Kids Travel, Travel

Travel For Free

There may be “no such thing as a free lunch”…but there are free airline tickets! If your family likes to travel, do yourself a favor. Take 20 minutes to go down this list and sign up for frequent flyer numbers across all the major U.S. airlines. And don’t forget the kids–if they’re old enough to need a full price ticket, they’re old enough to start earning miles!

Delta SkyMilles:

SkyMiles never expire and can be accrued across Delta’s 20+ partner airlines, including KLM, Air France, Al Italia, Aeromexico, China Eastern and Virgin Atlantic and Australia. Adults simply fill out this online form to obtain a SkyMiles number. For children, Delta requires a parent or guardian to complete this form and email or fax it in. It takes about two business days for them to process and any flights that were taken less than 30 days prior can be back credited.

JetBlue TrueBlue Program

JetBlue is the only major US airline that allows mile pooling for families. Each family member must become a JetBlue TrueBlue program member by enrolling online. Then, 2 adults and up to 5 children can combine miles in one account for free. Check out the specifics, here.

Southwest Rapid Awards

With no blackout dates, unlimited rewards seats and a growing network of cities, Southwest Rapid Rewards program is one of my favorites. Just go to southwest.com and click Rapid Rewards in the upper right hand corner. Once enrolled, your account remains active as long as there is activity once every 24 months.

American Airlines AAdvantage:

Both children and adults can get their AAdvantage number online. Unlike other airlines, AAdvantage miles are accrued based on dollars spent, not miles flown. On the upside there is a hefty partner list that includes Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Hawaiian Airlines and Quantas Airways.

United Airlines MilagePlus:

United Airlines is part of the Star Alliance, giving members varying degrees of MileagePlus benefits across 27 airlines. Points expire if there is no account activity in 18 months. To sign up, just complete the online form found here.

When you’ve finished signing up, take a picture of the numbers to keep on your phone. It makes for quick and easy to access whenever you’re booking travel. Happy ExpLAURing!