Travel

It has been 25 years since both United and American Airlines began offering passengers reward miles for flying with them. To mark the anniversary, both airlines are offering a special double mileage promotion. I have been a United Mileage Plus member for 22 years. (Ugh, can I be that old?) and have racked up enough miles to fly back and forth from Chicago to Hawaii a number of times. If you currently are not a member of either United or American’s frequent-flier programs, this offer may be the incentive you have been waiting for.

United customers can earn double miles on all published-fare tickets booked on united.com between May 18 and May 31. Travel must be completed by November 15th. If you are not a frequent-flier member, you must register prior to travel, but no later than May 31st. The offer is valid only on United, United Express and Ted flights, and not on United partners such as US Airways or Air Canada.

American Airlines’ double mileage promotion is nearly identical to United’s. American’s offer gives you double miles for travel on published fares on all American Airlines, American Eagle or AmericanConnection flights through November 15th. Similar to United’s promotion, customers must register prior to travel but no later than May 31. Travel must be booked at AA.com and you must use the promotion code DBL06 .

I love the idea of getting double miles for a single trip. However, it begs the question, depending on how many people take advantage of this offer, how hard will it be to redeem the miles earned from this promotion? (It’s a topic I touched on in a recent blog: “Hawaii or a Plasma TV. ”)

Regardless, miles are miles and if you are a savvy traveler you will be find a way to redeem them. And considering how much gas costs these days, it may be worth figuring out if flying to your summer vacation destination would be cheaper than driving. In which case, you could really benefit from United and American’s anniversary special.