It doesn't pay to be so spacey. I was trying to update my United Airlines Mileage Plus account today with my West Virginia flight information. I haven't flown on United Airlines in a long time and I haven't been paying attention to their Mileage Plus program. I was reading the brochure today when I realized that I could have earned mileage on car rentals. This bums me out so much!!! I had a car rental in 1998 when I went to Hawaii and in 2000 when I went to Carmel and last July when I went to Hawaii for that wedding. I could have been earning mileage the whole time. And they have hotel partners too, so I could have been earning mileage at the Hyatt in Dallas in 2000 and maybe even the hotels in Hawaii and Dallas that I stayed at in 1998 and 1999.

I'm telling myself I shouldn't feel so bad because I usually charge travel expenses on my American Express card and I earned points on their travel program, but still. I definitely missed an opportunity to get a free trip.

I used to fly at least four times a year awhile back and totally made out like a bandit on triple mileage. I earned free trips on all the airlines. I was really into my mileage plus cards then. But when I stopped travelling, I stopped paying attention and I'm paying the price. God, I hate when I get spacey about stuff like earning points for some program I'm on.

I was thinking that I could put in for the car and hotel rental in Hawaii last year, but I'm too late. You have to do it in a year or they won't do it and it's been about 13 months. Man, I'm bummed, so bummed. I could have had a free trip on United Airlines by now!

It so doesn't count to be spacey about your frequent flyer programs.