Family Travel

My family of 4 adults and 1 child is considering a trip to Bombay India next year. I am looking for ways to cut expenses and have started to look into these credit cards that offer frequent flyer miles. Could you please explain exactly how this works? Do we just buy our tickets the regular way or do we have to fly standby? What kind of restrictions do they put on you? Is this really a good way to save money on airline tickets? Any suggestions and advice will be appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Michele

Dear Michele,
The way you cash in credit card miles will depend on what credit card you are using. If you are using a credit card affiliated with a specific airline, then you will have a little more flexibility. However, you will be restricted to certain black out dates. If you use a general card that offers air miles, then you will have a broad range of airlines to choose from. But most of these cards require that you book your ticket at least 3 weeks in advance. Based on the information you provided I would suggest that you consider the American Express® Preferred Rewards Gold Card this card will earn you miles with a wide scope of merchants and provide you the ability to use your points/miles with a choice of 23-plus airlines. In addition, you will have opportunities to take advantage of special incentives that are offered from time to time, to earn bonus miles.
Good Luck.