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Reader Anya writes in:

Hi, I’ve got some miles in my Delta and Continental accounts, but not enough for an award. Is there any way to combine these miles into my American Airlines account so I can have enough for a free ticket?

There are ways of converting miles from one airline to another, but not just transferring them directly, like you might move money from savings to checking. Delta, for example, is notorious for being the Roach Motel of mileage programs. Miles transfer in, they don’t transfer out.

You will almost always end up with fewer miles than you started. Frequent flyer accounts are proprietary currencies owned by the airlines that issue them. Any transfers or conversions are at their discretion.

There are two potential methods of moving miles:

1) Convert points from one account to another… to another…
Sometimes, you can move points from airlines to hotels or other services, and then back to an airline. Airline to airline is harder without an intermediate stop. You’ll have to open a number of other accounts, and there’s a time lag as your points move from program to program. Your options generally stink, because you lose a lot of value. 5000 Continental miles can be transferred to Amtrak, then transferred again to Hilton HHonors, and finally transferred to American Airlines. What’s left? 1500 miles. You lost 70% of the miles, but maybe that’s still worth it to you. If you’re looking for options, there’s a calculator and planner at Webflyer.com that offers conversion alternatives.

2) Points.com
Points.com recently merged with Milepoint.com. The combined firm exists to capitalize on people like you, Anya, whose mileage balances don’t add up to a ticket. Not every airline participates here, either, and (even better) they don’t let you know how what the conversion rates are until you’ve signed up AND registered your accounts with them. Then they’ll bombard you with junk mail on a nearly daily basis.

Neither option is particularly appealing, but if you’re desperate enough for that free ticket, maybe one will work for you.

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