Miles to Go When an airline goes bust, do your points take flight?

If your favorite airline is flying under bankruptcy protection,you're probably worried about what might happen to your milesif the carrier goes under. Relax. Your points are probablysafe.

Both United Airlines and US Airways, which have filed forChapter 11 bankruptcy protection, have assured travelers theirmiles are fine. As if to underscore the point, US Airways brieflyoffered triple miles for passengers on its shuttle flights, andUnited gave certain frequent fliers double miles on any route.

Even if one of the airlines goes belly-up, your miles will mostlikely be transferred to another airline's frequent-flieraccount. When TWA stopped flying, its frequent-flier membershipswere transferred to American Airlines. But when Ansett Australialiquidated last year, its customers were out of luck. How do yousafeguard your points?