If you're like me, you have signed up for several frequent flier programs over the years. And, like me, you've ended up with varying amount of miles on a variety of airlines. Most of the programs have left me with too few miles for major rewards. It's my fault because I haven't done a good job managing them or been trying to book all my flights on just one or two airlines.

To help people like me get the most out of my miles, there's FrequentFlier.com, which gives you plenty of tips and ideas. I learnt a lot from the site about how mileage programs work and what to watch out for.

There's also Miles4sale.com, a site that allows you to buy miles. Why would you want to do this? Say you're a few hundred miles short of a free trip. You could buy 500 miles for $20 or 1,000 miles for $40 and so on. That could mean the difference between going and not. But don't use it for major shortfalls of miles. What I mean is, miles are worth about two cents a mile - but these miles cost more. So they are worth buying only to "top off" an award or to upgrade, rather than to buy an entire trip.

More on the sites below.

Resources:
FrequentFlier.com
Miles4sale.com

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