Moving to AMS - help to decide FlyingBlue vs DL Skymiles
 

Hi All, I am really confused as I am about to move to AMS and looking at the FFP of KL I see several issues with Flyingblue
- no match program
- slow build up of status (with XP resetting on every status upgrade)
- no benefits other than priority checkin and priority queues at the airport

I see that DL Skymiles provides all the benefits of KL Flyingblue plus more on the potential upgrades side for my stateside travel.

My question is which program do you recommend for a business traveler moving to AMS?
Second question (I was not able to find info on this online) is whether or not I need any DL flights for status match or requalification? Can I just requalify every year or meet challenge requirements flying DL/AF only? I remember for example United had a requirement of at least 3 flights on UA metal.

Thanks - please see below for my info.

(1) What is most important to you in a FFP?
upgrades - but I am not expecting much within EU
lounge
priority checkin and free luggage and free seat selection
(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors?
Economy About 80k to 130k. 40 to 60 flights.
(3) What types of fares do you usually buy ?
Economy
(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Airline most flown? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Currently flying only TK out of IST. After move to AMS most likely will fly KL mostly. I get to decide what I fly. I fly for work.
(5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often
Out of AMS most likely 10 to 15 IST roundtrips, 1 or 2 US roundtrips and 10 to 15 EU/CIS region roundtrips.
(6) What is your home airport?
New home will be AMS
(7) Do you have FFP status of any kind in an airline? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP?
I currently have EP (top tier) with Turkish
(8) Preferred Airlines
KL for flights
KL or Delta for miles program

AMS has a decent amount of Star Alliance connections (and great premium fares) so I don't see a pressing need to switch to SkyTrash.

Did I make a mistake?
 

Hi All,

I read FlyerTalk often, but this is my first time posting. I am a China Airlines Paragon member based in Taiwan, who recently switched to CX Marco Polo. I was status matched to Silver in October and should be able to reach gold by Jan or Feb of 2019. However, it looks unlikely that I will ever be able to hit Diamond as my company only pays for Premium Economy. My reasons for originally switching to CX were for the ease of accruing miles via several channels, the existence of a first class and first class lounge, the perceived dimishing quality of CI due to cost cutting, and the better choices for routes and schedules with CX. As it is looking less and less likely to ever be able to fly premium classes with CX since they made upgrade awards so much more difficult, along with the low probability of hitting Diamond, I am wondering if I made a mistake switching. I find CX lounges to be overcrowded and operational upgrades to be non-existent. There are clearly a ton of MPC member with elite status, whereas with Dynasty Flyer I felt like more of a big fish in a small pond with Paragon. However, I do like the CX premium economy seat and wide variety of routes and schedules to the US (CI was not good for this at all as I need to make connections in the US).

Anyway, I was hoping if one of you good folks could give me some advice. Should I stick with CX or move back to CI, or perhaps try a new option, like OZ / BI / JL / Anything I may not be considering? Alliance doesn't matter all that much to me, but here is what is important:

(1) What is most important to you in a FFP?
Upgrade on travel, priority services, lounge access

(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors?
100-120K in Premium Economy / Economy 4-5 R/T to the US, 12-15 R/T within APAC

(3) What types of fares do you usually buy ?
Economy / Premium Economy

(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Airline most flown? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
I can choose airlines, but am limited to economy on regional and premium economy on long haul. I need an airline that let's you upgrade with miles on almost all fare types

(5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often
APAC Regional, Transpacific

(6) What is your home airport?
Taipei Songshan / Taipei Taoyuan

(7) Do you have FFP status of any kind in an airline? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP?
China Airlines Paragon (85 miles); CX MP Silver (150K miles)

(8) Preferred Airlines
I like many, but avoid US or Mainland China carriers

Please note I don't mind having to transit through any other city in Asia that is reasonably close, like HK, Seoul, or Tokyo.

Many thanks in advance for any guidance.

Def. AA. They are getting even better.

Best FFP
 

1. What is most important to you in a frequent flyer program (FFP)?
upgrades, priority services, baggage allowance, good award redemption rates, better award access, lounge access, etc.
>>> Reply: Best points for someone who earns points by spending, not flying. I'd be putting around 500k on a card per year and would only be earning points through that.

2. How many miles do you usually fly each year? How many flights/sectors?
less than 25000 miles, 50000+ miles and 20-25 flights, etc.
>>> Reply: 4 flights

3. What fare class do you usually buy?
first, business, premium economy, economy
>>> Reply: economy

4. Are you able to choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
>>> Reply: pleasure

5. Which routes do you fly most often?
transatlantic, domestic USA, intra-Asia, etc.
>>> Reply: mixed

6. What is your home airport?
>>> Reply: PHL

7. Do you have status in any FFP? What is it? How miles do you have banked in each FFP, if any?
>>> Reply: No

8. What are your preferred airlines, if any?
>>> Reply: None

Well, I'm not all new to this world of frequent flyer programs but I am considering making a change. I'm located in New York pretty close to either their LGA or JFK. I'm a LOT farther from EWR. I am lifetime gold on United and lifetime Platinum on American. I've cut back my travel so I'm not doing nearly as much as I used to (it was about 200,000+ miles per year). Given the way schedules and service have been changing here, and not for the better in my estimation, I'm wondering if it's worth considering a switch to Delta. I typically fly full fare economy or first domestically and premium economy or some version of that or business internationally. I doubt I'll do enough travel per year to go above either the Platinum level that I'm at now on American, where most of my current flying is, or at most Platinum Pro on American. I figure I already get free access to extra legroom coach seating on American anyways and I'm not sure how much more I'll get than that if I fly them more. Any thoughts?

The grass in not always greener on the other side

With lifetime gold on United and lifetime Platinum on American what is the point of starting from the bottom with another ffp?
What are your objectives with a ffp?
What do you use the AA & UA ff miles for?
What would use the DL skypeso's for?
Does DL fly where you want to go? Any better schedule or better pricing than UA & AA?
Be careful about expiry of the UA & AA ff miles

The grass in not always greener on the other side

New AIrline
 

(1) What is most important to you in a FFP?
(upgrades on travel, priority services when flying the airline, extra baggage allowance, good award redemption rates, better award access, free - discounted lounge access, etc.)
Reply: UPGRADES ON TRAVEL, EXTRA BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE, PRIORITY SERVICE

(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors?
(<25000, 25000-50000, >50000 miles - <25, 25-50, >50 flights?)
Reply: 90K+

(3) What types of fares do you usually buy ?
(First, Business, Premium economy, Economy, cheapest)
Reply: ECONOMY & PREMIUM ECONOMY

(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Airline most flown? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Reply: I CAN CHOOSE AIRLINE. FLY MOSTLY FOR WORK, SOMETIMES FOR PLEASURE.

(5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often
(US Domestic, Transpacific, Kangaroo, in Asia etc)
Reply: TRANS ATLANTIC, DOMESTIC US AND TRANS PACIFIC

(6) What is your home airport?
(SFO, SCL, London LHR, HKG, Singapore SIN etc.)
Reply: LAX

(7) Do you have FFP status of any kind in an airline? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP?
(AA Executive Platinum, UA 1K, LAN Comodoro, etc)
Reply: VIRGIN AUSTRALIA GOLD = 300K MILES BANKED
AMERICAN AIRLINES GOLD = 40K MILES BANKED

(8) Preferred Airlines
Reply: VIRGIN, AMERICAN, DELTA, BRITISH AIRWAYS

Hoping for (frequent free) upgrades is a wishful hope. Just does not happen as much as it did say a decade ago.
Airlines are trimming status benefits and making it harder to get status.
A lot of people are flying and ffp's are selling ff miles for $$$ (to credit cards, etc) by plane load (B747 size and not B737 size).

VA Gold limited value outside of Australia, but DL is a partner in USA. Be careful with expiry of the VA ff points.

What's wrong with keeping with AA?
The grass in not always greener on the other side

OP's other thread which may get merged-->https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/info...ty-advice.html

Moving to US - Travelling to Africa/Europe
 

1. What is most important to you in a frequent flyer program (FFP)?
upgrades, priority services, baggage allowance, good award redemption rates, better award access, lounge access, etc.
>>> Reply: 1) Good award redemption rates, Upgrades.

2. How many miles do you usually fly each year? How many flights/sectors?
less than 25000 miles, 50000+ miles and 20-25 flights, etc.
>>> Reply: 2 flights, around 1,500 miles each way - but plan on flying out west from NY in the future.

3. What fare class do you usually buy?
first, business, premium economy, economy
>>> Reply: Economy, premium economy, and first (domestic).

4. Are you able to choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
>>> Reply: Yes, and pleasure.

5. Which routes do you fly most often?
transatlantic, domestic USA, intra-Asia, etc.
>>> Reply: Domestic USA - but also want to travel to Hawaii in the future.

6. What is your home airport?
>>> Reply: SYR

7. Do you have status in any FFP? What is it? How miles do you have banked in each FFP, if any?
>>> Reply: No

8. What are your preferred airlines, if any?
>>> Reply: Jet Blue, Delta

With only a few flights a year you not get much with any ffp. And with low prices fare even less.
Extremely low chance of any (free) upgrades.
From your profile you a are a member of many ffp's. So watch expiry. DL ff miles do not (currently) expire

My opinion is select flights based on schedule & price (not ff miles) and treat any ff miles that you may get as a small bonus that may/may not be able to use in the future.
If you get ff miles from cc spend can be different.

https://www.wheretocredit.com/jetblue-airways
https://www.wheretocredit.com/aa
https://www.wheretocredit.com/dl

I should add before I scrapped AA altogether, In March, did pay for a one way ticket down to Fort Myers from Syracuse with miles, and then on the way back, I received an upgrade to first class for $90 - while not a free upgrade, cheap upgrades are nice a well IMO.

Would obtaining miles be more useful for flights to destinations within the Hawaiian Islands from New York? I know you said base purchases off of low prices - but when I looked, I didn't see anything less than a couple grand (round trip).

NYC/BOS/DC to Hawaii is a very popular leisure route. At certain times of the year even more so. [People travelling with their own money]. 100's if not 1000's of people with high ff miles balance, often from cc spend, are looking for award flights & (free) upgrades at the same time. A lot do not succeed.
So airlines can charge $$$
NYC-HNL is a greater distance than NYC-LHR
Route map Great Circle Mapper