Thanks to you and to others for reassuring me about UA consolidator tickets. I think the agent I referred to was Trailfinders--though it may have been Travelbag. Anyhow, in the UK at least I find it increasingly difficult to distinguish between consolidators and other agents, as the consolidator business is so legit, and so much used.

(A quick plug for roundtheworldtrips.com, with whom I just booked a RTW flight to Australasia and the Southern Cone--very efficient, helpful, and knowledgeable compared to the various other agents I tried. No, I have no connection with any of them.)

I had doubted the (Travelbag/Trailfinders?) agent about UA consolidator fares, as earlier this year I got miles on a UA/LH ticket booked through Usit (Campus Travel in the US), i.e. at a student rate.

Looking through FlyerTalk, I've noticed that several people have put together comparison charts for the different programmes--*A and oneworld, for instance--regarding their elite levels. However, someone someday should put together some kind of spreadsheet about the different rewards available on the various FF programmes.

For instance, yes, UA is expensive to get to the States, but, for instance, on mileage plus to get from the US to New Zealand is only 60,000 miles--a bargain! If you get a cheap flight to NYC and from there a reward ticket to NZ, that's just excellent value.

Likewise, mileage plus regards Venezuela as part of Central America, and only "charges" 50,000 miles for a flight from Europe--another bargain!

On the other hand, if you want to get to Peru, CO is the bargain...

Someone out there (if you haven't already done it), do us all the service of comparing such rewards across the major programmes...

Jon