Don’t let your miles fly away—Safeguard your mileage points with these easy tips!

Imagine this: You’ve been diligently saving your airline miles for months, dreaming of your next destination.

You log in to your frequent flyer account, giddy with excitement at the prospect of finally being able to redeem your miles and book your ticket.

Much to your shock and dismay, upon checking your balance, you’re met with something no traveler ever hopes to encounter.

Your airline miles, the currency of your travel dreams, have been depleted!

NOOOOOO!

Let this be a lesson: Your hard-earned mileage points are like little treasures, ready to whisk you away to exotic destinations.

However, just like any valuable possession, they need protection. These simple tips will help you safeguard your miles and ensure a smooth journey on your next adventure.

1. Book directly with your airline.

   Booking your tickets directly with your airline and similarly verified platforms ensures your information will stay safe in the right hands. This also means that any miles you’ve collected will remain secure.

   Moreover, booking directly helps avoid any problems with getting your airline miles credited.

   You might be tempted to book through third parties that offer enticing discounts… but don’t be fooled!

   Choosing third-party booking sites can be an economical decision provided that everything goes according to plan, but can be a costly mistake if something goes awry.

   Booking directly with your airline ensures you’ll be compensated properly in case your flight is delayed or canceled—something that is not always guaranteed by third parties.

   Additionally, purchasing your ticket through third-party platforms may make you ineligible for mileage points.

2. Secure your frequent flyer accounts.

   Speaking from experience, travel expert Naty Nastro warned against hackers who may try to steal your hard-earned frequent flyer miles.

   To avoid this, it’s important to secure your frequent flyer accounts to the best of your ability.

   One way to do this is to regularly change your passwords, and make sure they’re “strong” every time you do. A strong password is made up of at least 12 characters (though the more, the better), and is a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.

   If you find it difficult to come up with strong passwords and remember them—don’t worry. There are plenty of password managers that you can use.

   If you have more than one frequent flyer account, make sure you’re using a unique password for all of them. Maintaining different passwords will make you less vulnerable to data breaches.

   Another way to secure your account is to set up two-factor authentication, as well as account activity notifications. This way, you can be informed every time there’s an attempt to access your accounts in addition to monitoring all transactions.

   These may seem like a lot of work, but you’ll thank yourself in the long run. After all, it’s much better to be safe than sorry.

3. Be wary of phishing scams.

   This goes hand in hand with maintaining your account and your airline miles’ security.

   Always practice caution when opening messages or emails, even the ones that look as if they were sent by your actual service provider.

   Make it a habit to check the sender. Double-check the content and be on the lookout for anything unusual, such as misspelled words or wrong grammar.

   Never click on links or download attachments from questionable sources. Most importantly, think thrice (yes, thrice!) before providing any sensitive information, such as your credit card number or your account details.

   You can never be too careful, especially nowadays with hackers growing more and more advanced.

Now, you might be wondering: What happens in the event that my mileage points still end up being stolen despite my best efforts? How do I proceed?

The first step is to get in touch with your airline. Dispute the transactions by informing them that these were unauthorized claims.

Most of the time, airlines will furnish you with the points you’ve lost, especially if the fault lies with the company—such as a data breach within their system that led to your account being compromised.

If you’re a frequent flyer, the chances of you being reimbursed are even higher, as most companies value loyal customers.

On the other hand, if the airline does not issue you a refund, you may opt to file a criminal complaint at your local precinct.

Since points are technically a form of currency and therefore hold monetary value, their theft can still be considered a crime.

However, due to resource constraints, the likelihood that local law enforcement is able to apprehend a criminal is relatively low. Plus, there’s also a possibility that the criminal is from an area with no existing extradition ties to the United States.

Regardless, you could use the criminal report to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), citing the airline company’s failure to protect your data, ultimately costing you personal assets—in this case, your mileage points.

While your complaint alone will not prompt the FTC to launch an extensive investigation, you’ll be able to contribute to the database.

Who knows? Your complaint may just be the one that “breaks the camel’s back,” so to speak; effectively urging the FTC to introduce implementing rules and regulations to address the widescale issue.

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By keeping these tips in mind, you can ensure your hard-earned mileage points are always ready to whisk you away to your dream destinations.

Start safeguarding your miles today and embark on your next adventure with confidence!