Beginner’s Guide to Air Miles: How to Earn and Redeem

Air Miles are usually related to an airline’s frequent flyer program. These loyalty programs are designed to reward regular customers. Every time you book a ticket with the said airline, you earn points or air miles which can later be redeemed to reduce the cost of your next trip or even to get a free air ticket. To earn air miles without using a credit card, you would have to enrol for the airline’s frequent flyer program. Different airline memberships have given different names to their air mile offerings. Given below are the air miles programs of some popular airlines.

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You can also earn air miles on credit cards. Usually, credit cards that are co-branded with an airline would offer air miles of the associated airline. On the other hand, there are some cards that would offer general air miles or rewards that can be redeemed across multiple airline programs. For example, Jet Privilege HDFC Bank World Credit Card offers JP Miles and Axis Bank Magnus Credit Card offers EDGE Rewards, that can be redeemed across multiple airlines.

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There are multiple ways in which you can earn air miles on your credit card. In India, the air miles program works similar to the rewards program. You can earn miles or points on all your purchases; the rate at which you earn the miles may differ from card to card and transaction to transaction. Usually, booking air tickets will give you higher points than other purchases. If your card is co-branded with an airline, booking the tickets of that airline would reward you more.

So, if you are looking for ways to earn more air miles, you should read further:

Sign-up/Welcome Bonus- Mostly, air miles are not offered on basic credit cards. The air miles card would usually come with a joining fee and annual fee. To make up for the fees, the bank offers sign-up bonus in the form of rewards, air miles or vouchers. For example, Axis Bank ATLAS Credit Card offer 5,000 bonus EDGE Miles on making the first transaction within 30 days of card setup. This welcome benefit can be good if you are looking forward to starting with a good air mile balance in your credit card account.

Milestone Bonus- Credit card companies also reward their customers for reaching a spending threshold. This is known as milestone bonus. In case of air miles credit card, the milestone bonus may be offered in the form of miles. This will significantly add to the miles balance of the card user. Axis Bank Vistara Signature Credit Card offers 3,000 bonus Club Vistara Points on spending Rs. 75,000 in the first 90 days of card activation.

Accelerated Miles- Since the miles program is like rewards, you can strategize the usage of the card in order to earn more miles. If the card offers extra miles on booking flight tickets through the bank’s dedicated platform, you can do so to earn the accelerated miles. Use the card for purchases that offer extra air mile earnings. For instance, Air India SBI Signature Credit Card offers extra rewards for booking air tickets through Air India website or through the Air India Mobile app. Rewards can easily be converted into Air India Air Miles.

Flexible Rewards- Instead of choosing a card specifically for air miles, you can go for a card that offers excellent rewards that can also be converted into air miles of selected airlines. Cards that are designed to offer rewards would be more flexible with the earning and redemption rate. You can use them across multiple categories to earn extra points. One such card is HDFC Diners Club Miles Credit Card, that offers 4 reward points for every Rs. 100 and the rewards can be converted into air miles of Vistara, Jet Airways, British Airways and Singapore Airlines in 1:1 ratio.

There are several travel credit cards in India that offer wide range of privileges on travel. Here we have listed the best credit cards with a rewarding air mile program.

**Rewards can be converted to Air India Air Miles.

An air miles credit card is like any other travel card but with the major focus on the miles/points earnings. Having said that miles would allow you to reduce the cost of your travel or sometimes offer you with a free ticket, they would also take a lot of time and usage to accumulate.

Credit cards co-branded with airlines would make a lot of sense if you religiously travel with the given airline because then you will be able to make the most of the miles program. Cards that offer flexible air miles redeemable across multiple airlines would be better for people who travel a lot but are not loyal to a particular airline.

Also, when you are looking for an air miles credit card, look for other travel benefits as well, such as-

• Airport Lounge Access
• Priority Check-in, Excess Baggage Allowance at the Airline
• Low Foreign Currency Mark-up Fee
• Hotel Benefits

Air miles seem to be simple enough on the surface but, for a layman, it can be complicated to understand how to make the most of it. If you are planning to get an air miles credit card, choose one that offers a good sign-up bonus as you will start strong. Also, if you are loyal to a particular airline, look for cards co-branded with that airline. Understand the air miles earning on your card and use it in a way that you earn the most miles. However, do not spend money just for the purpose of earning miles as it would lead to higher bills. Also, credit card miles or rewards come with an expiry date so keep it in mind so that none of your rewards goes waste.