Buy now fly later: An investigation of airline frequent flyer programmes

Frequent flyer programmes (FFPs) provide enormous marketing power for their airline owners. During the last decade, FFPs have become an essential part of every business traveller's package, providing a range of free travel and gifts which can be enjoyed at his/her company's expense. The extensive use of FFPs by high earners has caused many other unrelated companies to use frequent flyer databases to promote their products, giving the incentive of further free air miles. This article outlines the development of FFPs and the extent of how mileage can be accrued from a wide range of sources, and questions their future.