More Americans than ever are flying these days, and even teenagers have credit cards that rake in airline miles with every purchase at the mall. As more and more people accumulate thousands of frequent flier miles, it seems like fewer people ever find a way actually to use them.

On the face of it, the mileage game seems pretty straightforward -- the airline requires X miles to qualify for an award, so when you pile up X miles, you should be able to redeem those X miles for that award on the spot, right?

Why Are Award Tickets and Upgrades So Tough To Get?
It turns out that it's not so simple. Here are some of the factors you are facing when you try to redeem your miles.

It is important to know that a limited number of seats on each plane are designated eligible for award travel. If airlines gave away every seat on the plane to travelers who accumulated their miles by putting their groceries on a credit card, planes would be full of non-paying travelers. As a result, as few as a handful of seats might be set aside for award travel on any given flight.

Thanks to programs such as credit card mileage deals, the number of people with heaps of miles is greater than ever before. Thus, the limited number of seats available for award travel can be filled very fast, and very early. It isn't unusual for a gate agent to get literally dozens of upgrade requests from qualifying program members at the airport.

The cost of first and business class fares is coming down steadily. The highest profile decrease was Delta's Simplifares program, which capped day of travel walk-up fares at under $1000.

Many discounted fares are not eligible for upgrades of any kind. That is, when you buy a bargain basement fare, your ticket is marked at the lowest class of fare, for which you get a seat and nothing more, and are not eligible for upgrades. Upgrades are restricted to travelers flying on a higher fare class ticket, usually at a higher price.

Not all miles are created equal. Miles earned on flights actually flown carry more weight than miles earned using your credit card, for example. Only miles actually flown qualify travelers for "medallion" status, which often grant automatic upgrades based on availability. All miles are redeemable, but these types of extra perks do not adhere to credit card miles, transferred miles, or the like.

Many first- and business-class fares are fully refundable. As a result, these folks can book a seat in the front of the plane and then cancel it without penalty very late in the game. So while the seat eventually becomes available, it is booked at the time you book your flight and request a mileage upgrade. These seats usually go to medallion-level travelers who get themselves on an upgrade list at the airport.

Then there are dirty tricks; some elite-level upgrade hogs have been known to book multiple refundable fares, cancel them at the last minute, then bust up to the gate to request an upgrade from their actual coach fare. Unbelievable, but true.

Some airlines are making it a bit easier; for example, Continental has a new online "upgradeability" calendar that shows availability by date for upgrades and award travel (more on this below). It still isn't easy, and most travelers find themselves stymied more often than successful in booking award travel. Here are some tips for nabbing upgrades and award tickets.

Tips For Getting Awards

The Number One Rule for obtaining award travel or upgrade is to investigate availability and options before you purchase a ticket. Availability is determined on a flight-by-flight basis, and once you purchase a specific ticket, your options narrow dramatically, if not terminally.

Book directly with your airline's frequent flier program. Given the Number One Rule above, I have found this is the best way to discover and understand all of the available options for upgrades and award travel. When purchasing a fare to Europe on Continental, I called the frequent flier desk directly; with some effort, they were able to cobble together an itinerary on which every leg was upgradeable, and I was a very satisfied, comfortable, rested, and well-fed traveler. On the fares I had researched before calling the airline, no upgrades were available, and the flights I ended up taking were not displayed in the search results. There was absolutely no way I could have booked the itinerary I traveled without the assistance of the frequent flier desk.

Frequently you can do well by booking early. It is extremely rare for an airline to increase the allotted number of award seats until just before the flight, making the first round of awards and upgrades a first-come, first-served game.

Check back as your flight date nears. Many airlines wait until the final 72, 48, or 24 hours of travel -- some even until the day of travel -- to clear many seats for upgrades. They do this just in case a "paying" customer wishes to purchase a full-fare first-class ticket shortly before the flight -- they don't want to lose those big dollars because award travelers are already in the seats. As a result, you may be able to nab an upgrade in the final hours before your flight.

When booking your ticket, ask if you can use miles to qualify for an upgrade on your fare. If the answer is no, ask if the adjacent higher class of travel is upgradeable, and how much the ticket will cost.

Check the airline Web site frequent flier section for information on which flights are eligible for award travel. Continental leads the way in this regard; when you input an itinerary on their Reward Flight Search screen, the results show you exactly which dates currently have availability for reward travel, in which class of travel, how many miles required to qualify, and more. (I have used the application, but still ended up calling the airline; it was a tricky multiple-leg itinerary, however, and for straightforward direct flights, looks very promising.) American and United have similar application, while Delta allows you to redeem miles online, but does not appear to have the full calendar view that Continental does.

Ask about the availability of unrestricted award seats. These generally require that you use double the miles you would for regular reward seats, and involve few or no restrictions; if a seat is available, and you have the miles to burn, it's yours.

If you are short on miles for a desired award, you can often purchase them directly from the airline. Programs vary considerably by airline; here is Continental's policy as an example:

"Purchase up to 25% of the miles needed for any OnePass reward on Continental Airlines requiring at least 20,000 miles. Please keep in mind that:
- Miles are purchased in 1,000-mile increments at $32 (plus tax) per increment and are non-refundable.
- You need to purchase miles at the time your travel reward is ticketed.
- Use your credit card for convenient mileage purchase payment when redeeming online or requesting a reward over the phone. (This option does not apply to International Airline Partner rewards or promotional rewards.)
- You also may be required to pay taxes assessed on such purchases."

If you think you qualify for an upgrade, ask at check-in to be put on a waiting list of eligible travelers, then hover at the gate waiting for your name to be called. It sounds like a longshot, but it does happen.

Related Links:
Airline Miles: Use Them or Lose Them?
800#s and Web sites
Get the Best Seat
Watch Your (Baggage) Weight
Know Before You Go: Which Airlines Still Serve Meals?
Skytrax Survey Results Name Airline Industry Bests
Late Bags? Free Flight!

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Go Anyway,
Ed Hewitt
TravelersEd@aol.com
Features Editor
The Independent Traveler