Learn the Golden Rules of Airline Loyalty Programs

After watching Up in the Air and seeing how George Clooney was spoiled at the airport, I've become interested in getting in on some of his sweet loyalty program action. But I've come to understand that I've been doing it all wrong -- I need some professional help.

FlightCaster co-founder Evan Konwiser recently explained on Lifehacker how to maximize the value of your airline loyalty program. Apparently, it all boils down to four basic rules:

1. Never fly without earning miles. Even if you're on a new airline, just sign up and get credit for the miles -- as Konwiser points out, it's just too easy to waste the miles. You never know when you might have a chance to use them later.

2. Only belong to one program per major alliance. If you spread out your memberships, you can't consolidate the miles, which dilutes the value of every program you are a member of.

3. Focus your efforts on a dominant program. That's probably the airline you fly on the most.

4. Get Elite status. This, Konwiser says, is the whole point of belonging to an airline loyalty program. The miles are hard to use, but once you have Elite status, you get all sorts of cool stuff, like priority check-in, better seat selection, no baggage fees, and more -- and that's just at the lowest tier. The bottom line: All of your loyalty program activity should be focused on getting Elite status.

As a side note, Konwiser points out that while Elite status isn't transferrable among airlines, you can sometimes use your Elite status on one airline to finagle your way into another. His advice: Call and ask. The worst they can do is say no, but it's entirely you can get Elite status with a new airline just by faxing proof of status at a different airline.