But he was concerned that travelers would have a more difficult time booking award tickets.
Mr. Sorensen said his company tried booking award tickets 5 to 15 days in advance, and generally found better availability than searching months ahead.
On the flip side, I have always had good luck booking award tickets within 30 to 60 days of my trip.
Northwest, for example, is offering frequent fliers a discount of at least 1,500 miles for booking award travel at its Web site, www.nwa.com, through Sept. 30.
In the poll of loyalty-program members, 26percentt described their recent experiences in booking award travel as "much more difficult" or "virtually impossible," an increase of five percentage points from an identical survey last year.
Tim Winship, editor at large at SmarterTravel.com and an expert on mileage plans, said it was too soon to tell whether other airlines would shift to three-tier mileage systems, But he was concerned that travelers would have a more difficult time booking award tickets.
Almost 44percentt of frequent travelers reported difficulty in booking an award seat more than once last year.
"When I'm on the verge of redeeming miles," he said, "even if an airline does have online booking for award travel, I'd still call the 800 number, because the agents are quicker and have a more comprehensive sense of what's available".
With more fouls starting to occur, the first booking was awarded in the 14th minute.
Ryan Lile, the avid frequent flier who started this service, will not only handle your awards booking, he will also plan your honeymoon.
