ESL Podcast 479 – Using Frequent Flyer Miles

Anne: Where were you this past weekend? I tried calling you on Friday to see if you wanted to go to the movies with me.

Jurgen: I was in Chicago for a long weekend.

Anne: Chicago? I didn’t know you were planning a trip. I thought you were pretty strapped¹ this month. A ticket to Chicago would set you back at least $300.

Jurgen: I am pretty strapped, but I wanted to go to my friend Rachel’s wedding. I was able to use my frequent flyer miles to get a ticket. I was lucky that those weren’t blackout dates.

Anne: Oh, that explains it. You’ve been traveling a lot using your frequent flyer miles. How do you rack up so many miles? I’m enrolled² in the frequent flyer programs of three different airlines, but I never seem to have enough miles to redeem³ them for a ticket or even an upgrade.

Jurgen: The trick is to get a credit card that gives you miles. For every dollar I charge on my credit card, I get one mile. Since I use my credit card for a lot of business purchases, the miles add up pretty quickly. I also use a lot of the hotels and restaurants that partner with the airlines, and doing that gives me bonus miles.

Anne: Aren’t there a lot of restrictions⁴? Do you ever have problems redeeming⁵ the miles?

Jurgen: Yeah, there are some restrictions, but I work around them. There are fewer restrictions if you have elite⁶ status, but I’m a long way from that.

Anne: So I need to get a credit card that gives me frequent flyer miles.

Jurgen: Yeah, but a word to the wise: spend carefully. You don’t want to rack up credit card debt for the sake of racking up frequent flyer miles!

Anne: Point taken. Thanks for the tip.


Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

1 strapped   

adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 redeem   

v.买回，赎回，挽回，恢复，履行（诺言等）

参考例句：

• He had no way to redeem his furniture out of pawn.他无法赎回典当的家具。
• The eyes redeem the face from ugliness.这双眼睛弥补了他其貌不扬之缺陷。

4 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

5 redeeming   

补偿的，弥补的

参考例句：

• I found him thoroughly unpleasant, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. 我觉得他一点也不讨人喜欢，没有任何可取之处。
• The sole redeeming feature of this job is the salary. 这份工作唯其薪水尚可弥补一切之不足。

6 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。