Double or Nothing
What has perhaps angered members of frequent-flier programs most in the past few years is "unrestricted" awards. Most programs now offer two tiers of redemption: a capacity-controlled (read: extremely limited) number of seats for relatively few miles (usually 25,000 for a domestic round-trip, 50,000 for international) and an unrestricted award (usually for double the miles). "People are being forced to use twice the miles for an unrestricted award," Winship says, "which equals an implicit and unpublished award increase. It's a sham." Although Petersen doesn't encourage travelers to ante up double miles, he notes that 25 years ago, when there were no capacity controls on awards, domestic flights required 40,000 miles—roughly the equivalent of today's 50,000-mile unrestricted awards.

Winship cautions against purchasing a large number of miles from an airline to bring an award ticket within reach. He says that buying a few thousand miles to "top off" an award makes sense, but that despite the temptation, paying for a sizable number of miles is "a terrible deal." Continental, for example, sells nonrefundable 1,000-mile blocks for $32, or 3.2 cents per mile—almost three times their generally accepted value.

As for using miles to buy products through airlines' online malls, Winship points out that "you'll always get a better return on investment redeeming miles for travel." In general, experts advise making only small purchases (such as magazine subscriptions) with miles—and even then only to prevent an account from expiring.

In spite of widespread frustration with mileage programs, there are signs that things could be looking up for their 180 million members. Idea Works, a Wisconsin-based consulting firm that has analyzed frequent-flier redemption, recently polled 70 airline frequent-flier program executives and found that 67 percent recognize that "consumers are frustrated by the lack of basic reward availability." The good news is that 60 percent of the executives say that they anticipate an increase in the number of mileage awards they'll issue in 2007.

17 Top Tips
Expert advice on how to score award tickets more often and with less hassle

1. Evaluate. A mile is worth about 1.2 cents, so multiply that by the number of miles required to determine the "price" of an award ticket. For example, a transatlantic economy seat that requires 75,000 miles effectively costs $900— better to buy a round-trip coach fare and use miles to upgrade instead.

2. Consolidate. Experts agree that the best strategy is to focus on one mileage program with the airline you fly most often. By traveling on multiple carriers, you might deny yourself the opportunity to earn elite status.

3. Identify your earning pattern. If you're an occasional flier and earn most of your miles from credit card purchases, one expert recommends switching to a "cash back" card such as Discover and putting the rebate into a fund for purchasing tickets "without the difficulty of redeeming miles."