In the holiday classic National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Chevy
Chase’s character Clark Griswold dreams of receiving his Christmas Bonus
check. Like many employees, he’s counting on the money and in his
case, has already spent it.
But increasingly the Holiday Bonus is no longer a sure thing and more times than not employees are left disappointed when expectations fall short.
Unfortunately the same can be said about the Travel Reward industry. Frequent travelers work hard throughout the year to rack up points with their favorite airline and hotel only to be be let down when they discover redemption requirements have suddenly increased.
Such was the case when United Airlines recently announced major changes to its MileagePlus program. Starting in 2014, MileagePlus members will need more miles to get to where they want to go.
A sure fire way to stay ahead of program changes and ward off disappointment is to bank more miles. Easier said than done? Well, consider the bonus mile and point category. According to loyalty marketing research firm Colloquy, nearly $20 billion worth of bonus miles and points were issued last year. Yet surprisingly, many more bonus offers go unclaimed because collectors either don’t know or forgot about the time-limited offers when it comes time to booking their travel.
This holiday season, avoid a Griswold type meltdown and instead stuff your stockings with bonus miles and points by visiting sites that track bonus point activity such as www.frequentflyerbonuses.com. Could be the difference between taking the family on a day trip to Wally World versus a two week excursion to the exotic shores of Maui, Hawaii.
