Even as airlines relentlessly devalue their points (United alone has gone from 2.4 cents/mile to 1.4 in the last five years), there is one thing to try. As all airlines are trying to recruit companies, if you have a small business (or a large one), you should sign up for their corporate programs:

  1. United Perks Plus. These points are worth half the regular Mileage Plus points. You need to spend at least $25K per year with United (so this works for businesses that are traveling a bunch). But in the first year, you can generate some points. And as of March 2017, they allow you to convert two Perks Plus Points into a single Mileage Plus mile. The good news is that administration is easy, just get a list of frequent flyer miles for you employees and away you go. The best redemption is actually 60K Perks Plus points for a United Club membership. So that is a 0.8 cent redemption and isn’t bad.
  2. Alaska Airlines Easybiz. This takes more energy to manage, you basically set up an account and then when you book you need to go to https://easybiz.alaskaair.com. The trick here is that you have to do all your bookings through this portal site for the miles to count.

American and Delta have similar programs but I haven’t had a chance to try them yet.

I’m Rich & Co.

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