Originally Posted by
galego
Apologies, I've managed to get through just 10 pages of this thread
. Hopefully it hasn't already been done
I wonder if there's any kind of table out there that compares the various *A Programs, listing their attributes side by side for easy comparison.
I'm new to this. Not much of a heavy flier... Had a BMI credit card but never earned
that much on it. As such I'm more interested in making an eventual redemption than any kind of status, i'm after my miles lasting a long time (it'll take me forever to get enough to be able to redeem them) and the ability to earn off any *A carrier. I suppose I should look at earn/burn ratios, but I'll always be flying in the cheapest economy option possible.
I already have membership of the TAP and TAM programs, but I've never used them. If I fly anywhere, it'll most likely be to the US or to Brazil. Looks like US Airways could be the one for me. (Flew once or twice a year on US Air when I was younger...never saved the miles, damn)
as gurus will say
tell me where do you want to go today (oops - think it's microsoft ad
)... what I wanted to say is that choice of FFP nowadays is entirely dependent on what award you are saving your miles for and what you flying patterns are (and also whether your planned award will be for economy or business class).
for miles lasting for a long time - best insurance will be to take miles earning credit card - as typically your miles will not expire as long as you have it (there are some exceptions).
If you want to fly to Brazil, I'd check if US is flying there. US is the infrequent (nowadays) exception that will not charge you arbitrary taxes (fuel surcharge) when you book award travel with them.
AX