How to Give Frequent-Flier Miles as a Holiday Gift

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WSJ Your Money Briefing 8 min 3 speakers 2 chapters transcribed 2 months ago
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ReliaQuest Advertiser 0:00
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J.R. Whalen 0:30
Here's your money briefing for Wednesday, December 1st. I'm J.R. Whalen for The Wall Street Journal. Take a peek at your credit card rewards or your frequent flyer account. A lot of miles building up. You may look at them and think, when am I ever going to use those? But have you thought about giving them to someone as a holiday gift?
Allison Pohle 0:52
This year, with all the supply chain snags, this is one gift that's impervious to those. You won't have to worry about the shipment arriving in time.
J.R. Whalen 1:00
That's reporter Allison Poley. She covers the travel industry for the WSJ. Coming up, we'll talk with her about how to award your airline miles and credit card points to someone else and some helpful hints to avoid fees. That's after the break.
ReliaQuest Advertiser 1:12
This podcast is brought to you by ReliaQuest. Cyber criminals are constantly attacking. They want your data. They want your identity. They want your innovation. ReliaQuest fortifies your business with agentic defense, AI that detects, contains, and eliminates cyber threats in minutes. It helps your security team move faster at the work that matters most to protect the business now and delivers insights to help them predict what's next.

Why consider giving frequent-flier miles or credit-card points as a holiday gift?

ReliaQuest Advertiser 1:34
ReliaQuest, agentic defense for the enterprise. Learn more at ReliaQuest.com. That's R-E-L-I-A-Q-U-E-S-T.com.
J.R. Whalen 1:49
Between all the shipping delays, low inventory in stores, and just having friends and family on your holiday list that are impossible to shop for, gift-giving this year is harder than ever. But some people may have overlooked a present that's supply chain proof, frequent flyer miles or points. It could be the perfect gift, but there are important things to know before you go surprising someone with an unexpected plane ticket. WSJ Travel reporter Allison Pohle has been looking into this, and she joins us with some tips. Allison, thanks for being with us.
Allison Pohle 2:18
Thanks for having me.
J.R. Whalen 2:19
So, you know, Allison, for a lot of people, it's been a while since they took a flight. They probably have lost count of how many miles they've actually racked up.
Allison Pohle 2:26
That's correct. Even people who have begun traveling again in recent months might not have been traveling as much as they were before the pandemic, meaning that they might have miles left over that they haven't used, as well as points from travel credit cards that can be redeemed for airline trips as well.
J.R. Whalen 2:45
Do people have to worry about miles in their account expiring?
Allison Pohle 2:48
No, even if people haven't been traveling for a while and they've been racking up a lot of miles, most miles do not expire, so they don't need to worry about an expiration date.
J.R. Whalen 2:57
So how common is giving miles or points as gifts, and do people actually like receiving these?
Allison Pohle 3:02
It means that someone doesn't have to pay for a flight, which can be a big cost sometimes, so that can be a great surprise. Also, this year with all the supply chain snags, this is one gift that's impervious to those. You won't have to worry about the shipment arriving in time. There was a survey that came out from market research firm Destination Analysts, and they found that nearly two-thirds of American travelers said they would feel either happy or very happy to receive a travel-related gift this holiday season. And that was up from 47% last year in 2020.
J.R. Whalen 3:36
Okay, so at least it sounds like the gift would be appreciated. So let's talk about how this works. When you transfer miles or points to someone, where exactly do you transfer them to?
Allison Pohle 3:45
So you would be transferring them into the other person's airline loyalty account.

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