It's a fine time to be a frequent flier

By Thurston Hatcher
CNN

(CNN) -- If those frequent flier miles you've been hoarding have started gathering a little dust, now may be an excellent time to put them to good use.

Just as airlines have slashed some fares to lure travelers back, some have also cut the number of miles needed to redeem for free flights.

Delta Air Lines, for example, has reduced the SkyMiles required to fly from North America to Europe from 50,000 to 40,000, setting March 14 as the deadline for flying.

The required miles for a trip between North America and Japan, meanwhile, has dropped from 60,000 to 45,000 until January 31.

An American Airlines flight between North America and Europe will run you 35,000 miles, a reduction of 5,000, until March 31.

And Air Canada now requires 20,000 miles to fly between Canada and six Florida cities, including Miami, Orlando and Tampa, until February 20. That's 5,000 fewer than usual.

If you're not expecting to apply your miles to travel anytime soon, or maybe ever, there are myriad other ways these days to take advantage of them.

For 7,000 of United's Mileage Plus miles, you can get an MCI prepaid phone card worth 300 units; for 12,000 miles you'll get a $50 certificate for Safeway, Dominick's and some other U.S. supermarkets; and 15,000 will get you a $50 certificate at Neiman Marcus.

Fliers who enroll at Milepoint.com also can redeem miles from several airlines for magazine subscriptions and merchandise at major retailers.

Perhaps the best way to use up those miles is to donate them to a good cause, and several airline Web sites allow you to go online to contribute them to a charity, which uses them as needed.

You can donate a minimum of 5,000 Dividend Miles on U.S. Airways to the Salvation Army, to help it provide air transportation to family members of September 11 victims.

At the Alaska Airlines site, fliers can donate as little as 500 miles to the American Red Cross, and for every 5,000 miles donated through December 31, the airline and Bank of America will add another 1,000 miles each.

Delta Air Lines' SkyWish program enables travelers to choose from Make-A-Wish Foundation, United Way, CARE and others.