Originally Posted by MikenJanet

Hi, I have just joined the forum, so please be patient with me! I apologise for asking this question, but wonder if someone might help. It looks very likely that we will be travelling to the USA on a regular basis pretty soon. This is for personal, not business, reasons and all flights will be at our cost and not a corporate expense! The reason is that our son is looking highly likely to accept a post in Tennessee, and it is equally likely that, whilst he may not stay in Tennessee permanently, he will make the move to the USA (from the UK) a permanent thing. We'd hope to visit him at least every couple of months (I'm sure he'll be delighted!), so are likely to fly to the USA at least 4 or 5 times per year for the forseeable future.

I'd like to ask if anyone can give a clue regarding:

- Most attractive "regular flyer" scheme for Economy Class travel UK / USA for 4 or 5 trips per year? I guess we'd like discounts more than upgrades (or both!)

- Because flights are likely to be at least one stop, we're happy, if necessary, to stay over in airport hotels and to "split tickets" if the overall cost is lower as a result. Is "split ticketing" something we can do easily and is it generally worth while?

- Is it worth getting an affinity card and, if so, which should I choose?

Thank you in advance of any replies, I really appreciate any guidance!