With the airlines trying to make as much money from their customers as possible, you owe it to yourself to rebalance the situation by getting the most from one of the major perks that airlines offer. Make the most of your frequent flyer miles! If you travel a lot, say 25000 miles per year or more, consider carefully both aspects of frequent flyer miles: collecting them as well as spending them. If you need or want to travel a short distance, use of air miles can be inefficient. For example a flight from New York to Toronto will typically cost 25000 air miles, but 250 for an economy seat if you pay directly. By comparison, a flight across the continent from say New York to a popular destination such as San Francisco may require the same number of frequent flyer miles but cost about 50 more money. So, if you are making two flights, it is more efficient to buy the flight to Toronto, and use the frequent flyer miles for San Francisco. If you are thinking of traveling internationally, popular destinations like London are often cheaper than less popular destinations like Rio de Janeiro. This is reflected in the ticket pricing system, but less marked in the air miles structure, with both destinations requiring 60000 miles. So, use your frequent flyer miles for the less popular destinations. Another thing to consider is the time of year. The cost of flights goes up significantly in the summer months, so this can be an efficient time to use your air miles. However, summer flights are often booked early, and there may be fewer opportunities available to use those frequent flyer miles. Of course all of this requires careful planning: you need to be able to think ahead for the coming year.