All They Want for Christmas Is Flier Miles

Topping travelers’ holiday wish lists, right up there with an envelope full of cash, is an airline ticket or a batch of frequent-flier miles.

Mileage awards earned by one passenger usually are transferable to anyone else in the immediate family, including children.

And now that most major airlines’ miles never expire, kids naturally can benefit more than most other leisure travelers by the ability to stockpile them forever.

The mother of a 10-year-old who already has two premier-status years under his belt recently told Inside Flyer magazine’s FlyerTalk online bulletin board that she figures if he sticks with the same program he can hit million-mile status by age 38.

Some frequent-flier plans are beginning to cater to these budding road warriors by giving them special perks of their own (Finnair offers contests, trip log books and merchandise awards such as dolls or electronics), Inside Flyer says.

It adds that cashing in miles for merchandise seldom is as cost-effective as using them for free flights--except at holiday time.

Then the miles’ value goes up because of the convenience of being able to select presents without stepping foot in a crowded department store.

Airline awards catalogs often also contain unusual gifts, such as rides in hot air balloons. But miles remain the favored grail.

United Airlines’ new Give Miles, which must be purchased online by credit card, are e-mailed to U.S. recipients along with a special electronic greeting card.

Customers can buy up to 15,000 Give Miles per recipient for 2.5 cents per mile (plus 7.5% federal excise tax and $.001 per mile processing fee) by visiting https://www.ualmiles.com.

These miles are added to an existing Mileage Plus account in two to four weeks (purchasers need not know the recipient’s account number).

Preview Travel claims to be the first full-service online travel site to offer gift certificates that can be used to purchase airline tickets. Its certificates--which don’t have to specify a destination or departure day--are available in $50, $100 and $150 denominations at https://www.previewtravel.com.

There are plenty of other ways, though, to please the traveler on your gift list with the click of a mouse. Expedia.com offers gift certificates in denominations from $20 to $500 for hotels, cruises and travel gear such as luggage.

Cruise lines, tour operators and just about any other travel-service provider can probably whip up a gift certificate on fairly short notice.

Also don’t overlook online specialty shops--purveyors of travel books and maps (such as https://www.longitudebooks.com) and of varied supplies from wrinkle-free clothing to money belts, portable door locks and anti-jet lag and motion sickness products (such as https://www.magellans.com).

Virtual mall mavens often can earn miles and other travel bonuses as they shop too.

Of course, if nothing but cash will do, note that Chase Manhattan Bank has expanded its Currency to Go overnight delivery to Web travelers.

You can order up to $1,000 in any six of 75 available foreign currencies and traveler’s checks (U.S. checks too) at one time.

There’s a $10 shipping charge on orders of less than $500; amounts of more than $1,000 must be picked up at a Chase branch. The service is available 24 hours a day at https://www.curren.com.