Originally Posted by Goldie84
thanks for your responses....oh, and I am a lady, btw.
Excuse me for not being clear in my original post. I'll try to answer your specific qs so we can maybe narrow down some choices.
Ask yourself what you want to get...
-Miles? Yes
-Upgrades? Yes
-Lounge Access? No
-Better seat selection? As long as I have a window seat, I am fine!
-Cheap tickets? Yes
-How often per year are you flying to Europe? Right now it's less but within the next year or so I would average it out to 3-4 times minimum per year. There is even the possibility of relocation to Europe.
-What class of service are you flying (First, Business or Economy)? I normally fly Economy, which is fine for domestic flights, but when I fly to and from Europe, its almost unbearably uncomfortable. Thus, If I can find the right program, I would be interested in flying first or business class.
-Do you pay for the flights out of your own pocket? I charge my flights with my credit card most of the time.
-Where in Europe do you fly most? France and Italy.
-What do you want to redeem your miles for? (Upgrades? Flights in Economy, Business or First)? Upgrades would be nice...see comments above.
-What is your home airport in the US? My home airport in the US is Hartsfield in Atlanta.
Goldie84,
hi!
You say that you are based in Atlanta and will be traveling to France and Italy.
When I think of Atlanta I think of Delta Airlines and their direct flight from Atlanta to Rome (I think they have one a day) and their direct flights from Atlanta to Paris (three a day? correct me if I'm wrong).
When I think of France I think of Airfrance and when I think of Italy of Alitalia. All three air companies are Sky Team members. This means that all you need is membership with any of the three’s frequent flyer program. No matter which program you choose, you'll earn miles on your long haul flights on delta and your short haul flights within Europe on Air France and Alitalia.
Now you have to pick on of the three programs. You said that you'd like to have upgrades on your long haul flights. Delta flies to both Italy and France nonstop from Atlanta. Airfrance flies only to France and Alitalia has got no direct flies from Atlanta.
As a consequence I suggest that you start earning miles from Delta, Alitalia and Airfrance under the Delta Airlines SkyMiles program. This way you'll be able to upgrade your long haul flights on Delta.
You might as well collect miles under Airfrance's "flying blue" program but then you would only be able to upgrade your direct flights to France and not your direct flights to Italy.
If you pick delta's Skymiles as your program you'll be able to upgrade all eligible Delta airlines flights that you take, get reward tickets on Delta, Alitalia and Airfrance, and most of all earn miles when traveling on Delta, Alitalia and Aifrance.
If you pick Airfrance's flying blue, instead, you'll be able to upgrade AF flights, get reward flights on all three and earn miles on all three.
Picking Alitalia's millemiglia would certainly be your worst option because you wouldn’t be able to get upgrades on any of your long haul flights (unless you choose to never fly direct to Europe from Atlanta).
Last but not least, since you are a US resident (I'm assuming) you will easily find credit cards that will earn you Delta SkyMiles miles. For US residents I don't think that there are cards that will earn Flying Blues of Millemiglia miles.
If you do an Atlanta-Rome round trip four times a year, you will earn
40,232miles just from the flights. To this, you will have to add miles from your short haul flights and miles from your credit card (usually one dollar spent=one miles or more).
On Delta, a round trip reward ticket from the US to Europe will cost you 50,000miles + taxes.
Similarly, upgrading from economy (not full fare) to business class will cost you 25,000 miles per way.
I suggest that you go to
www.delta.com and browse around the SkyMiles section.
I really do not know what to say about hotel discounts. Maybe your best bet would be to join a hotel chain loyalty program and use it to get a free night every now and then...just like I suggested you should do with airlines.
I hope you found my post helpful.
I cannot guarantee that everything I wrote/stated is correct. Other Flytalk members, please feel free to correct me!
Good luck in Europe!