You’ve accumulated a lot of miles, either by using 3^rd party credit cards or by traveling more often than not. You’ve been a frugalist for most of your life and you certainly want to keep the trend going.

Some people spend their miles recklessly and then realize they could’ve done it much better and for nobler purposes. If you don’t want to fall in that category, follow the 10 following tips and you’ll be traveling with minimal funding.

Use your miles to:

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   Get a free stop

Miles can be used to travel to more places free-of-charge. You’ll be able to visit at least one more city in a country you might be happening to travel to, depending on how many miles you have to redeem. But first off, make sure the airline you’re using is providing stopovers.

2. Buy yourself something pretty

Miles are usually used for traveling, but if they’re on the brink of expiring, you better use them to purchase something. It can be a ticket or a watch, it doesn’t matter as long as those miles don’t remain unused.

3. Get hotel discounts 

By spending your miles carefully, you can stay at a hotel for a couple of days without paying a dime. That can make a huge difference in your traveling experience, as you can bask more in the culture of the place you’re visiting. Or you can just relax with a cocktail by the pool.

4. Fly first class

Depending on the number of points/miles you’ve collected, you can get yourself a first-class flight. Alaska Airlines, for instance, provides this redeeming option. You could fly in a suite that’s worth a couple of thousands of dollars. Without miles, you’d have to spend some good money for first-class tickets.

5. Book free flights

Kind of stating the obvious, but it’s certainly better to get free flights than do other things that could potentially be less effective. Moreover, here’s a secret: if you have miles to different airlines, you could use one to fly to a destination for free, and return with the other one, also for free.

This way, you will pay nothing on transportation. The more you travel, the higher the chances that future vacations won’t take a dollar out of your wallet.

6. Purchase a present for your loved ones

Miles can translate as thousands of physical dollars. If you have no use for it, you can make one’s life a whole lot better. You can send your kid on spring vacation overseas or you can take your boyfriend/girlfriend on an unforgettable trip.

If you’re married, you can buy a ticket for your partner. Take him/her on honeymoon for free and the chances of the two of you getting divorced drops below 40%.

7. Get cooking classes or meet-and-greets

These are some of the premiums you can take advantage of if you have tons of miles available. You can redeem these miles for things you could not get otherwise. Keep an eye on some events.

8. Rent a car

How about renting a car without taking your wallet out of the pocket? Yup, you can do that with the miles you’ve collected. This could come in really handy when you want to experience a city by traveling through it with a car.

9. Donate them to Make-a-Wish

Let’s suppose none of the above have any appeal to you. What can you do in this case? You can donate all your miles to a charity. Make-a-Wish, for example, is an organization that takes ill children on vacation.

10. Become the best boss in the world

If you don’t want to donate your miles, offer some of your best employees the chance to go abroad. They’ll never leave your company and you won’t need to muster any money for raises.

All joking a side, if possible, get your team on a trip. Your employees will be more connected than ever. After returning, they will also be more focused on their jobs than they were prior to the travel.

Concluding Remarks  

Miles are fantastic. Think of them as discounts and offers at the ready. They can make a huge difference in your life if used properly and for all the good reasons. Refrain, as much as possible, from spending them on purchases that have nothing to do with traveling.

This practice exhausts your stash before you even know it. The next time you travel, you’ll pay a lot more than you would’ve paid if you wouldn’t have wasted those miles on useless things. Something to live by.

Andrea Boffo is CEO of PlusVoucherCode, a website that provides discount codes to save money on online purchases.