welcome to FT mate... I hope the gibberish makes sense soon enough--ie your mates will think you are nuts in due time

(he told us we speak gibberish! Look honey, you were right! )

anyway,
previous postings have done a good job in explaining things but basically you might want to consider a few things when starting up in the mileage game:

1) keep it simple...
in terms of how many airlines there are, maybe only join the programs of one or two of them to start. Maybe three, but that's if you feel up to it.

There are three major alliances, and if you have been reading thus far, they are One World, Sky Team and Star Aliance. For me, I happen to concentrate my flying efforts on American Airlines from the One World, Northwest from the Sky Team and United from the Star Aliance, but I have reasons for that which may be different than yours. It gives me the flexibility I need and keeps it down to only a few. If you go joining say, United AND US Airways, AND Singapore's programs, well, you are spreading too thin.

2) Where is this leading?
Do consider where you fly now, what you will fly later in life/business/liesure, and what all these miles you will earn will result in. If you hope to one day do a first class trip for 4 to say, Hawaii or something, then look in this very forum to find out who seems to be best for REDEEMING miles to get to that destination. For me, I find American is best for this, but I live in the States so maybe it's different for others. For ski trips in Canada and the states, I have had luck with United. For my flights from East Coast USA to Europe, I find NWA does pretty well for my needs too.

3) KEEP COPIES OF EVERYTHING
Keep all related records that you do involving a flight or any mileage deal, promotion or transaction until you see your miles post. Maybe this is a pain in the neck but trust me, there's nothing worse than trying to chase miles when you do not have the stuff needed to do it. Example: You fly on an airline that happens to be a partner with United, and you want United miles. You told them your FF number on the phone, you entered it online and you told them at check in, but your miles never posted and you neg;ected to look at your account for two months (gasp!). Well, if you saved all your boarding card stubs, you could mail in copies and they will give you credit in due time. Without these, you are mostly out of luck. SAVE IT ALL! Just save it all. PS: It is possible, although it may be up to luck, that you can submit copies of information from some of your recent flights to newly joined FFPs and they MAY give you credit for them. generally you'd have to have flown within a certain time period and most retroactive posts only take place if one was already a member, but hey, it's worth a shot! You may run into a nice CSR when you call in to inquire about it. Be proactive and assertive, mate!


4) hotels.
Dont forget about hotels. I dunno what's what where you are going but I think many will agree Starwood is among the better programs for both earning and redeeming. For me, the American Express SPG card takes the cake. Sift thru some of the gibberish-ridden threads in the AMEX forum or the Starwood forum to learn more. Other hotel chains can be decent but that's up to you. I personally seem to either stay in a Westin when I travel or I end up doing something not involving a hotel. I'm not a regular business traveler though.

Good luck and yes, soon enough, if this doesnt become an addiction first, you will start using acronyms and airline talk that makes your trouble think you lost your marbles!

MM