Several business travellers fail to take advantage of frequent flyer and loyalty programmes, because they don’t have the appropriate information about how these programmes work, the benefits that they offer, and which one they should actually subscribe to. Here, we have listed out tips on how to choose the best loyalty programme and make absolutely the most out of it.

Even if you are a frequent traveller and the airport feels like your home, you would agree that choosing the right loyalty programme is not as easy as it may seem. The kind of programme you choose greatly affects how you can redeem, or even earn your miles. Usually, the uninformed flyers tend to enroll themselves into many frequent flyer programmes and take credit for any flight that they fly. However, there is a big problem with that:  By taking credits on multiple programmes, your miles are scatted across all of them, preventing you from redeeming the miles flown to get any significant discount on flight tickets and upgrades, or even enjoy elite tier status, which comes with a handful of sumptuous benefits. Yes, that’s a whole lot that you are missing out on!

So, it is best advised to have earn all your credits and miles on one loyalty programme, and subscribe to one or two other loyalty programmes in India, just in case if you need to fly with an airline that is not affiliated with your primary programme. Here are a few important factors that you must consider to get the best out of your program when you subscribe to a loyalty and rewards programme.

• Past accumulated miles

If you have a significant number of miles accumulated on a certain airline’s loyalty program, it is advised that you continue with that programme rather than looking for a new one and continue accumulating more miles.

• Travel destinations

Your home destination and the destinations to which you frequently travel to will obviously play a huge role in determining which airlines you can fly. Subscribe to a programme of a flight that covers those particular routes.

• Alliances

If you regularly use a certain credit card to book your air tickets and for hotel bookings, it would be best advised to check if the credit card has any affiliation with the airlines. Usually, most credit card companies have tie-ups with different airline companies. Co-branded credit cards are a brilliant way to double up your miles! Subscribe for the loyalty programme of the airline that is affiliated with the credit card you use.

• Earn rate

Each airline company’s loyalty programme has its own bonus points earning rate. The earning rate is essentially the miles that you accumulate for every mile that you fly. Most reputed airline companies have 1:1 earn rate, which means that you get one mile of free travel for every mile that you travel with that airlines. Avoid subscribing for the loyalty programs of the airlines that offer less than 1:1 earn rate.

• Burn rate

The burn rate, or the redemption rate, is as important as the earn rate. It is the number of miles that you need to redeem a free ticket or an upgrade, and greatly varies from programme to programme. Of course, here you must look at airlines with a low burn rate, so that you get to your free flights much quicker.

• Criteria for Elite Status

How long you take to bump up to the elite tiers too varies for each programme. Most programmes require you to complete flying for a certain number of miles to before being considered for Elite status. Some even consider the frequency of your travel. Be sure to check which programme is most feasible for you.

Selecting the right loyalty programme is no cakewalk. But if you keep all these points in consideration, you will certainly make the right decision.