I am presently holding two AAdvantage award tickets from New York to Bangkok for an upcoming trip. These tickets will actually be used on four JAL flights. What I want to do is buy an additional seat so we will control three seats for this long trip. I've spoken to American about this, and while they understand what I want to do, they say they cannot help, because JAL actually controls the seats. I then called JAL and was told JAL wouldn't allow this due to "corporate policy." Do you have any suggestions on how we can accomplish getting this third seat? Only two will be traveling.

Your plan is a common one for long-haul flights. There are simple solutions, but they do run a risk. There really is no reason why you could not redeem an additional award from American/JAL and use a friend's name to secure the reservation using your miles. At that point, you can self-select the three-across seating you are seeking and thus comfort yourself for this flight—which, as we both know, is not just a puddle jump. At check-in time, the "missing" award user would just not be checking in.

Now, the caveats: There may not be another award seat available from JAL using your AAdvantage miles. Also, if the flight gets to sold-out status at the time you are scheduled to depart, they may very well assign someone to sit in the seat you had reserved, since that "passenger" was a no-show.

As for the corporate policy, the rules may change when passengers "purchase" additional seats to block out space onboard. "Purchase," in this example, would be paying the appropriate fare. It is my guess that JAL does not deal with award redemption in the same manner as they do revenue tickets.

I know of many who have successfully accomplished what you are trying to do, and there is rarely a problem. Any failures are usually due to flight capacity.

I am involved with a small nonprofit organization whose director periodically flies to various cities around the United States, and would like to figure out the best strategy for maximizing frequent flier benefits.

All trips are paid for by third-party sponsors, so earning free trips is not a goal. Rather, since travel is often done on a very tight schedule, the ideal benefits would be VIP lounge access and first-class upgrades. Annual mileage would be a bit over 25,000, but due to scheduling needs, it looks like it's split 50/50 between Delta and Continental.

Additionally, how do these "mileage reward credit cards" fit into the whole equation? If we were to get one, there are at least $100,000 in expenses that could flow through that card per year.

The good news is that Continental and Delta are partners, and flights on either airline will count toward a single frequent flier account. I would suggest the director join the Delta SkyMiles program and only use the Delta account, even when flying Continental.

I've chosen to suggest the Delta SkyMiles program over Continental's program because the SkyMiles program has a special award that may be of interest to your director, since free travel is not the goal here. He or she can redeem 60,000 miles for a one-year membership in the Delta Crown Room airport lounge program. The Continental program does not have this option.

At 25,000 miles annually, SkyMiles members can qualify for "Silver Medallion Elite" status, which means your director would become eligible for some first-class upgrades.

Delta SkyMiles has several outstanding credit cards that can add additional miles to your director's SkyMiles account. Some of the current credit card offers from Delta actually include complimentary airport lounge privileges, so I suggest you do a little research. Because there are so many different credit card offers, you're likely to have to "coach" the American Express/Delta credit card reps through the options you are looking for.

RANDY PETERSEN is publisher of Inside Flyer magazine and president of Frequent Flyer Services. Email Randy at editor@executivetravelmag.com.