Free tickets?

Cashing in airline miles

Cashing in those airline miles for a free ticket is not as easy as it used to be.  Airline mergers have limited the number of available seats.  I am almost tempted to turn in my old mileage cards and replace them with cash rewards cards. 



The following points to remember are from Bill Hardekopf, who is chief executive of LowCards.com, which compares and rates on more than 1,000 credit cards. He is the 
co-author of "The Credit Card Guidebook."

• Keep checking, even if you find seats unavailable the first time you look. Inventory may change the next day. Seats may become available a week or two before the flight.
• Call and talk with a reservation agent if you want to book a seat on an airline partner. Many airlines don't offer award seats through partner airlines on their websites.
• Be aware of expiration dates. You spend money and time earning points, but they may not be yours forever. Read the fine print for expiration dates.
• Pay your credit card bill on time every month. If you have a late payment, the bank or credit card issuer could withhold the miles you earned during that billing period. If you want them back, you may have to pay a steep reinstatement fee.
• Don't waste your points on a cheap flight. Points are each worth about 1.2 cents. It typically costs 25,000 points for a round-trip domestic flight, so a round-trip would cost $300. If a flight costs less than $300, it is cheaper to pay in cash and save your points for a flight that costs more than $300.
• Keep your options open. If the first date doesn't work, check availability on multiple dates. In addition, driving to a bigger airport may also open up more flight options.