The majority of American travelers are throwing away money, according to a recent survey by The Princeton Group.
Only 67 percent of Americans collect rewards miles for flying, and, of those, 73 percent don’t know how many they have, according to the study. Additionally, 59 percent of those who are enrolled in rewards programs don’t know how they work.
“Miles and points are a form of currency,” said Brian Kelly, founder of ThePointsGuy, a blog dedicated to maximizing travel points, in his article. “They are worth money. Sometimes they are worth a lot of money — depending on how you redeem them. The bottom line is that your points and miles are an asset and they are worth keeping track of."
Various programs track rewards miles. Kelly suggested two, AwardWallet and TripIt, but the paid version of these may not be worth the cost if you don’t travel much, according to travel blog Fodors.
AwardWallet offers a free version if all you need is organizing rewards points. For those who have a lot of points, the pro service is only about $10 every six months.
Other rewards-tracking sites include Points, Usingmiles and Traxco.
EMAIL: alovell@deseretnews.com