Note: program rules change, good programs turn bad, and vice versa. The list below is outdated. Read beyond the opening post for updates or check miles.site666.info

My local airline is KLM (SkyTeam), so I earn truckloads of Flying Blue miles. I fly pretty often with Star Alliance but rarely with OneWorld, mainly because they offer less direct flights from AMS. But when I do fly *A or OW airlines I collect their miles anyway, and I expect to use them eventually. Of course, it may take quite a while before I burn up my miles from my less frequented FFP. For obvious reasons I don't want those dormant miles to expire before I've collected enough to do anything useful with them. That's not as easy as it used to be because mileage expiration rules are getting tighter, especially with the multi-airline Miles & More program which is spreading like the plague.

There must be more FlyerTalkers who collect miles from airlines and alliances that they fly infrequently.

So let's build a list of the best programs for the disloyal!


To be considered "friendly for the disloyal," a program must have properties like:

> Miles should never expire.

> If miles are subject to expiration, any type of account activity should reset the clock (so a program like Lufthansa's Miles and More is not an option, since their miles expire 3 years after earning regardless of account activity).

> It should be easy to earn miles for non-flying activity (not credit cards or hotel stays, since most people use those for their primary FFP), and non-flying account activity or miles redemption should keep your miles from expiring.

> If miles can be earned by online shopping, those stores should ship internationally at reasonable shipping rates (since the best FFP for disloyal members may be from a foreign airline)

Other things to keep in mind:

- Some airlines (especially those in Europe) charge a ridicilously high fuel surcharge on "free" tickets.

- Changing or cancelling an award ticket can be anything from free to horribly expensive to impossible.


So far, my list of friendly FFPs for the disloyal is:


SkyTeam

CSA Czech Airlines
+ Miles never expire if you earn miles once every 24 months.
- Apart from hotels and car rentals there are very few ways to earn miles for non-flying activity outside the Czech Republic.
- Buying an upgrade or award ticket does NOT extend the deadline.

Delta
+ Miles never expire if you have any account activity once every 24 months.
+ Miles for shopping (Barnes & Noble and other online stores) keep your miles alive for another two years.
- One way award tickets for less miles (but usually not half the miles) on some flights, but not all. Some one way tickets cost more miles than a round trip!
- Availability of standard reward flights sucks, available reward flights often cost an obscene amount of miles.
- International Originating Surcharge for trips starting outside the USA.

KLM, Air France
+ One way award tickets for half the miles.
- Miles never expire if you buy a qualifying SkyTeam airline ticket once every 20 months, other account activity does NOT extend the deadline. Even buying an upgrade or award ticket does NOT extend the deadline!
- You can earn miles for surveys (e-Rewards*), but this does NOT extend the deadline.


OneWorld

American Airlines
+ Miles never expire if you have any account activity once every 18 months.
+ Miles for surveys (e-Rewards*) keep your miles alive for another two years.
+ One way award tickets for half the miles.

British Airways
+ Miles never expire if you have any account activity once every 36 months.
+ Miles for shopping (e.g. play.com*) keep your miles alive for another three years.
+ One way award tickets for half the miles.
+ Cheap award tickets for intra-europe flights.

Qantas
+ Miles never expire if you have any account activity once every 18 months.
- Apart from hotels and car rentals there are very few ways to earn miles for non-flying activity outside Australia.


Star Alliance

United
+ Miles never expire if you have any account activity once every 18 months.
+ Miles for shopping (Barnes & Noble and other online stores) keep your miles alive for another 18 months.
- One way award tickets only on United flights, not on other Star Alliance flights.

US Airways
+ Miles never expire if you have any account activity once every 18 months.
+ Miles for clicks (e-Miles*), surveys (e-Rewards*), and shopping (Barnes & Noble and other online stores) keep your miles alive for another 18 months.
- No one way award tickets (they're available, but they cost the same as round trips).
- "Award processing fee" charged for all award tickets.


unallied

Alaska Airlines
+ Miles never expire if you have any account activity once every 24 months.
+ A bit of a SkyTeam/OneWorld hybrid: earn and redeem miles with Alaska Airlines, Air France, Air Pacific, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Delta, Era Alaska, Horizon, Kenmore, KLM, Korean, LAN, Mokulele Airlines, PenAir, Qantas.
+ Miles for surveys (e-Rewards*) and shopping (Barnes & Noble and other online stores) keep your miles alive for another two years.
+ One way award tickets for half the miles.

Frontier
+ Miles never expire if you have any account activity once every 24 months.
+ Miles for clicks (eMiles*) and surveys (e-Rewards*) keep your miles alive for another two years.
+ One way award tickets for half the miles.
- Earning miles and buying award tickets is limited to Frontier flights. Frontier only serves a limited number of destinations in the USA, a handful of cities in Mexico, and San José in Costa Rica, which makes the program useless for most of the world.


*) According to the small print, e-Miles is only open for USA residents. But in real life anyone from anywhere can join, earn points, and trade 'em in for miles. e-Rewards is open for residents of many different countries (by invitation only, but signing up for a frequent flyer program is usually enough to get an invitation).

Any other good FFPs for the disloyal?



Bad programs (any program where your miles expire regardless of account activity is a bad program):

Aeroflot, Alitalia (SkyTeam)

Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, TAP, ANA, Thai, Turkish Airlines, South African Airways, Singapore Airlines, Asiana (Star Alliance)
- Miles expire after 3 years, account activity does NOT extend the deadline. You can keep your M&M miles at Lufthansa alive by maintaining elite status or by using a Lufthansa credit card (but you'll have to use it at least once a month).

Air Canada (Star Alliance)
- Miles expire after 7 years. Not that bad, but account activity does NOT extend the deadline. What's worse is this part of the small print: "All mileage in an account expires if the Aeroplan member has not accumulated or redeemed Aeroplan Miles for a period of 12 consecutive months."

SAS (Star Alliance)
- Miles expire after 4 to 5 years (depending on when you earned them), account activity does NOT extend the deadline.

Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Japan Airlines (OneWorld)
- Miles expire after 3 years, account activity does NOT extend the deadline.

Air India, El Al, Emirates (unallied)
- Miles expire after 3 years, account activity does NOT extend the deadline.
+ Air India will become a member of Star Alliance.
- El Al charges an entry fee for joining their frequent flyer program.

AirTran (unallied)
- Miles expire after one year (two years if you maintain elite status or use an AirTran credit card), account activity does NOT extend the deadline.

Icelandair (unallied)
- Miles expire after 4 years, account activity does NOT extend the deadline.


I threw together a more readable version of this list with an easy to remember URL: miles.site666.info
The most recent info is there if you don't want to puzzle all the changes together from this thread.