Frequent Flyer

How to collect miles for your daily activities


Family at the coastal village

E

Erica Silverstein
Default image

    Earning frequent flyer miles doesn't have to be difficult or time-consuming. You can earn plenty of miles with everyday activities at home or at work, without expending a lot of energy. Here's an example of a typical day in the life of a United Mileage Plus member who earns miles with ease.



    Earning miles on a lazy Saturday



    It's Saturday morning and you're craving omelets and orange juice, but the fridge is empty. You grab your shopping list, hop in the car, and head off to

    Safeway

    for some grocery shopping (Cost: $50, Miles: 25). On the way home, you notice that you're low on gas, so you stop to fill up. You pay with your

    Mileage Plus Visa

    (Cost: $20, Miles: 20).

    After your scrumptious breakfast, you log onto the Internet to make a few online purchases. You buy jeans and a T-shirt at

    Gap.com

    (Cost: $70, Miles: 210) and splurge on a pair of trousers at

    Banana Republic's website

    (Cost: $90, Miles: 270); of course, you pay with your mileage-earning Visa. Out of the corner of your eye, you spot some bills piling up on your desk, so you log onto

    NetBank

    and pay them online (Miles: 500).

    You're about to log off when you glance at the calendar. It's Mom's birthday in a few days and you haven't mailed a gift. You quickly find

    FTD.com

    and send her a pretty bouquet of flowers (Cost: $50, Miles: 500).

    Enough with the errands! You flop onto the couch and pick up your copy of

    People Magazine

    (250 miles for subscribing) to get a quick fix of gossip. Feeling a little guilty about your indulgence, you switch to the

    San Francisco Chronicle

    (Cost: $50, Miles: 250) to catch up on local and world news.

    An article in the travel section reminds you of your friend on the opposite coast you haven't phoned in ages. You decide that today is the perfect day to call, glad that

    Sprint Long Distance

    (Cost: $5, Miles: 25) has low weekend rates.

    Glancing over at the clock, you realize you've been gabbing away for over an hour. It's time to get ready for dinner downtown with the gang. You've chosen the restaurant this weekend, making sure it was affiliated with

    Mileage Plus Dining

    by iDine (Cost: $100, Miles: 1,000).



    Summary

    Visit our

    Mile Finder

    to discover all the ways you can earn miles with airline partners

    Our mileage-savvy friend earned 3,050 miles in one day without doing anything out of the ordinary. If you pay attention to mile-earning opportunities from airline partners, you too can earn thousands of miles for the shopping, banking, reading, and eating you normally do in the course of a day.