Frequent Flier Miles

Question: On Aug. 1, I tried to book a round-trip flight on American Airlines between San Diego and Philadelphia for Oct. 1 using my frequent-flier miles. I thought a two-month lead would facilitate the reservation. There were no seats available for 25,000 miles for October. I paid $25 to speak to a human. She tried her best but with the same result. If I were willing to expend 50,000 miles, there were plenty of seats. How far ahead does AA release its frequent-flier seats? Is this bait and switch?

A fascinating underwater trip I would like to compliment Nancy Baron for her incredible, gutsy and courageous underwater trip ["Blue Magic," March 10], which fascinated me. (I'm a former Italian navy frogman.) In her description of the underwater exploration, she made it look like an easy hobby. Scuba diving is very difficult and requires hard training and a very healthy body. John Rosati Simi Valley Kudos to Amtrak My husband, 10-year-old granddaughter Alyssa and I returned home Feb. 26 from a trip to the Bay Area on Amtrak Train No. 1. On Friday of that week, my daughter Chris received a call from her children's school in Ventura.

Question: When are airline tickets that are paid for with frequent flier miles not free? Answer: Almost never, but some tickets, booked on certain carriers, are almost as expensive as a trip to the North Pole. This question, a composite of three recent letters, including one in today's Letters column, highlights a growing concern among travelers who pay for tickets with awards points: They do the work to accumulate enough for a ticket, and when they book it, they discover some amazingly high fees, sometimes under the label of a fuel surcharge.

You keep hearing about people who take these fabulous trips (see story) and they don't pay a penny - or very many pennies. You have miles, but you don't seem to be getting much, well, mileage out of them. For the last seven years, my life has been all about points. I quit my recruiting job on Wall Street, for which I traveled more than 150,000 miles a year (and collected numerous corporate credit card points), and founded ThePointsGuy.com , a website that's all about maximizing frequent-flier miles and credit card points.

Frequent-flier miles are both a boon (to the vacationer who scores the award ticket) and a bane (to the person who has the miles but can't seem to score the ticket). That's where the commonality ends. Each program is different, with its own elite designations for very frequent fliers. Here's a comparison of seven plans for U.S.-based carriers. These are mileage plans (as opposed to points) unless otherwise noted. Alaska Pros: No fee to use miles to upgrade from coach; Alaska's MVP, MVP Gold and Gold 75K also receive a bundle of special elite benefits on Delta through a marketing alliance.

Are you losing frequent-flier miles because you don't know when they expire? Traxo.com, which was largely a social networking site, has a new Loyalty Tracker that makes keeping track of airline, hotel and car rental points easier than spending them. What's hot: I wasn't convinced I needed this service until I saw the Loyalty Tracker feature. It keeps track of your mileage points (by taking your login/password information) and shows you, on a single page, when they're about to expire.

Frequent-flier miles clearly have value — why else would people want them? But do they also represent taxable income? Citibank seems to think so. It's sending tax forms to people who received thousands of miles as a reward for opening a checking or savings account. Those forms value each mile at about 2.5 cents and list the total dollar amount as miscellaneous income. This is news to tax pros. "I've been practicing for 25 years and I've never had an instance where miles have been treated as taxable," said Gregg Wind, a West Los Angeles certified public accountant.

SuperShuttle launched a winter sale for those who need an extra incentive not to drive to the airport. The national shuttle service takes 10% off fares for shared van rides to and from airports nationwide and gives travelers frequent-flier miles or points too. The deal: The sale is good at SuperShuttle locations nationwide, including airports in Los Angeles , Burbank , Long Beach and Santa Ana ( John Wayne Airport)....

Always best to use a travel agent Regarding On the Spot ["Waves of Doubt," Dec. 5] by Catharine Hamm: The simple answer for the traveler who had booking problems with her Carnival cruise should have been to use a travel agent. As an agent who specializes in cruise travel, I can assure you that the traveler would never have had the problem she encountered if she'd used an agency. We are the travelers' advocates. For those who prefer to search the Internet for bargains, or who think that going direct to the vendor will get them a better deal, do your research, then call us. By booking through us or agencies like ours, you will almost always get a better deal with less hassle, no extra cost and a travel professional to assist them should problems arise.

A traveler who uses frequent flier miles and used American Airilnes and Japan Airlines on a round-the-world trip asks: What is the point of the airlines "stressing out" the loyal customer? Regarding "Not Feeling the Reward of Frequent Flier Miles" by Catharine Hamm [On the Spot, Dec. 25]: Recently, I returned from a round-the-world business and pleasure trip. I used a combination of frequent flier miles and revenue for ticketing 14 flights. As Hamm's article stated, it is getting increasingly more difficult to use frequent flier miles whether it's one carrier (American and Delta are my preferred airlines)

SuperShuttle launched a winter sale for those who need an extra incentive not to drive to the airport. The national shuttle service takes 10% off fares for shared van rides to and from airports nationwide and gives travelers frequent-flier miles or points too. The deal: The sale is good at SuperShuttle locations nationwide, including airports in Los Angeles , Burbank , Long Beach and Santa Ana ( John Wayne Airport)....

Loud grumbles can be heard by travelers at this busy time of year under normal circumstances, but what is that noise going on with itinerant virtuosos carrying on board million-dollar-plus Strads and Guarneris on their way to concert dates? It's the sound of bureaucracy. And it's overtaking what used to be a well-understood, mutually respectful transaction - between cellists (mostly) and the industry that transports them and their treasured instruments. Cellists have been bearing the brunt because their cargo is too precious to check as regular baggage but so large that it requires an extra cabin seat.

Question: On Aug. 1, I tried to book a round-trip flight on American Airlines between San Diego and Philadelphia for Oct. 1 using my frequent-flier miles. I thought a two-month lead would facilitate the reservation. There were no seats available for 25,000 miles for October. I paid $25 to speak to a human. She tried her best but with the same result. If I were willing to expend 50,000 miles, there were plenty of seats. How far ahead does AA release its frequent-flier seats? Is this bait and switch?

Question: I have frequent flier miles on both US Airways and American. Can you tell me how you think a merger of these two would affect these miles? Joyce Horsefield Fountain Valley Answer: Your miles, in all likelihood, would be safe, airline experts told me. It's your benefits you may need to worry about, if recent experiences are an indication. But you may not need to worry about any of this. To clarify: American Airlines, which did not file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as most of the legacy carriers did after the Sept.

If you got a stack of gift cards for the holidays, United Airlines now has a deal to turn those cards into miles. Frequent-flier members with United, which will soon merge with Continental Airlines, can exchange gift cards from 60 major retailers for frequent-flier miles in United's MileagePlus program. The program is unusual because most airline mileage programs convert accumulated frequent-flier miles into credit toward hotel room stays, car rentals or meals. The new United program flips that concept around.

Frequent-flier miles clearly have value — why else would people want them? But do they also represent taxable income? Citibank seems to think so. It's sending tax forms to people who received thousands of miles as a reward for opening a checking or savings account. Those forms value each mile at about 2.5 cents and list the total dollar amount as miscellaneous income. This is news to tax pros. "I've been practicing for 25 years and I've never had an instance where miles have been treated as taxable," said Gregg Wind, a West Los Angeles certified public accountant.

Feeling guilty because you're not reading your frequent-flier membership emails and hotel loyalty program correspondence? Here's a site that stores your info and alerts you to deals and bonuses. Name: UsingMiles.com What it does: Stores your travel loyalty reward programs and lets you search and book travel using your debit/credit card, award flights or reward points. If you choose to book an award flight, it takes you straight to the airline website, for example, signs you in automatically and presents you with your options.

A traveler who uses frequent flier miles and used American Airilnes and Japan Airlines on a round-the-world trip asks: What is the point of the airlines "stressing out" the loyal customer? Regarding "Not Feeling the Reward of Frequent Flier Miles" by Catharine Hamm [On the Spot, Dec. 25]: Recently, I returned from a round-the-world business and pleasure trip. I used a combination of frequent flier miles and revenue for ticketing 14 flights. As Hamm's article stated, it is getting increasingly more difficult to use frequent flier miles whether it's one carrier (American and Delta are my preferred airlines)

A great city for any season I enjoyed the story about Bethlehem, Pa. [" ' Christmas City' Filled With Holiday Tradition," by Karl Zimmermann, Dec. 25]. It's an amazing place any time, and especially at this time of year. I live near there and know the Historic Bethlehem area well both at Christmas and at other seasons of the year. The Moravians have a marvelous, continuing tradition. Donald S. Heintzelman Zionsville, Pa. His own trip globetrotting I howled with glee when I read David Lamb's Dec. 18 story, "A Gift of the World.