• by Tanya Gazdik , January 4, 2010

Consumers could lose more than $30 billion in frequent flyer miles this year if they don't stay on top of the rules, according to Portland, Ore.-based AwardWallet.

More than 277 million frequent flyer members belong to an average of six or more airline loyalty programs, with an accumulated 9.7+ trillion miles outstanding, says the company. It is estimated that 20% of these miles will go unused and expire because frequent flyer members have difficulty managing the many programs in which they are enrolled and are not always aware of changing loyalty program policies and rules, said Todd Mera, co-founder and co-owner, along with Alexi Vereschaga, of AwardWallet.

Most travelers belong to multiple frequent flyer programs and often don't take the time to familiarize themselves with the individual rules. For example, miles can expire due to inactivity, but each airline has its own policy as to how much inactivity is required. Some airlines will let you reinstate expired miles with a fee, while others do not, Mera says.

"In the last couple years, they have become more restrictive," Mera tells Marketing Daily. "If there is no activity in an account for a certain period of time, all of a member's miles will be forfeited. In some cases you can reinstate the miles you have already earned, but that can be expensive."

At American Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways, any account that doesn't have activity for 18 consecutive months gets canceled. Delta Air Lines and Alaska Air Group give customers two years before mileage accounts get canceled. Continental Airlines says it reserves the right to cancel accounts after 18 months of inactivity, but doesn't currently enforce that. Under JetBlue Airways' revamped program, which launched in October, all points will expire if an account is inactive for 12 consecutive months.

When airlines change their policy they notify their members, but often these notifications will be eaten by spam filters or sent to an old email address, Mera says. "If they post the update on their Web site, then the members have to reread the membership agreement, which most of us do not do," he adds.

ITLogy, LLC-owned AwardWallet.com is one Web site that offers users a consolidated look at their account information for each airline and can track in real-time current balances and expirations. "If a user could limit the number of programs they are enrolled in to two or three, it would make managing their programs easier," Mera says. "However, this is not the case. Our members average six-plus loyalty accounts. If you are also tracking your spouse's accounts, add another six."

Once consumers are on top of their accounts and notice inactivity, they can create activity even if they are not booking flights, Mera says. Consumers can create activity in their accounts by obtaining an airline affinity credit card that offers miles for every dollar spent. There are often bonus miles for new cardmembers, Mera says.

Another way to log activity is to go shopping. Many of the airline loyalty programs also have relationships with grocery outlets. For example, United Airlines offers members the ability to register their Safeway, Dominick's, Vons, Pavilions or Genuardi's Club Card number and get 125 miles for every $250 spent. Most frequent flyer programs also have partnered with retail merchants that give points for every dollar spent. For example, British Airways has partnered with over 300 merchants like eBay and Target.com.

Spending miles on things other than airline tickets also counts as account activity. Some frequent flyer programs will allow you to spend points on merchandise, magazines and other products.