Asia - lax to bkk: which FM program to choose?

Hello

I'm new here, so I don't know if this question is appropriate in this forum, but I love bkk and travel there often from LAX. I've just discovered frequent flyer mileage, but with all the programs out there and the rules and regulations, it can be very confusing.

I usually fly china air for about $550 RT. I'll need 100,000 before I can get a free ticket from there flyer program which rounds up to 7 round trips flights. Ridiculous.

Since China Air is parners with delta, I looked into their skypass program. It seems like I only need 70,000 to qualify, and only 50,000 to RIO, another place I like to travel.

So my question is, what is the best program to join. I'm looking to travel to bkk mainly with side trips to Rio. Someone suggested star alliance, but tickets to bkk are much higher than the $550 RT I'm use to paying on China Air. I don't care about service or upgrades, I just want to earn free coach.

Any suggestions?

TIA

Given that the free ticket is only worth some $550 to you and you don't care for upgrades, stay with the cheapest carrier.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by terenz:
Given that the free ticket is only worth some $550 to you and you don't care for upgrades, stay with the cheapest carrier.</font>

But, if he plays the game right, he'll be earning free one free ticket every 2 trips (even less to Brazil) and could therefore justify paying a slight premium to fly on an airline with a good FFP. IMO CI, BR, JL, NH, and soon KE/OZ all fall into the "bad FFP" category because of extortionate award schemes and/or unattractive multipliers on cheap fares. That leaves UA, TG, SQ, CX, NW and MH (am I forgetting any). Of these, I'd probably go with UA because MP is a generous program on the whole, they fly to Rio, and TG, SQ, and OZ are all alliance partners (lots of chances to get cheap fares). NW might be an attractive option if you do much domestic travel because of the upgrade policy, but I personally loathe flying NW across the Pacific.

[This message has been edited by moondog (edited Feb 13, 2004).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">IMO CI, BR, JL, NH, and soon KE/OZ all fall into the "bad FFP" category. That leaves UA, TG, SQ, CX, NW and MH. Of these, I'd probably go with UA because MP is a generous program on the whole, they fly to Rio, and TG, SQ, and OZ are all alliance partners (lots of chances to get cheap fares).</font>
Wow, looks like I came to the right place! Thanks for the advice guys. I put the above in quotes, because I don't exactly know that those abbreviations stand for. UA and NW must mean united and northwest respectively, but you lost me on the other. If someone could translate those abbreviations, I'd appreciate it. In the meantime, I'll try to figure it out on my own.

Thanks

CI - China Airlines, via Taipei
BR - Eva Airways, via Taipei
JL - Japan Airlines, via Tokyo or Osaka
NH - All Nippon Airlines, via Tokyo
KE - Korean Air, via Seoul
OZ - Asiana Airlines, via Seoul

Beware of SQ. Often, there lowest fares do not qualify for miles.

I think your best bet is UA. Best partners, best alliance, good network to Asia, most choices to use miles.

Thanks.

I'll look into UA for my next flight to SEA.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by surferboy:
Thanks.

I'll look into UA for my next flight to SEA.</font>

Since you're new to FF programs, I'll mention elite status. In addition to other benefits, most programs offer bonus miles to elites on every flight.

Assuming that AA and UA are the same- 25% mileage bonus for basic elites (25K flown miles in a calendar year) and 100% bonus for mid- and top-tier elites (50K and 100K per year).

So, if you fly 50K UA miles this year (not that hard for a long-haul int'l traveler, IMHO), you'll start earning a free coach trip to BKK every paid 30K miles flown.

(I'm an AA flyer, but I'm sure that any UA/*A flyers will correct me quickly if my math is off!)

.....

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Scandalous:
Since you mentioned a free trip to Rio as something you would like, consider flying EVA and taking the miles on Continental.</font>

The problem with BR--&gt;CO for people that travel a lot is TMK those miles aren't EQM, nor do they qualify for elite bonuses. So, that 35K award -- besides being on CO metal -- is equivalent to a 70K award on AA or UA (isn't business only 80K?).

I didn't even mention BR's own program because everyone knows it's among the worst in the world.

In short, I like BR just as much as the next guy, but it's hard to justify making BR a primary carrier if you fly a lot and care about miles.

Thanks for the replies. I did the math and from LAX the numbers for Eva-CO don't crunch as well as UA FM program. Ticket prices on Eva are quite a bit more than UA's which is higher than China, but from cashing in on their FM program, seems to be cheaper in the long run, not to mention safer as well, but that was never a big concern of mine.