Track Those Points

Imagine a virtual stock market where mileage and points are currency, and the free market — rather than the airlines — determines the exchange rates. That’s the general idea behind some new online services that have quietly begun testing ways for travelers to leverage unused miles:

ExpertFlyer (www.ExpertFlyer.com) — A subscription site ($4.99 a month) lets frequent flyers see how many award tickets or upgrades are available for a given flight by listing airline fare codes. Travelers can register for e-mail alerts when award seats are released for a specific flight.

LoyaltyMatch (www.LoyaltyMatch.com) — Lets travelers convert unused points and miles into merchandise that they can sell online for cash or swap for other items, services, and activities. Sellers register and enter their loyalty programs and account totals, which LoyaltyMatch uses to automatically list the items those miles and points can buy.

Points (www.Points.com) — Having a hard time keeping track of all your different airline miles or points? With this new site, members in the Global Points Exchange can swap, buy, earn, share, and redeem miles or points in more than 25 leading loyalty programs. The site works somewhat like a stock portfolio by allowing you to track balances, and then buy and sell points with others. As in, “I’ll give you 8,000 American miles for 10,000 of your Delta miles.”