Eat your way to Australia...

In the USA, Rewards Network allows members to collect Air Miles for eating...

Not only that but you can upgrade - the more you eat out, the more Air Miles you earn! When you first enroll, you get 1 Air Mile per $1 spent at a restaurant. Assuming Air Miles are worth about a penny, that's only a 1 percent return on your money.

However, when you've eaten out three times, you get bumped to 3 Air Miles per $1 spent, which is a definite improvement. And, when you reach 12 times in a year, you can get bumped to 10 Air Miles per $1 spent - now your return is between 10 percent and 15 percent.

The problem is you are spending money to get there. But you can get around that. Just go and order a Coke or a beer to get your 12 "meals." There's no minimum charge.

And, once you've gotten to 10 Air Mile status, you can increase your miles if you are willing to steer your friends to restaurants where you can earn Air Miles. Throw down your card for the tab and accept cash from everyone else - do this regularly with a group of friends and you can easily earn 10,000 Air Miles a year...

Tips to make your Air Miles count!

It's well known that many airlines treat those with Air Miles with a degree of disdain - they have only minimal seats available for Air Miles purchases and these seats always seem to disappear in the blink of an eye. But here are three tips to help you get the most out of your Air Miles:

• Telephone the airline when you are booking, don't use the Web site - this way, you can negotiate; ticket agents have the authority to make deals - web sites don't!

• Complain! Airlines sometimes give seats to valued passengers who complain.

• Accumulate air miles through credit card purchases. Those miles often don't expire and more seats are available those customers.

Lamcy issues 250 Million Air Miles

The United Arab Emirates shopping mall, Lamcy Plaza, announced last week that it had given away over 250,000,000 air miles - which is more than enough should you wish to catch a flight to the Sun and back!