Published November 14, 2001
By Lynn Woods, Expedia.com Contributor

Aside from the abundance of airline double-miles promotions and reduced frequent-flyer mileage rewards, there's another reason why you might to want to cash in your miles: The weakened financial state of the airlines and possible demise of one or more carriers in the next six months could put your miles at risk.

Here's why, and here's what you can do.

Airlines reluctant to accept other carriers' miles
In the past, frequent-flyer program members with miles from an airline that went out of business or was acquired by another carrier were usually transferred over to another carrier's program—as was the case with TWA, for example. However, it is less likely that such arrangements will be made in the future.

The reason is that carriers don't want to take on the added liability of another airline's miles. Adding to the problem is the fact that many airlines have eliminated expiration dates on miles, meaning that the number of miles accumulated in the carriers' programs is enormous.

When Midway Airlines went under last month, members of its frequent-flyer program lost their miles because Midway didn't have a partnership with any other carrier. However, even in cases where an ailing airline belongs to an alliance or has a domestic partner, it's less likely the partner will agree to accept the carrier's miles into its program. Points earned in affinity programs could also be at risk, as evidenced by the fate of Click Rewards, which is currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

What you can do
One option if you're worried about your miles is to enroll in the frequent-flyer programs at charge-card companies. If an airline goes under, you can often convert miles to points and transfer them to another program offered by the charge-card company.

Another option is to buy insurance. For example, a company called Inside Flyer offers a product called Award Guard that will bankroll your miles in the event of an airline failure and deduct them in standard mileage reward amounts for a free ticket.

Editor's note: Expedia.com's Mileage Tracker service makes managing your miles easier, and automatically tracks all of your frequent traveler programs in one place.