Use Them Or Lose Them :: Airline Mileage Programs

Fortunately, I just cashed in 150,000 frequent flier miles for free business class airfare to Europe later this year. Unfortunately, if you have a bucket of miles in the bank with your airline, or even if you just have a few thousand, you may be in jeopardy of losing them.

A few of the major carriers in the US are saying that the glut of unused miles are actually driving up “their operating costs and eating up administrative time,” according to a story in today’s SF Chronicle: “Airline miles start flying away.”

One example is United Airlines, which just cut the time in half for Mileage Plus account to show some action or be closed — from 36 months to 18. Delta Air Lines cut its time from three years to two last year. And >US Airways is also now on the 18-month track.

Read more.