Joining a Frequent Flyer Program in 2024? Here's How to Rack Up Miles Fast

If you want to enjoy more affordable air travel experiences and get free upgrades, joining a frequent flyer program could be a smart move for 2024. But if you're going to commit to an airline and book all your flights in one place, it's important to get the most "mileage" out of your frequent flyer membership.

The faster you earn frequent flyer miles, the faster you start earning free (or discount) flights and upgrades. With careful planning, you can get the most value from your frequent flyer experience.

Let's look at a few easy strategies to rack up frequent flyer miles faster in 2024.

Get bonus miles on an airline credit card

One of the fastest ways to rack up miles as a new member of a frequent flyer program is to sign up for an airline credit card. Many of the best airline credit cards offer introductory sign-up bonuses, where they give you thousands of bonus miles you can redeem for airline tickets or other rewards.

For example, the American Airlines AAdvantage® frequent flyer program offers the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®. This credit card gives you a bonus of 75,000 miles if you spend $3,500 within the first 4 months of opening your card account.

How much are those bonus miles really worth? As an example, let's look at the approximate value of American Airlines frequent flyer miles, based on how many miles it takes to buy an award ticket. It depends on where you fly and which class of ticket you buy; longer flights and higher-class fares will cost more miles.

Here's a breakdown of approximately how many frequent flyer miles it takes to buy tickets on American Airlines (this table includes one-way tickets for flights originating in North America):

Sometimes, you can find cheaper flights with your frequent flyer miles than the numbers listed here. For example, I did a quick search on the American Airlines website (AA.com) for flights from my home city (Des Moines, Iowa) to London Heathrow Airport in mid-January 2024. I found international frequent flyer reward flights starting at 48,000 miles roundtrip, plus $202 of cash for taxes and fees. (You can use frequent flyer miles to pay airlines, but not the government!)

What this means for your frequent flyer plans: If you join the AAdvantage® frequent flyer program, and sign up for the American Airlines credit card mentioned above that gives you 50,000 bonus miles, this number of miles could already be enough to help you get a free international flight!

Get strategic about your credit card spending

Some of the best travel rewards credit cards don't just give you introductory bonus miles; they give you valuable bonus multipliers on everyday spending. Some airline cards might give you extra frequent flyer miles for every dollar you spend on restaurants or other categories.

For example, the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card gives you 40,000 Bonus Miles bonus miles for signing up and spending $2,000 on your card in the first 6 months (terms apply). This card also lets you earn 2 frequent flyer miles for every $1 you spend on:

• Delta Air Lines purchases
• Restaurants (including takeout and delivery)
• Groceries

And you get 1 mile for every $1 for other purchases you make with this card. Terms apply. The Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card also gives you a 15% discount when you book award travel with your frequent flyer miles through the Delta website or Delta app. If you spend $10,000 in a calendar year on this card ($833.33 per month), you'll get an extra $200 Delta flight credit. Terms apply.

I used the Delta Air Lines website (Delta.com) to find frequent flyer reward flights from Des Moines to London Heathrow in mid-January 2024. I found Delta award flights in Basic Economy starting at 62,000 miles (plus $203 for taxes).

What this means for your frequent flyer plans: If you get the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, and spend $10,000 in 2x spending categories (Delta flights, restaurant meals, groceries), you'll get 40,000 bonus sign-up miles, plus 20,000 miles for the $10,000 you spent on the card). Just by using this airline credit card for everyday purchases, you could earn enough miles for a free international flight on Delta Air Lines!

Bottom line: Plan ahead and make sure you understand how many frequent flyer miles it takes to get award flights from your airline. Sign up for a frequent flyer program, and then get an airline credit card to help rack up frequent flyer miles fast. By combining sign-up bonus miles with everyday spending on your credit card, you can earn enough frequent flyer miles to get a free flight or other travel perks and awards within your first year.