stevemchey

I am a complete FF rookie and brand new to FlyerTalk. I would like to better utilize my flights and miles earned on my credit cards, so I have the following question:

I fly approx. 25k miles a year (possibly a bit more over the next few years). In the past I flew AA a lot, but am now switching to more Star Alliance flights. Most miles come from my SFO-FRA or SFO-ZRH flights, but I also fly smaller routes inside the US (based out of SJC/SFO).

I have had a MileagePlus account for a while and usually used that whenever I flew any Star Alliance flights. But I have been thinking now: Since the really long flights are usually with Lufthansa or Swiss, would it make more sense to sign up for Miles&More and use that as my primary FF account?

I mostly want to use my miles for award flights, but of course would like to take advantage of possible status changes, too.

So, what should I do? Stick with MileagePlus or switch to Miles&More?

Thanks a lot,
Steve

PS: I also just recently signed up for the 50k MileagePlus credit card offer, so together with my previous flights, I have some miles accrued in my MileagePlus account.

JPG3392

Welcome to FT!

One further question would be whether you wish to use your miles for economy tickets or for tickets in business or first class, since the rules vary. But my inclination (I'm a US resident who uses miles primarily for travel from BOS/WAS to Austria and Germany in economy class) would be to stick with UA. UA's dining program (free to register) can also be a good way of keeping your account active and adding some miles on a regular basis.

stevemchey

Hi JPG3392,

Thanks for the response. Yes, I would like to use the miles for economy rewards (either to fly myself or fly out family members).

What's the "dining program" you mentioned? Where can I find out more?

JPG3392

I've sent a private message with more information. Please contact me if I may be of further help.

howtofreetravel

For economy awards go with mileage plus

sdsearch

Before considering any foreign airline as an alternative to a USA-based airline, look at the expiration policies of the foreign airline.

All the USA-based major airlines have a way to endless extend expiration of your miles simply by having "activity" in your account (earning or redeeming).

But many (most?) foreign airlines have "hard" expiration, often just a very few years. By "hard" expiration, I mean expiration which cannot be extended, no matter what.

I'm not familiar specifically with Miles & More on this issue, but I've looked at a bunch of airlines in Europe and Asia, and, with the exception of BA, most that I look at have "hard" expiration.

And if an airline is going to throw away all your miles after 3 years or whatever, and you're not sure if you can build up enough to use them in that time for what you want, what's the point in collecting with them?

Mwenenzi

stevemchey Welcome to FT

Look and ask here
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...help-here.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/star-...post-here.html

As a US resident stay with United

fassy

Definitely United if you fly cheap economy on those flights as UA will credit 100% mileage while M&M will most probably only credit 25%

Also the fuel surcharges on M&M award flights make it very unattractive to book anything besides F or at least C awards in IC routes.

xmlsoa

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

Being able to redeem the AWARD MILES for (Business Class) RT back home to India/ Asia / Brazil/EU from US would be the best benefit:
- International Flights (Business or Coach)

AND/ OR

When traveling on company agency bought COACH tickets
- Free International Upgrades to Business Class
- UPGRADE to Intl Business Class using AWARD MILES

Dont care about Domestic Biz Class.

- Being able to 'bypass' TSA/ Counter lines ..using Status (for International/ Domestic flights) is a good thing

- Status based privileges come LAST as a nice to have after being able to redeem miles for Intl Biz Class .
e.g. I dont really care for Intra-US upgrade to Business as a vegetarian doesnt really get much up there besides a little more room.


2. How many miles do you usually fly each year? How many flights/sectors?
(e.g., <25000, 25000-50000, >50000 miles and <25, 25-50, >50 flights?)
Reply:
Not sure yet. But used to be Gold once on CO. Not flying that often these days, but that might happen again soon due to work stuff.
Typically 1 or 2 international trips from US to Asia/ India/ South America in an year was the norm back then when I was traveling for work and personal and hit Gold in 05/06/07.

3. What fare class do you usually buy?
(e.g., first, business, premium economy, economy)
Reply:
Economy. Might consider upper if not too much difference in domestic fares.

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

5. Which routes do you fly most often
(e.g., U.S. domestic, transatlantic, intra-Asia)
Reply: US internal with 1-2 international trips out as outlined above.

6. What is your home airport?
(e.g., SFO, LHR, HKG)
Reply: Will be california for sure. SFO closest. SJC next. If I move to LA or San Diego.. LAX might become that. But for now SFO. I'll mostly be based out of California.

7. Do you have status in any FFP? What is it? How miles do you have banked in a FFP, if any?
(e.g., AA Executive Platinum, UA 1K, LAN Comodoro)
Reply:
Long back had status on CO Gold. Had 250k miles on there. Now all used up.
In some ways, I am starting from scratch. But back then i was in IAH.. so CO made sense.
Now in SFO.. not sure between the UA gang or AA-US gang.

8. What are your preferred airlines, if any?
Reply:
They all seem the same to me on coach.. especially on Domestic runs. My pain or joy/ peace with airlines amplifies on International flights.. where I need/ want the REST.

- Mainly I look for VEG food options at INTERNATIONAL CONNECTING HUBS when flying from US to Asia/ India via.. ATL or PAC.
- Intl Business I've experienced Delta/AF from BOM to TX, CO from EWR to BOM, SQ from BOM > SIN > NRT > SJC using miles of course.
- I hated Intl flights via CDG due to how they treat people, especially anyone non French when I was Gold with SkyTeam Elite
- AMSterdam Schipol was a breeze
- SIN was nice.. huge though
- Frankfurt seemed decent
- London.. would be nice to go through as have friends in UK. But mostly never go through there.

dktahara

1. What is most important to you in a frequent flyer program (FFP)?
(e.g., upgrades, priority services, baggage allowance, good award redemption rates, better award access, lounge access)

Good award redemption rates and award access.

2. How many miles do you usually fly each year? How many flights/sectors?
(e.g., <25000, 25000-50000, >50000 miles and <25, 25-50, >50 flights?)
Reply:

<25000 miles, <25

3. What fare class do you usually buy?
(e.g., 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?

Not usually. A little of both, but work flights must be economy. $ price is usually the most important factor, on some sliding scale with the number of transfers.

5. Which routes do you fly most often
(e.g., U.S. domestic, transatlantic, intra-Asia)
Reply:

US Domestic, but I'm going to be adding in 1 or 2 international trips a year.

I don't have 'frequent routes', but here's where I'd like to travel over the next few years:

International: Japan, Scandinavia, Italy, Brazil
Domestic: Louisiana, Hawaii

6. What is your home airport?
(e.g., SFO, LHR, HKG)
Reply:

SFO (OAK is nearby and I could get to SJC if there were a good award flight) and NYC (JFK, LGA, EWR)

7. Do you have status in any FFP? What is it? How miles do you have banked in a FFP, if any?
(e.g., AA Executive Platinum, UA 1K, LAN Comodoro)
Reply:

No status

8. What are your preferred airlines, if any?
Reply:

No preference at all

For some more context: I won't ever hit status in a year since most of my flights are discount economy, so I am not considering perks so much as good reward flight availability and good $/pt value (again, generally staying within the realm of economy flights). Additionally, I have a CSP and Membership Rewards, so I can always supplement my balances (and most of my miles earning will come from those two cards).

SJR

Mod note to responding FTers: Please see added questionnaire responses at end of post.

Mods, if this is titled incorrectly or posted in the wrong forum, apologies in advance and please feel free to move as you see fit.

Hi all - am interested in coming up with a thoughtful strategy on how to accumulate and use miles. We are based out of ORD.

Currently our sources / status are as follows:

Husband: Does NOT travel for work. Has ~ 750,000 miles on AA, is Lifetime AA Platinum due to having accumulated 3,000,000 miles. Currently uses a Citicard AA card for his business, which adds ~100,000/year to his AA bank.

Wife (me): DOES travel for work (4 -5 international business class UA per year, plus ~10 domestic flights - workplace purchases tickets, so don't get the $ credit but do get the miles). Currently UA Platinum, though in a typical year may only qualify for UA Silver or Gold. Currently ~ 150,000 miles in my UA bank. Workplace committed to UA, so that won't change.

Both: We had a personal Chase Value Miles card with ~60,000 points remaining that we're trying to wind down before touching either UA or AA banks. Have a new Chase Sapphire card for personal use, anticipate spending ~45,000 annually.

Out of ORD, basically anyplace UA flies, so does AA, so we're generally indifferent between the two -- it just so happened that we had "thrown our lots" in with different airlines in earlier years.

Our travel "needs":

1) Fly daughter back and forth ORD-BOS for college -- if a move-in/move-out trip, do so by redeeming my UA miles since she "inherits" 3 bags @ 70 lbs; if just a short trip (such as Thanksgiving), redeem either Value Miles or the AA miles since she can use carry-on.
2) Want to plan some big splurge trips (mostly Europe) over the next couple of years for the two of us, redeeming miles for business class - in which case I *think* immaterial whether UA or AA, because we'd get a bag in business class anyway (and we'd only need 1 checked bag apiece at most).

So, what strategies might you all employ re spending, managing accounts, and pulling miles / points out? Just want to approach this thoughtfully vs haphazardly, and welcome suggestions / thoughts. Thanks.

--------------------------

Just noticed this wiki, so will respond to it.
1. What is most important to you in a frequent flyer program (FFP)?
Award availability / value for miles, and not paying for bags


2. How many miles do you usually fly each year? How many flights/sectors?
Husband: None. Me: About 4 international round trips (typical year: 2 ORD-Asia, 1 ORD-Europe, 1 ORD-Brazil) and about 10 domestic round trips (typically ORD-LGA/EWR/PHL)

3. What fare class do you usually buy?
Business class for overseas, economy for domestic.

4. Are you able to choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Travel for work, company pays but need to be mindful of costs, almost always UA unless UA doesn't fly route

5. Which routes do you fly most often
See above.
What we *want* to fly is: ORD-BOS for daughter, ORD-various places in Europe for us

6. What is your home airport?
ORD

7. Do you have status in any FFP? What is it? How miles do you have banked in a FFP, if any?
Husband: AA Plat, 750K miles. Wife: UA Plat, 160K miles. His status is through cards, my status is through actual miles flown.

8. What are your preferred airlines, if any?
Honestly indifferent for our personal travel between UA and AA

Gamecock

Seems to me you need to burn some miles.

It's good to have a strategy, but having a stockpile like y'all do puts you at risk for a loss of value when AA eventually changes their award chart.

SJR

Thanks. What is a reasonable stockpile to have, and when / to what extent do you anticipate devaluation? (It's already hard to get a domestic round trip for 25k, though I have a little better luck with UA.)

philemer

Nobody has a crystal ball. Wish I did. I personally keep enough miles/points stockpiled for the next 24 months. I can always generate more a year or two from now through card sign up bonuses.

If you are accumulating miles faster than you can use them you should start giving them away. Surprise friends and family members with a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Take a couple yourself in FC. Or donate them and get a little tax write off. JMHO.

artemis

For what it's worth, most folks are anticipating an AAdvantage devaluation once AA and US have completed their merger, which isn't scheduled to happen until early-mid 2015. So late spring/summer 2015 is probably when the big devaluation will come - but no one knows for sure.

Anyway, it's time to plan some trips!