Redeem Frequent Flyer Miles Now

Do you have thousands of unused frequent flyer miles, and don't know what to do with them? Now might be the best time to cash them in.

Travel expert Peter Greenberg had some good news Monday for "The Early Show" viewers who are trying to redeeming those miles.

"The good news is you can earn miles for everything short of dying, right?" he said. "The problem is you die trying to redeem them."

Airlines make it difficult, he explained, because no airline ever wants to displace a paying customer to give away a seat. That's why airlines have always kept redemption levels low.

However, a bad economy and a desperate time for the airlines have combined -- for a very limited time -- to create a window of opportunity for flyers to finally be able to redeem those miles for flights when -- and where -- they want to go.

Over the past year, Greenberg explained, the airlines, confronted with high fuel prices and a steep drop in passengers, cut capacity. Yet as much as the airlines cut back, the number of passengers dropped even more.

Greenberg said the airlines had been hoping their cuts would trigger a rise in relative demand and allow them to hike air fares. But that hasn't happened yet.

Since airlines have to carry unredeemed frequent flyer miles as a liability on their books, he said, they are now -- for the first time in recent memory -- starting to make those mileage tickets available. Some are even having mileage "sales." This is not just for summer travel, but for fall and holiday travel.

For the first time in recent memory, travelers can not only earn miles, he said, but they can also burn them.

But how long will the window of opportunity stay open?

Greenberg said the window will stay open as long as seats remain available. But as soon as the number of passengers stabilizes, and there are not as many available seats, the window, he said, will slam closed.

Greenberg recommended booking flights soon, predicting in three weeks the opportunity will end.

Some of the added incentives from major carriers include:

United MileagePlus
As of July 27, Greenberg said, United announced it would eliminate the last-minute ticketing fee for frequent-flier tickets. The original fee was $100 to book awards tickets within six days, and $75 to book between seven and 20 days.

United, he said, had one of the lowest redemption levels, based on a study by IdeaWorks that answered the question, "Which airlines offer the most online availability for transatlantic reward travel?" United had an 18 percent redemption rate, compared to Continental (36 percent); Delta Northwest (44 percent); American (58 percent).

American AAdvantage
American introduced its new Flex awards for AAdvantage members, a program that allows travelers to purchase one-way tickets using mileage, at exactly half of the round-trip rate. With other airlines, he said, you don't get the full value of that half-measure.

With this, Greenberg said, travelers can combine their mileage choices. For example, if your outbound flight is more flexible than your return, you can book one direction with a MileSAAver Peak award-which is economical but subject to availability-and the return with an AAnytime reward, which allows you travel anytime, with no concern about blackout dates or limited award seats.

Delta Northwest SkyMiles
The new SkyMiles Award travel structure offers a three-tiered structure to allow customers to combine dates and cabin seating at various mileage levels. Tiers start at 25,000, 40,000 and 60,000 miles round-trip, instead of the old 25,000 and 50,000 mile model. (But honestly, Greenberg said, good luck finding tickets at the lowest tier!).

The biggest news of this new program, Greenberg said, is the "rollover plan." Any miles you fly over the minimum 25,000 can be rolled over into the following year to reach the next level of elite status. So if you flew 40,000 miles in 2010, you're above and beyond Silver status, but not quite at Gold -- so those extra miles can be applied in 2011 to help you reach the Gold level.

A current promotion is offering SkyMiles and WorldPerks members miles for getting LASIK. Earn 5,000 miles for a free Lasik eye exam, and 20,000 for the procedure. (Not valid in New York or Virginia.)

As of July 1 through Dec. 31, Delta SkyMiles AmEx members can get double miles.

JetBlue TrueBlue
JetBlue announced on Aug. 3 that its revamped TrueBlue plan will launch Sept. 28, 2009.

JetBlue will make every seat on every flight available for TrueBlue redemption, with NO blackout dates. The points required will vary by flight, day of the week, season and booking window. One-way flights start at 5,000 points, and will increase in increments of 100 based on the varying factors.

US Airways Dividend Miles
Award flights to Europe generally costs 50,000 to 60,000 miles in coach, but between Jan. 15-Feb. 28, 2010 (slow season), you can redeem a coach ticket to Europe for 35,000 miles coach, 60,000 miles business.

Through Aug. 15, US Airways is offering a 100 percent bonus on Dividend Miles purchased online. That means the cost of one mile is 1.25 cents, as opposed to 2.5 cents. You can purchase 25,000 miles for $342.50, but again, good luck getting a ticket for that amount of miles. However, the pricier the ticket, (i.e. long-haul flights), the more value you can get out of these miles.

Virgin Flying Club
Virgin's 25th Anniversary Redemption sale launched at the beginning of the year and expires Aug. 22, 2009. Flying Club Members receive a 20 percent saving on the number of miles needed to book Economy Redemption Seats on key routes worldwide.

American Express
Double membership rewards on gas and grocery purchases, through March 15, 2010. Gas and grocery per month up to $1,000 get double points.

But how long will these programs be available?

Greenberg said there will always be offers and bonus mileage deals out there because it doesn't really cost the airlines anything to offer them. Earning bonus miles is easy, but in general, redeeming them is tough.

Greenberg recommended using mileage partners. Mileage partners, he explained, accept miles from each other. If you earn miles with United, for example, he said those miles are good with any of the Star Alliance airlines including Air Canada, Lufthansa, US Airways, etc.

So if you're looking to fly from New York to Los Angeles, and there are no flights available on United, he suggested checking out any of their partner airlines and chances are you'll be able to find a seat.

Greenberg added that alternate airports may be a few minutes out of the way, but could end up saving you big in the long run. Many of the online sites, he said, even allow you to search multiple and nearby airports.

Another way you could try to redeem those miles is to get connecting flights in other cities that have more seats than nonstop flights.

"As weird as this sounds," he told CBS News, "if you want to go from Los Angeles to Honolulu, you might actually get seats going from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and then to Honolulu, instead of trying to fly Los Angeles to Honolulu nonstop."

Greenberg said booking in advance is always a good idea. Airlines post fares 330 days in advance, he said, so it's a good move to book as far out as possible to get a better chance of finding available seats.

Most people don't know this, Greenberg said, but airline frequent flyer programs have become the most profitable division of the airlines -- in some cases worth more than the airlines themselves.