Trade Extra Airline Miles for Magazine Subscriptions

If you’re anything like me, you have a smattering of airline miles that you’ve accumulated, but you don’t fly often enough with any one airline to even come close to a free ticket. For instance, I have about 6,000 Delta SkyMiles in my account that are set to expire in a few months, but a quick glance through SkyMiles redemptions reveals that I would need somewhere around 25,000+ miles to earn a free flight. Not going to happen anytime soon.

What, then, can I do with these extra miles?

One option is to redeem them for magazine subscriptions. Not all carriers provide this option, but here are some that do:

• American Airlines – Link
• Continental – Link
• Delta – Link
• Northwest – Link
• United – Link

(If any of these links are invalid, let me know and I will update them.)

I just ordered a year subscription to The Economist, which normally sells for $119 on Amazon. As of this writing, all the aforementioned airlines offer it for 3,200 miles. Not bad.

A few selections on Delta

If you don’t have enough miles for The Economist, there are cheaper options available, such as:

• 26 issues of Forbes ($30 on Amazon) – 1,200 miles (Delta)
• 26 issues of Fortune ($30 on Amazon) – 1,400 miles (Delta)
• 12 issues of Money ($20 on Amazon) – 800 miles (Delta)

I’m looking forward to reading The Economist regularly since I’ve only heard good things about it. I feel that it’s a good trade for my extra airline miles. In any caee, it’s certainly a better deal than letting those miles expire!