Based on my admittedly unscientific sample of clients and friends, it seems like this competition will be greatly reduced in 2011. Even though travelers may have flown more actual miles, the lack of bonus miles will rank many of them at a lower level than last year.
By now we’ve all heard the stories. Or maybe it’s happened to you. What seems like a short time without flying, a little carelessness — and poof! — hard-earned frequent flier miles just disappear. And yes, the airlines do publish how long a period of activity is allowed before miles expire, usually about 18 months. [...]
For some travelers, frequent flier miles are almost as important as the trip. Especially when they are one or two flights away from the miles they need for a dream trip.
