Q: Can I buy frequent flyer miles? A: You can if you have the money. Most major airlines allow frequent flyer members to buy miles, but doing so is expensive. For example, 20,000 American miles cost $500 plus a $30 transaction fee. That's not even enough for a round-trip ticket, which these days, if you hit it right, can cost as little as $200 coast-to-coast. To soften the blow, American is offering a 20 percent mileage bonus on purchase of 10,000 miles or more, through May 31, 2007 (perhaps they realize what a bad deal buying miles is and need to give people a break). The only scenario I can think of where this makes sense is if you need a certain number of miles to "top off" your account to get an award that would be out of reach otherwise.

Q: Can I buy frequent flyer miles?

A: You can if you have the money. Most major airlines allow frequent flyer members to buy miles, but doing so is expensive. For example, 20,000 American miles cost $500 plus a $30 transaction fee. That's not even enough for a round-trip ticket, which these days, if you hit it right, can cost as little as $200 coast-to-coast. To soften the blow, American is offering a 20 percent mileage bonus on purchase of 10,000 miles or more, through May 31, 2007 (perhaps they realize what a bad deal buying miles is and need to give people a break). The only scenario I can think of where this makes sense is if you need a certain number of miles to "top off" your account to get an award that would be out of reach otherwise.