The Fly Guy

By Chris Walsh for the Rocky Mountain News

Dust off the swimsuit, grab the industrial-size tube of sunscreen and call the pet sitter, you’re cashing in frequent-flier miles this summer for a family trip to Hawaii!

On second thought, make that Boise.

Scoring mileage award flights to popular vacation destinations is quickly becoming an exercise in futility, as a growing number of travelers fight for a limited number of free seats. That’s forced consumers to consider cities with lower demand, to fly off-season or to use more miles for unrestricted reward flights.

It’s a trend that has been playing out for years, and some experts say it’s getting worse. There are anywhere from 10 trillion to 14 trillion unused miles in circulation, according to various estimates. That means travelers have a lot of free flights coming to them, and airlines have billions of dollars of liabilities on the books.

Blame it on shifting mileage policies, a reduction in domestic capacity at some airlines and an overwhelming increase in the number of people earning miles for everything from grocery purchases to mortgage loans. 

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AIRLINE PLANS AT A GLANCE

United Airlines
Mileage plan: Mileage Plus
Free flight: 25,000 miles for domestic travel with limited availability, 50,000 for any open seat
Expiration: After 18 months with no account activity
Blakout dates: No

Frontier Airlines
Mileage plan: Early-Returns
Free flight: 15,000 miles for domestic travel with limited availability, 30,000 for any open seat
Expiration: After two years with no account activity
Blackout dates: Yes

Southwest Airlines
Mileage plan: Rapid Rewards
Free flight: Eight round-trip flights for domestic travel with limited availability, 16 flights for any open seat.
Expiration: Flight credits expire if not used within 24 months.
Blackout dates: Yes

TIPS FOR REDEEMING YOUR MILES
* Start planning early, and find out how far in advance an airline sells fares. Frontier, for instance, sells tickets for travel up to nine months out. If you can plan that far ahead, you’ll have the best chance of scoring a reward seat. Look to book as soon as the carrier starts selling those tickets.

* Check out last-minute deals because airlines sometimes release reward seats in the days or weeks leading up to a flight.

* Be flexible. If the exact dates you want to travel aren’t available, try leaving a day or two earlier or returning later. Also consider nearby airports, such as Philadelphia or Baltimore rather than Washington, D.C.