An airline ticket makes a welcome gift and a cost-free one at that if financed by frequent-flier miles. A journalists’ organization often asks its members to provide travel to an annual seminar in the Far West for younger members for whom a $500 air ticket constitutes a hopeless barrier.
Not so long ago transfer of frequent-flier awards was restricted or barred by most airlines. American, which in 1981 created the first program, has always permitted members to give their awards to anyone else, says Tom Reilly, a spokesman. But other lines limited sharing frequent-flier miles to family members or people with the same name. The idea was to prevent the sale of tickets through coupon brokers. Sale and bartering are against airline regulations, and courts have upheld the policy although brokers continue to conduct business.
The shift on transferring began in 1988-89. Randy Peterson, editor of Inside Flyer magazine, says the change came as a sweetener at a time the airlines were tightening other rules. The airlines put a sharp limitation on the number of seats available for award travel and instituted blackout days. The airlines presumably had a nightmare vision of an airplane full of people traveling free. The result is that a basic-level, frequent-flier ticket is not usable for a Christmas, Thanksgiving or Easter trip home. Airlines then began offering tickets at two “prices”: one for fewer miles that is subject to controls and one for a higher mileage usable any time.
But Trans World Airlines continued a policy, on paper at least, restricting transfers to family members, ranging from spouse to a cousin’s spouse. Gay and lesbian travelers objected, and the gay travel newsletter Out and About gave TWA an F rating. The airline dropped the limitation Jan. 1, 1996, and this milestone is noted in the newsletter’s fifth anniversary issue this month. Delta, which permitted transfers to some domestic partners as well as specified family members, began to permit unrestricted gifts in May 1995.
There are still transfer restrictions affecting foreign airlines that participate in a domestic line’s program. This column deals with making a gift of a domestic round-trip ticket, the basic frequent-flier ticket, which requires 20,000 or 25,000 miles.
The airlines are in transition on procedures. Some still issue certificates, which must then be turned into tickets, and some go straight to tickets. One embraces the electronic mode as the perfect vehicle, and it probably is. All are edgy about “fraud,” by which they mean the possibility that a ticket may be going out in another name because it is being sold. This is a narrow line. As Con Hitchcock, then a lawyer at the Aviation Consumer Action Project in Washington, once said: “I understand the economics of the airlines, but if you can give a ticket to Aunt Shirley and Uncle Ed, why can’t you sell it to them?” The airlines’ vigilance on selling, combined with the requirement that photo identification at the airport be in the exact name on the ticket, mean that the transfer procedure can be tedious.
One catch is that a restricted 25,000-mile certificate may be difficult to turn into a reservation for the right date and may take extra time. If plans change, donors and recipients should check expiration dates on certificates or tickets.
Continental does not use certificates, and considers electronic tickets the “primary method” for its One Pass program, as its guide says. This means that the donor must find out the recipient’s travel plans, then call the membership department and provide both membership and personal identification numbers. The reservation is made in the name of the recipient.
The receipt and itinerary, with an identification number, are mailed or faxed to the member, who can then relay them to the recipient, says Steve Sickel, a spokesman for the program. At the airport, the recipient shows identification, gives the reservation number and gets a boarding pass. Paper tickets will require at least 10 days for mail delivery. Continental has restricted domestic tickets for 25,000 and Easy Pass tickets for 50,000 miles.
American uses both certificates and tickets for its AAdvantage program. Either may be issued in the name of someone the member designates but will be mailed only to the address on file for the member. A certificate already issued to the member may be switched to someone else’s name if the member handles the change at the airport or an airline office. An electronic ticket can also be used. American has restricted domestic tickets for 25,000 and AAnytime tickets for 40,000.
US Airways, says David A. Castelveter, a spokesman, requires 21 days’ notice to provide a Dividend Miles ticket without a surcharge of $50 or $75, depending on how soon the departure is. The reservation may be made in the recipient’s name, but the ticket will be mailed only to the member. A restricted domestic ticket is issued for 25,000 miles; a restricted first-class domestic ticket is 40,000.
Delta disburses its Sky Miles certificates by mail: members mail their requests and receive certificates in their names by mail in 15 days. This certificate can be exchanged by the member in person for a ticket in someone else’s name. For a fee of $75, the line provides redemption in person at a Delta airline office or ticket counter. The ticket is issued immediately in the recipient’s name. The two price levels are 25,000 miles and 50,000 miles.
Trans World Airlines still provides restricted round-trip domestic tickets for 20,000 miles, unrestricted for 40,000. Its Frequent Flight Bonus Program uses either certificates or tickets, says Sue Boyd, a spokeswoman, who said that if a recipient did not have firm travel plans, a certificate might be the better gift. Either may be issued in the name of the recipient, but will be mailed only to the address of the member. TWA wants four weeks for delivery after receiving a phone call or letter.
Northwest has seasonal rates for its award tickets. For capacity-controlled tickets with blackout dates, the rate from Sept. 1 to Nov. 14 is 20,000 miles; from Nov. 15 to Aug. 31, 25,000 miles. For tickets without blackout dates, the low season rate is 40,000 miles and the rest of the year it is 50,000 miles. A member may call the World Perks phone number and ask to have the gift ticket issued in the name of the recipient, says Jim Faulkner, a spokesman, and the ticket will be mailed to the member’s address.
United issues tickets or certificates for its Mileage Plus in the recipient’s name on phone or mail request. The tickets are mailed to the member or can be picked up by the member at a United office. The restricted ticket costs 25,000 miles; unrestricted is 40,000 miles.
Those who belong to the American Express program Membership Rewards may use points — one point to the mile — on their accounts with Continental and Delta. TWA joins on Wednesday, and US Airways is leaving Feb. 1.
