I remember sitting in my grandmother’s living room and licking S&H Green Stamps and pasting them in prize booklets in hopes of getting something for free.
The Green Stamps of today are frequent-flier programs or hotel reward points or some loyalty program promising you free airline tickets, hotel stays or car rentals in exchange for your repeat business.
But I often wonder if our loyalty is really worth the aggravation it takes to redeem those miles and points.
Randy Petersen and Tim Winship teamed up and wrote “Mileage Pro: The Insider’s Guide to Frequent Flyer Programs” (OAG Worldwide, $19.95).
It’s the November pick for the Color of Money Book Club.
Petersen publishes InsideFlyer magazine as well as several travel-related websites, including .
Winship is the publisher of . and is a contributing editor for Frequent Flyer magazine and .
Petersen says that as a manager for a large menswear retailer, he spent a lot of time flying and keeping track of his mileage awards.
Winship is the insider. He spent 20 years in the travel industry working in loyalty marketing for Singapore Airlines, All Nippon Airways and Hilton Hotels. He developed frequent-flier programs.
“Many rewards go unredeemed because travelers either do not have the time to use them or have not learned how to manage them,” the authors write. “Other travelers do not concentrate their loyalty, finding themselves with miles and points scattered everywhere except in the program from which they are seeking free travel.”
The authors believe that if you manage travel-loyalty programs well, you can enjoy some nice perks and minimize the headaches in redeeming your rewards. For example, they point out that more than 50 percent of all miles and points are earned without leaving the ground.
Petersen and Winship say it is particularly important to keep track of your points and miles. An estimated 7 percent to 8 percent of travel is improperly recorded, they point out.
This primer covers quite a lot of ground. In one chapter, the authors compile the 52 best pieces of frequent-flier advice.
To become a member of the Color of Money Book Club, all you have to do is read the recommended book. I also invite you to join me live online to discuss the book with the authors. This month, Petersen and Winship will be my guests to take your questions at . at 10 a.m. MST on Nov. 29.
In addition, every month I randomly select readers to receive copies of the book, donated by the publisher. For a chance to win a copy of “Mileage Pro,” send an e-mail to colorofmoney@washpost.com.
Michelle Singletary singletarym@washpost.com
