite common to find them after a few tries. Keep in mind also that trips with multiple stops will require more persistence but is rarely a problem with the right amount of effort.
Always try and look as early as possible to increase your chances of finding the right tickets but don't get discouraged as the date draws nearer. 45 days can generally be a really beneficial spot as far as finding tickets as the availability starts to shift and more flights are added. Just keep checking periodically no matter how close it's getting.
Frequent flier tickets are part of an incentive program that rewards you for loyalty to particular airlines. That does not mean they are totally free of charge. Booking the flights via telephone and rush fees is just a couple of examples of things that can incur fees but such charges are par for the course and should be expected. The amount of money being saved by the absence of actual ticket cost more than makes up for the small charges you'll incur in the course of booking your flight.
Use your miles however you want to. Whether you choose to save for extended periods for long trips or take a shorter trip with more family or friends you still aren't paying for your ticket so there's no right or wrong way to take advantage of your rewards.
Instead of seeking round trip tickets you can often find better deals using two one way rewards tickets. Airlines such as United and American Airlines have extensive competition when it comes to one way reward seating so you can use one to get where you're going and a different one to get back if you so desire.
Particularly when you book air tickets don't ever overlook your airline options. Using online search engines and blog listings can help with this. Keeping all of your options open is integral to booking the right trip for yourself.
Another perk to take advantage of when applicable is booking a stopover airline ticket. Generally with most airlines this feature is free when using frequent flier miles where it would incur major charges on paid flights. This can add some fun to your flight by getting a chance to run around a new destination at no charge.