FREE! Attend a NALS Conference for FREE!
by Cathy Hankins, PP, PLS

You can fly to the NALS 2009 Annual Conference in Irvine, California for free.  FREE?  OK, so the whole trip may not be free, but your air fare could be free (or you might have to pay a nominal fee like $10). You’re thinking this has to be a scam…airline tickets are not free, especially in this day and age.  How?  Frequent flyer miles.  You’re thinking it’s not going to work for you because you only fly once or twice a year and it will be another 10 years before you have enough miles. That’s not true. There are many ways to earn miles. You just need to read the fine print and do your homework to see what airline can offer you the best deal, and of course, you’ll want to participate with an airline that flies out of your local airport. Pick an airline that flies to most destinations - not just a few, or, use a credit card that gives you miles on any airlines without a lot of hoops to jump through. The amount of miles you need for each airline will vary, but in most cases it’s in the ballpark of 30,000+/- miles.  You don’t need to fly to earn miles…you can earn miles with your everyday activities like grocery shopping, dry cleaning, dining, lodging, shopping - all without ever leaving the ground.

Many airlines have “partners” and you can earn miles for Airline A when you fly on Airline B.  That gives you a little flexibility when you travel.  Almost every airline has specials from time to time which give you bonus miles if you book your travel during certain promotional periods, check in on line, book on line, etc.  Make sure you sign up to receive their e-mail promotions. 

Do you have a bank credit card?  You can get up to 40,000 miles plus by opening or transferring to a credit card linked to your FF account.  All purchases you make using that card turn into miles you can use to fly to the next NALS conference. 

Did you know that you can get FF miles by paying for your utilities and other monthly bills on your credit card?  Are you currently paying your cell phone bill by using electronic bill pay or writing a check each month?  Pay by credit card and you get miles as an added bonus.  Use your credit card to make the payment, then use electronic bill pay to pay the credit card the same amount you just paid for your cell phone bill.  You pay the same amount, it’s just a different way of paying the bill.  If you immediately make a payment on your credit card bill after you charge your monthly cell phone bill, it’s paid off, no additional finance charges.  You’re going to pay those bills no matter what, so why not get something in return, like miles?  Check out other monthly payments you make and earn miles.

Hungry?  With some frequent flyer programs, you can earn points for going out to dinner at your favorite restaurant right, or even ordering a pizza.  For example, with NWA, I get 30 miles when I order a $10 pizza, because it’s 3 miles for each $1 I spend. 

Shop till you drop!  Airlines usually award miles for every $1 you spend in their mall, however,  some even offer 3, 4 or 5 miles per dollar spent. You must “enter” the stores through the frequent flyer website, but if you’re an internet shopper and willing to go through an extra door to get to your favorite store, you can earn miles by shopping online at stores like Coldwater Creek, QVC, Sears, Staples, Chadwick’s, Land’s End, Best Buy, and even Oriental Trading!  You can earn miles from buying everything from cookies and flowers to clothes to office supplies to golf clubs and computers.