Hi,

I just signed up and have been looking around and reading all the "newbie"/intro threads I can find. I've grasped the glossary, but I do have one main question:

How much do I need to fly for all this to be worth it? I'm moving to the US from Europe next year, and am looking at 2/3 trips back home per year, and maybe a couple flights within North America each year. Is it worth it trying to learn all this stuff to get upgrades/free flights, or is this just feasible for someone who flies a LOT more?

I really appreciate your perspectives - thanks in advance for your help!

Edit: *beginner in the threat title... oops!

This game definitely works for the occasional traveler. I flew 15,000 miles on 3 trips within the U.S. and one to Europe last year with no upgrades or status, and my total cost was ~$200 due to miles and points, all from credit cards.
I don't get caught up in the status or class of service - I just want to go further than I could otherwise afford to.
However, if you are moving to the U.S. it will take time to establish a credit history. Plan to start slow if you do decide to jump in.

Does that mean you won/accumulated 15k miles for flying those trips? Or that you "used up" 15k miles to get the flights just for $200.

Yeah, I'm not willing to spend much money for status/business upgrades, but if it's possible without spending major $ it'd be nice.

Can you give me a rough idea of how many miles are required to get an upgrade, and how many you'd get e.g. on a US->Europe trip? I know it varies a lot between airlines and such, but I'm just trying to get an idea of the orders of magnitude involved here!

I earn most of my points and miles through credit card bonuses and spending. I don't travel for business but have still managed to rack up a considerable amount of miles/points in just under 3 years and I know there are others on these boards who can put my meager earnings to shame. You don't have to be a business traveler anymore to take advantage of the reward programs if you are looking for free flights and stays.

If you're looking for status, however, that is a different story. Most airlines and hotels require paid flights and paid stays to reach the statuses that will get you free upgrades and that can be difficult to achieve if you don't have a job or business reimbursing you for those expenses. Of course, if you earn enough points/miles from your spending, you can book business or first class instead of hoping for an upgrade.

I mean I flew 15000 miles on award tickets which cost me around 70K frequent flyer miles and $200 rather than the ~$2000 it would have cost to buy the tickets. I'm cheap. Upgrades cost miles or money and reduce my future travel budget, so I pay little attention to them.

I'll look into the credit card thing. You still get miles if you pay it off on time so as to not get charged interest, right? Because in that case it'd be basically free miles, and I could pretty much pay everything (tuition, food, day -to-day stuff) with the CC.

If u will carry a balance and pay interest then this game is not right for u. Just like u sAID.
The best use of spending is combining spending to get bonuses from credit card sign ups and maximizing your regular spending. This is why u need to have a plan.
Do u know where u will be living in the USA?

If so figure out this:
Will u only use miles to fly home?
Vacation?
Either way figure out whAt airlines you will take and whAt mileAge program to use. Then tArget those credit cards. As mentioned u will need to take it slow.

I think the game is less "worth it" than it was for the past several years, but it's still got some perks.

I do not travel much to accumulate miles. Most of mine have be gained through credit card bonuses and online shopping portals. There were some enormously generous sign up bonuses two or three years ago. Those have allowed me to fly in business and first class to Asia mainly for "free".

With most airlines requiring more miles to get where you want to fly plus fewer giant credit card bonuses makes the game more difficult. If you're willing to play the credit card game and can find the ways and time to do "manufactured spending" you can still rack up miles.

My personal opinion is that it was fun while it lasted but I don't expect to take as many free trips going forward.

In general you get one mile for each $ spent, and you can (and should) pay on time. it's usually two miles per $ for purchases on the sponsoring airline, and occasionally special bonuses are offered for purchases within a certain period. Many cards waive fees for the first year for new customers. The airlines also run dining programs, which offer special bonuses for dining at participating restaurants.

Your choice of airline will depend on where you live in the USA and where you want to go in Europe. UA and AA (in that order) have better availability than DL for award travel, and UA has a stronger list of European partner airlines for that purpose.

Here's an example of how this can work.

I'm contemplating a trip from Sacramento to El Paso over a long weekend later in 2014. I have 50000 Southwest Airlines miles, recently obtained from getting their credit card (sign up bonus). That will (easily) cover roundtrip airfare for 2 people to ELP, plus another flight or locally to southern CA.

Now, I'm looking at hotels. I need 3 nights, in Carlsbad, New Mexico (Carlsbad Caverns and environs). I look at a travel website to see what hotels are there. Then I check to see how many points are required to stay 3 nights. I decide that Holiday Inn is a good bet at 15,000 points per night. Then I look at what the signup bonus is for the IHG credit card. It's either 60,000 or 80,000, apparently. So, now I've applied for that card. After $1000 of spending over 3 months, I'll have the bonus, and that should be enough to bring my hotel cost down to zero for this trip. Assuming, of course, that credit is granted. If not, we move to plan B...some other hotel card.

The value of this free travel exceeds $1000, and all it took was a few keystrokes.

Is this helpful?