Originally Posted by
thegeneral
Originally Posted by
channa
Alaska hands down.
The poster is clearly an infrequent flyer with CO, and AS has a few things going for them:
1. Lots of partners, so it can be a catch all for every mileage program -- e.g., if you hold just a UA MP account and an AS MP account, you can collect on every major airline in the U.S.:
(plus some international ones)
2. Low award rates -- e.g., 20K RT if booked online on AS metal; 30K to Mexico.
3. A Visa bonus offer for 20K bonus miles when you open an account. That could help bring you to an award right away.
"Alaska hands down."
There is a strong argument for AS, but hands down? I don't think so. Your AS status isn't going to help you when moving abroad. Being a CO/NW Gold gives you SkyTeam Elite status vs AS's program which gives you nothing.
The low award rates might be nice, but an informed flyer would save the miles for international first class trips vs. a domestic trip. Don't get me wrong, I love and fly AS, but they're not the ideal.
AS does have some good offerings for
international awards IMO, with access to premium cabins on several international and domestic carriers. And since awards start at only 20K for online bookings, one can get a domestic ticket for fewer miles then with CO or most other majors.
And here's a full list of
partners AS has:
AS
AF
AA
BA
CX
CO
DL
7H
QX
KL
LA
NW
KS
QF
QX
Its a pretty good list of partners, but I'd say it depends on what the OP is looking for. Either CO or AS would work, as both bank CO miles at 100%, versus NW and others... which it seems the OP only wants a place to earn miles, not gain status.
Also the OP may end up redeeming miles if credited on AS with AS, and discover why some choose AS over UA
