Mwenenzi

Thestigs Welcome to FT

So you and your wife are in different ffp's and both of you have gold status?
Gold in different ffp may be equal. Gold status in one ffp may be like silver or plat status in another.
There is no right or wrong answer. Especially since no information on your travel patterns and what you want from a ffp

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...help-here.html

Thestigs

Yes my wife has gold status with Delta I have gold with United. Both of us travel throughout the US, destinations change every three-four months but we fly out of LGA, JFK, and EWR. But my question is geared towards having same or different ffp rather than which ffp to go with. Is it better to be apart of the same ffp for both using status and miles or does it make more sense to have different ffps to reap the benefits depending on where we want to fly when using awards

drvannostren

Folks, I'm embarrassed to even ask, because I should know. But my earning has all previously been done to Aeroplan, which I won't be able to sustain keeping my star gold status.

I think however I may be able to qualify with TK or SQ or perhaps CM.

Couple things I need to know...

1. Any opinion on which of those are best for redemptions? I live in Canada, of the three I've only ever travelled CM, it would likely be most useful to me, but I won't be able to get a credit card for any of them based on where I live, so earning would be strictly mileage based. (I do have the starwood amex fwiw though)

2. Would I be better off just being lower tiered status while continuing to earn to AP since I have a credit card attached?

3. (Here's where I get embarrassed) ...is it possible, to split earnings on 1 reservation? I don't mean double dip. But if I were to remove my FF number from my current reservations (which I think will be a challenge as is, especially when I try to access the lounge) could I use 2 FF programs on one booking? The reason being, no one really gives credit for domestic Air Canada flying, other than Aeroplan, some also don't offer much in the way of transborder crediting either. So for instance, SQ on UA K fares is 100%, great, but on my upcoming YVR-YYZ-MAD return trip, SQ offers 0% on the YVR-YYZ and 50% on the YYZ-MAD. I'm fine with the 50%, I'm used to that, but is there a way to credit the YVR-YYZ at least to my AP account, so I don't just forfeit those miles, while still crediting YYZ-MAD to a program I think I can make elite status on?

4. Also, just thought of this...for anyone with specific AC knowledge. Something I'm looking at booking SEA-YYZ-ZRH which of course is AC metal, but via UA, I know I can call UA get the locator and pick my seats either online or via the phone with AC. But I can only get prime seats by using my FF number. Could I either just call them and get them to give me those seats without adding my # to the reservation itself, OR pick the seats, then remove my number later?

Thanks folks,

Sorry for the flameworthy post.

Mwenenzi

There is a long thread on AC vs UA ffp

Look here http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...help-here.html

The grass in not always greener on the other side

drvannostren

Yea I've previously made the decision to not move to UA, but SQ and TK both have some really attractive aspects to them that are making me wonder what I should do.

I love my SE 100k status, but I really only "need" Star Gold, but making 50k status on AC requires $6,000 spend now, which I'm not likely gonna spend in a calendar year. But, I could make 40,000-50,000 miles even on the 50% crediting pace because I take advantage of sale fares.

ginoa724

For this one, it really depends on your travel habits. DL and UA both offer comp. upgrades and EC+ upgrades for you and your +1 on same PNR. Having status in both programs would allow you to maximise benefits during award travel with either carrier. If you're only worried about award travel, I would keep them separate. While you're probably not going to get any upgrades with either, you'd at least have access to E+/EC+ seats, which could be nice on longer/intl flights.

MSPeconomist

Do you often travel together on paid tickets? if so, how many status miles are being wasted by crediting to the person who isn't elite in that program? Would shifting the miles to the other program be enough for one or both to get Plat status, at least in some years?

MSPeconomist

Remember that SQ redeemable miles expire several years after they are earned regardless of account activity.

Duke787

Depends on what your goals are. If you are aiming to use the FF miles for a big trip, you are better off having one program so you can book onto the same flights (e.g., call UA and say we want these 2 tickets funded from these 2 accounts) and not worry about fleeting inventory or not having enough miles for 2 of the tickets.

On the other hand, if you are mostly flying on cash tickets, having status in two different programs can give you more flexibility on those cash tickets since you may have both E+ and MCE access and free bags so you can truly just buy based on price since you'll get E+/MCE for free regardless.

drvannostren

All fair responses.

Though I still have to ask, is it possible to split earnings? Being able to credit the INTL flights to SQ or whatever, and the domestic flights to AC, or is that just a non-starter?

permanent

Hi everyone!

My job and lifestyle requires me to travel almost constantly.

I've only been doing it for around a year and a half, and so far I've been doing a very bad job! I don't collect miles, even though I fly at least 4 times a month, rarely buy return tickets, and am rarely in any country for more than 2 weeks. And I pay for all of my flights myself (although sometimes I'm reimbursed).

I have a pretty obsessive personality, and every time I've started looking into collecting miles/rewards I began over-optimizing and had to stop. Recently a friend of mine recommended that I come here to ask for advice, so that I don't have to spend as many hours getting oriented, but so I can still "do it right". I am completely prepared to manage a complicated points strategy!


I tend to fly between:

North America:
New York, Boston, San Francisco, Toronto, Montreal

Europe:
London, Geneva, Paris, Italy, Romania, Ukraine

Asia:
Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok

I fly most between the cities given in bold.
I plan to spend around 4 months per year in North America, 5 months in Europe, and 3 months in Asia.


My goals, in order, are to:

1. Save money
2. Gain access to lounges
3. Get seat upgrades

Thanks so so much for your help!!!

arollins

What is your home airport?
What fares you normally fly?

The fact that you do not collect miles is your main mistake. I presume you do not belong to a frequent flyer air program, as much as a hotel program.

In short, the more you use them, the more you accumulate, the better the rewards later on. Simple. What airline flies to where you go, what hotel chain you stay at? If you concentrate your travel to one main air carrier and one main hotel chain, enroll in their programs, you will start maximizing your rewards. It is not that difficult to do this.

Mwenenzi

permanent Welcome to FT

Look and ask here http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...help-here.html
What airlines do you fly?
Member of any freq flyer programs?

LondonElite

I'm confused.

If you rarely buy return tickets you are paying a significant premium for your one-ways. Is this in economy or business class?

You don't say what it is you do that necessitates this kind of travel, and whether it is self-imposed or a requirement of your profession (and it is your good right not to) but I suspect you are an ideal candidate for a real live human travel agent that can probably streamline your travel patterns and save you a lot of money. As far as the FFP go, you'll need to post much more detail regarding airlines and locations before we can start giving you really useful advice.

Welcome to FT!

permanent

Thanks for the quick responses, and for the words of welcome!


>If you rarely buy return tickets you are paying a significant premium for your one-ways. Is this in economy or business class?

I usually fly economy! I only find that there's a significant premium for trans-Atlantic flights, and only sometimes.
When there is a premium, I buy "flex" returns and then change the return flight to the date/source/destination that I end up wanting, later.


>You don't say what it is you do that necessitates this kind of travel, and whether it is self-imposed or a requirement of your profession

If I were to stop, my career would suffer, but it would still survive.
I don't have a separation of life and work, so it's hard to say whether it's self-imposed or a requirement :P


>I suspect you are an ideal candidate for a real live human travel agent that can probably streamline your travel patterns and save you a lot of money.

Interesting! Why do you think they could save money in ways that I couldn't? I'm concerned that a travel agent would find me very frustrating (I often don't want to decide exactly when I'll fly until a couple of days before I fly, and sometimes I don't even know where I'm going to be flying until the last minute), and I'm not sure that I would be able to trust them. Where would you recommend that I look for a travel agent that is comfortable with my situation?


>What airlines do you fly?
>As far as the FFP go, you'll need to post much more detail regarding airlines and locations before we can start giving you really useful advice.

I just did a bunch of digging through my pile of boarding passes, and I found that I fly WestJet, United, Air Canada, and Easy Jet the most. Neat! I didn't realize - I usually don't pay attention to airlines, just to departure and arrival times.


>Member of any freq flyer programs?

Nope!


>If you concentrate your travel to one main air carrier and one main hotel chain, enroll in their programs, you will start maximizing your rewards. It is not that difficult to do this.

Interesting! So I usually like to stay at airbnbs, although I sometimes use hotel tonight. I don't necessarily want to choose my flights based on the carrier, as much as the departure/arrival times. How big of a savings is it? If I fly enough, does it matter less?


>What is your home airport?

Either London Gatwick or London Heathrow.


Thanks again !!!