Earning Miles By Flying

Earning miles by flying is the traditional method for earning miles and it’s absolutely worth doing if you’re paying for the flight. If you’re flying on a reward ticket, you won’t earn points for it BUT it’s a good idea to show your frequent flyer card when you check in because there have been stories of miles being earned despite the fact that you’re not supposed to.

Earning miles by flying isn’t automatic. You need to supply your frequent flyer mile number when you book the flight. If you forget to supply your number before the flight, you can sometimes request those points back BUT make sure you keep your boarding pass stub as you’ll need all that information. I’ve done this before with Air Canada and it did work but it did require some work. Much better to just supply it in the beginning.

Why earning miles from flying is good:

• It’s easy. If you’re paying for the flight anyways, you should take advantage of the rewards program.
• Miles earned from actual flights go towards elite status and things that make you look good to the carrier. This usually equates to bonus miles, free upgrades, the fast line at check-in and so forth.

However, earning miles by flying is not the best way for earning miles. As you’ll learn through Free Flyer School, the best way to earn points is “on-the-ground” such as everyday shopping and maximizing credit cards.

Now that we’ve covered this, let’s talk about the MANY ways of earning miles without stepping foot on a plane.