Brett Perrine's family enjoyed their trip to California and most of them flew there for free.
Brett says, "We had fifteen of us and I utilized probably about 10 trips with miles. It was fantastic!"
But the value of frequent flyer miles is falling. Consumer Reports crunched the numbers and found it's a waste to use your miles on certain flights.
Consumer Reports Greg Daugherty says, "It's only worth it to use frequent flyer miles on flights that cost $300 or more."
Unfortunately, taking a trip with frequent flyer miles is still a real challenge. According to webflyer.com travelers are most likely to have success redeeming miles with Midwest Airlines at 69%, followed by US Airways at 67%.
In order to get the flight you want, Consumer Reports says book early and have flexible travel dates.
And if you don't have enough miles to travel, most airlines allow family and friends to transfer miles to one another. But that can cost you, so be sure to check the airline's rules.
And what happened to your miles if the airline goes bankrupt?
Daughtery adds, "If it's a major carrier, your frequent flyer program will probably be bought by another major airline and you won't lose your miles. So it usually makes sense to join the big carriers' programs."
For Brett, a wisely used frequent flyer account is a great thing to have.
Brett says, "I used it for many vacations. I used it on business travel. Countless things I utilize miles for."
With frequent flyer programs, if you want to get a seat on a domestic flight without worrying about blackout dates... or getting bumped... you can use twice the usual miles.
But Consumer Reports says, this option makes sense only if the airfare is more than $600.