People think: "All I have to do is book my flight and tell the ticket agent that I want to use my frequent flier miles to pay for it." Wrong!

Only 38% of people trying to use frequent flier miles are successful on their first try. Another 37% have to be flexible - moving days of travel - in order to be successful. Almost one in five have a major problem or are totally unsuccessful. I think airlines want to deliver on that free ticket you've earned, because, afterall, it is an incentive program, not an alienation program. However, they don't want to give away seats they might be able to sell! The airlines use very sophisticated computer programs to determine ticket pricing, based on seasonal and other historical info, current demand, number of days before a flight, and so forth. This process is very dynamic with the number of seats available at different fares continuously changing. Frequent flier seats are simply treated as another fare - one that produces no revenue - so they get the lowest priority in a system designed to get the most revenue possible for the airline. On a fight which usually sells out (peak travel time) the chances of getting a frequent flier seat are right next to zero. Here are some tips that will help you book air travel with miles: #1- Follow the "F" word: "flexibility" is key - not only in terms of days-of-the-week, but seasons. You'll be more successful booking for January than for July. #2- Book early or late. You can't book more than eleven months in advance, but very early in the booking period, or within two weeks of flight date (when computer projections might indicate more seats than average are still unsold) offer your best chances for success. #3- Book on off-peak days - usually Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday for domestic travel (within the 48 contiguous states), and Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday for international, as well as Hawaii and Alaska, travel. #4- Travel on the day of a holiday. It's pretty much impossible to use frequent flier miles around Thanksgiving or Christmas, but if you travel on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Years Day, etc., there are almost always seats available. #5- Book less popular destinations. If you are going to be traveling to Orlando and to Omaha, use your frequent flier miles for the Omaha trip. Everybody want to use miles to go to Orlando. #6- Check with the airlines - they offer frequent flier award advice. For example, Delta has "Award Travel Tips," which is updated every week with city pairs that have the most award availability for the next three months. #7- Break up the family! - but just for the flight. Frequent flier travel is not family friendly. There may be two seats available on a given flight. For large Utah families we need to consider dividing the family into two or more groups if we have enough miles for the whole gang. Good luck!

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