What Year Did You Join Your First Frequent Flyer Program and What Was It?
Aug 28, 2016, 10:42 pm
#62
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: MSP
Programs: AA Plat Pto, IHG Plat, HH Gold, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 2,536
TWA in 1996. Despite flying them I don't think I figured out the logistics of actually earning the miles for the tickets. First program I actually benefited from earning miles on would be US Airways in 2000. I still have the yellowed membership card. Things have changed greatly since then.
Aug 30, 2016, 10:03 pm
#63
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: LAX, SAN, ORD, MAA & COK
Programs: AA EXP 6+ MM, AC, DL (MM) & LT SC; All Airlines 10+MM, Hilton LT Diamond, Marriott LT Plat
Posts: 749
We joined Pan Am sometime in the 80's. It was the most rewarding program ever! We even earned full miles on award flights!!! - all I had to do is ask for the miles and send the boarding passes. In addition, our babies, who only paid 10% or 20% of the ticket earned full adult miles.
I also had a lifetime Clipper Club membership which was eventually converted to a lifetime Delta Crown Club membership with the transfer of the Pan Am European routes to Delta.
Sep 1, 2016, 9:56 pm
#64
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: New York and Vienna
Programs: PA WorldPass Platinum, AA, DL, LH. GHA Black, SPG and HHonors Gold
Posts: 3,870
I was Platinum with PAA as well but I don't recall what the lower tiers were and what was required to reach them. Unfortunately the PAA website is down at the moment.
Sep 3, 2016, 1:06 pm
#67
In Memoriam, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Durham, NC (RDU/GSO/CLT)
Programs: AA EXP/MM, DL GM, UA Platinum, HH DIA, Hyatt Explorist, IHG Platinum, Marriott Titanium, Hertz PC
Posts: 33,857
American on March 17, 1992. I was six years old and my dad signed me up for it.
The first accounts I joined on my own accord were Northwest and Continental in 2001 because of summer travel that year and United in 2002 due to upcoming travel. I still have some of my original FF cards at home.
The first accounts I joined on my own accord were Northwest and Continental in 2001 because of summer travel that year and United in 2002 due to upcoming travel. I still have some of my original FF cards at home.
Sep 3, 2016, 3:31 pm
#68
Join Date: May 2006
Location: BOS and ...
Programs: UA 2MM, AA 600k, DL 500k, Hyatt GP 1M, HH Gold, Rad. Gold, CP Gold, Miracle Fruit-su Club
Posts: 9,950
Would request help with a couple of memory snippets. The first rewards program I remember participating in was AA's coupons in full page display ads in the SF Chronicle. And for some reason it mattered that the shortest flights for credit were SFO-OAK on a re-positioning 737. Short-lived because of the ease of buying up many newspapers by precursors to today's FTers. Hopefully, you know who you are 
.* Can anyone corroborate? Thank you. 
My first program enrollments were Pan Am's and TWA's, at their inception, but I can't remember when that was.
Moving from San Francisco to Boston, it had to be UA with its minimum four flights back and forth per day, "just in case". And family "just in case" instances surely have come around over the years. Bless UA for the miracles they've worked. But I earned them. That was then. Alas.
Also then, upon joining an organization of extreme business travelers in '82, one of them said, "Join every program that's free. You never know when a freebie will come through." Sure enough, here came a voucher from NWA about every three months for all the BOS-DCA runs.
Hotels: Sheraton Gold ('83? '84?). Then Westin Crimson or somesuch, which became Mr. Ferris's short-lived UA/Westin/Hertz quest. Then I hugged Hyatt's top rung from the start and everytime they added one.
Thanks, OP.
* One of the first instances of The Pogo Effect.
.* Can anyone corroborate? Thank you. My first program enrollments were Pan Am's and TWA's, at their inception, but I can't remember when that was.
Moving from San Francisco to Boston, it had to be UA with its minimum four flights back and forth per day, "just in case". And family "just in case" instances surely have come around over the years. Bless UA for the miracles they've worked. But I earned them. That was then. Alas.
Also then, upon joining an organization of extreme business travelers in '82, one of them said, "Join every program that's free. You never know when a freebie will come through." Sure enough, here came a voucher from NWA about every three months for all the BOS-DCA runs.
Hotels: Sheraton Gold ('83? '84?). Then Westin Crimson or somesuch, which became Mr. Ferris's short-lived UA/Westin/Hertz quest. Then I hugged Hyatt's top rung from the start and everytime they added one.
Thanks, OP.
* One of the first instances of The Pogo Effect.
Last edited by Firewind; Sep 3, 2016 at 3:57 pm
Sep 4, 2016, 9:31 pm
#69
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: New York (Brooklyn)
Programs: Delta Gold, Marriott Lifetime Platinum, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 441
American Airlines in 1986, I was a sophomore in high school (my sister's first job out of college was working at American in a call center and she signed me up). My membership number begins with 2 letters and then 5 numbers
Sep 10, 2016, 2:36 pm
#71
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: PHL
Programs: UA 1K, Marriott
Posts: 231
1991 - United Mileage Plus. It was my first time traveling for business. Living in DC I was able to fly non-stop to almost anywhere from IAD. After than trip my admin enrolled me in ALL airline, hotel and car rental loyalty programs.
Ah - those were the days...you could go from curbside to the gate in less than 10 min.
Ah - those were the days...you could go from curbside to the gate in less than 10 min.
Sep 10, 2016, 2:55 pm
#72
Join Date: May 2015
Location: ATL/MCO
Programs: Costco Executive, RaceTrac Sultan of Soda, Chick-fil-A Red
Posts: 5,660
1991 - United Mileage Plus. It was my first time traveling for business. Living in DC I was able to fly non-stop to almost anywhere from IAD. After than trip my admin enrolled me in ALL airline, hotel and car rental loyalty programs.
Ah - those were the days...you could go from curbside to the gate in less than 10 min.
Ah - those were the days...you could go from curbside to the gate in less than 10 min.
Sep 10, 2016, 3:47 pm
#73
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: The shape-shifting urban sprawl that is El Lay. FT member #71.
Programs: UA Gold & MM; DL & AA credit card dirt status; Hilton Diamond; Marriott Fool's Gold
Posts: 4,690
United in about September 1983, then American a few months later.
Joined Delta in '88 as a consequence of the "year of triple miles" that they (IIRC) started. Of course all the other majors quickly matched the lunacy, and I primarily focused earnings from then on with United where I was already mid-tier elite. So I got at least quadruple miles from United the majority of 1986.
Joined Delta in '88 as a consequence of the "year of triple miles" that they (IIRC) started. Of course all the other majors quickly matched the lunacy, and I primarily focused earnings from then on with United where I was already mid-tier elite. So I got at least quadruple miles from United the majority of 1986.