Frequent Flyers, Frequent Frustrations

It didn’t surprise me to learn that frequent flyers are having a horrible time redeeming their miles for free tickets on just about every major carrier.  Rick Seaney over at Farecompare.com (a site that helps travelers find cheap flights and discount airline tickets) says airlines are operating at near full capacity and their revenue managers don’t want to give up seats for free.

I understand that philosophy but remember Frequent Flyer miles are part of a REWARD program.  Designed for the airlines best customers to use those miles as rewards.  Instead it causing passengers major headaches just trying to book those flights.

The reward programs are big business.  The airlines sell those miles to credit card companies to give to their customers.  They recieve billions in return.  The bottom line is too many passengers now have to many miles and everyone wants to use those miles for the same trip to Europe or Hawaii.

The expert advice is to book your frequent flyer miles trips early and be flexible.  Imagine that, “be flexible” when flying, that’s a novel concept.  Even when I fly from here to Austin, I’m prepared to waste an entire day in the airport.

To be fair, most travelers we spoke with actually said the only airline that does a nice job with their frequent flyer rewards program is Southwest Airlines.   Too bad flying anywhere out of Dallas on Southwest is such a hassle.  But that is about to change once the all those old Wright Ammendment restrictions are totally lifted.

My Sneaky Way to Blog Hit Pay Dirt

I figured the best way to get blog hits would be to write about things people are interested in.  Since I don’t have any, “Free Hanna Montana Tickets“… that won’t work.  I do have this picture of Charlize Theron taken by my wife at the AFI Dallas Film Festival, though I am sure most searches are looking for a naked pictures of Charlize Theron.  You won’t find that on NBC5i.com. 

Amy (my wife, Amy Vanderoef) also gave me this picture of her with Martin Sheen.  She has another with Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman, two Cowboy Greats, but she didn’t send it in time for this post. 

I wish I could tell you I have free music downloads, but I don’t.  And NBC5 does not condone Porn on this site, though I am told that is the number one search on the internet.  A contest offering Stars Playoff Tickets, along with Mavericks Playoff Tickets certainly would drive traffic here.  Sadly, I have none to give away.

I am told links to other bloggers is a great way to get traffic.  I met a terrific guy over at Farecompare.com, a place to look for cheap airline tickets and discount fares.  His name is Rick Seaney and he has a blog that also focuses on cheap airline tickets and discount fares.

Rick will be an expert in my story that airs tonight on Frequent Flyer Miles and the challanges flyers face when trying to use them.

Below is a computer geeks way of getting traffic, Make my blog one of your favorites!  Please, I beg of you.