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“I can’t redeem my miles.”

It’s been a tough week for frequent flyer programs — en masse — in the media. Joe Sharkey at the NY Times, Keith Alexander at the Washington Post, and even Cory Doctorow at boingboing.net have joined in.

What bugs me in all three cases is the universalization of the problem to all programs: They use specific examples of flyers not getting the tickets they want (Continental, Delta, and British Airways are named) but they go on to put down redemption ability at ALL programs. Not all programs stink equally.

Take the example in the WaPo: checking the NY-LA route that the disgruntled customer wanted to book on Delta in first class, I see plenty of availability on arbitrary summer dates on American and United. It’s not frequent flyer programs as a whole: It’s Delta! This kind of lumping-together of all programs into the same basket drives me nuts.

At least today’s WaPo article offers a smidgen of advice: Try to be flexible on dates. And try to use the miles internationally, instead. Broaden those horizons.

What they don’t offer is other important suggestions: 1) Keep trying. If there are no saver awards today, that doesn’t mean there will never be saver awards. 2) Consider partner airlines or alternate routings. Instead of flying LAX to JFK, try LAX to Newark. 3) Check the price of the ticket you’re considering “buying” with miles, to make sure you’re not wasting your miles on a ticket that could be bought super-cheap.

tags: travel | air travel | frequent flyer programs