No, you are not missing anything. I agree completely with what you are saying. The US based FFPs are generally the best for budget conscious travelers who want to get the most flights for their money, unless there is any particular perk (e.g. lounge access) that you are looking for.
Originally Posted by
gaggia
Hello Flyertalk,
I've silently followed these forums for quite some time and now's the time to post. Not sure if this thread fits here best, but here's my question: I relocated from EU to US about a year ago and so far have held on to my AY+, MM, and FB. I fly rock-bottom economy so none of the programs have status. My main objective is to gather enough points for award travel, which seems at times like an impossible task, despite 30K+ miles per year, because I usually get credited 25% or less of flown miles.
I just recently looked into the American counterparts to my programs (i.e. UA's, AA's, and DL's programs) and found them to be consistently of a better value. No miles expiration, 100% credited even on discounted fares, lower requirements for award travel, and frequent offers to gather extra points. In fact, the difference seems so staggering that it seems like I should switch over right away, even if it meant forfeiting points on the EU programs. This seems almost too good to be true -- am I missing something here?