angolanexpat
In an overbooking situation status with that airline will always help. Status with an alliance or partner airline I guess would be next in the pecking order.

In Africa there are not that many airlines or inter Africa routes. The airlines tend to be government owned and operate on non commercial basis. Flying to Europe is more important for the plutocrats - politicians – bureaucracy.

From post 2

Delta vs BA vs AF vs Alaska Airlines
 

Hello,
This is my first post here, sorry for any amateur mistakes. First:


Questionnaire
In order for FlyerTalkers to better assist you, please copy and paste the following questionnaire into your post and provide the requested information:

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:
Award Flights and upgrades, Lounge Access, priority service, Good Service in general! in that order.

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:
I fly a minimum of 4x a year to From TVC (michigan) to NCE. Generally my wife comes also. My son also fly's 1x in the summer. Generally 2-3 legs (TVC-JFK-NCE or TVC-DTW-JFK-NCE)

3. What fare class do you usually buy?
(e.g., first, business, premium economy, economy)
Reply:
Premium Economy, sometimes economy

4. Are you able to choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Reply:
Pleasure (in the sense that I pay for it and am a business owner.)

5. Which routes do you fly most often
(e.g., U.S. domestic, transatlantic, intra-Asia)
Reply:
Transatlantic. Sometimes I go home to STL and often 1x year a solo trip for work somewhere national (USA) occasionally to Europe.

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

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:
BA Silver (260k avios family account in 1 year of travel), Some miles on Delta (10k), X-silver on AF (had a big argument with them about a clerical error that led me to lose my silver status and quit them).

8. What are your preferred airlines, if any?
Reply:
I like the transatlantic leg of BA, AF. I dont like the service on AA transatlantic (mean staff). Delta is ok, I have not formed an opinion.

SO -
I had a bad year with BA since I left AF. I have moved recently to Glen Arbor, Michigan and after every single flight in the last few years has been cancelled (multi day) or delayed due to weather (flying at least once a month) going through Chicago - I have decided I want to avoid EVER flying through ohare again. What made matters worse is that I spent an average of 12-18 hours on Hold (!) with BA to work things out. I was put into very difficult situations at my own expense and was not compensated at all.
When I do get someone from BA in the UK on the phone (not a call center in India or a USA based rep) they are very very polite and helpful and this is why I joined the BA program (the opposite of AF rude character). However at the end of the day they "politely" did nothing for me.
I also spoke with an agent at Flightfox recently - but we never finished the $50 conversation... Maybe I will hear from them later - So I impatiently ask here.

Simply put I wonder who the best airline is for my fidelity. I dont want to fly through Chicago (no matter how irrational that sounds) and I would prefer to avoid Heathrow. I dont mind Detroit or JFK (I guess I am used to those airports). CDG is ok also. All those are because of the exec Lounges and priority access.

It seems like Delta is the most for my level of miles... but alas everyone is scaring me away from skymiles. :confused: I would have chosen Delta already if I had not spoken with some people.
So back to AF?
Or how about Alaska Airlines? (knowing I will never go to Alaska except perhaps an odd one off trip, though I have already done that and would prefer to go somewhere else).

Or should I try to stay with BA on a different route than CHI (like DTW?) and put up with higher prices and longer wait times?:mad:

Thanks for any help, input, opinion, advice.:)
Bryan

Hello all,

This is my first post. I've been reading FlyerTalk for a while now, but still not sure which FF program to join. Thanks for any help!

1. What is most important to you in a frequent flyer program (FFP)?

The only thing I care about is being able to fly business/first class on 3+ hour flights.

2. How many miles do you usually fly each year? How many flights/sectors?

25000 - 50000

3. What fare class do you usually buy?

Usually economy, but want to start buying business/first for longer flights.

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

Yes able to choose. Travel for pleasure.

5. Which routes do you fly most often

Mostly Colombian domestic. 2-3 trips Colombia-USA and Colombia-Canada per year. 2-3 trips between Colombian and other South American countries per year (usually Brazil and Argentina). 1-2 trips between Colombia and Asia/Europe.

6. What is your home airport?

MDE

7. Do you have status in any FFP? What is it? How miles do you have banked in a FFP, if any?

Have no miles.

8. What are your preferred airlines, if any?

None.

What I'm currently thinking is to join LifeMiles, and buy up miles during their 2 for 1 promotions. This will allow me to get business/first class tickets in Star Alliance airlines, which seem to fly to all the destinations I'm interested in.

Alliance Theory - How to pick?
 

Hi Everyone!

First time to post even though I read many of your posts through Google. :cool:

Question: Is it worth getting two cards within the same alliance?

Situation: I travel about 100,000-150,000miles/year. I live in Osaka, Japan where I cover a region from Japan to India. The other flights I take are to the USA where my family lives as well as work meetings (Seattle). I will travel to the USA 5 times this year. A typical year of traveling looks like this:
USA/Seattle: 3-5 times
India: 2-3 times
Malaysia: 4-6 times
HK: 1-2 times
Singapore: 1-2 times
Indonesia: 1-2 times
Philippines: 1-2 times
Thailand: 1-2 times

Alliance: I am a 1K member on United. However, since the mileage plan is terrible next year I am thinking about moving over to Thai Airway because about 80% of my flights are through Thai Airways or other Star Alliance flights.

What to do?: I am not sure what to do because on the long flights to the USA I really enjoy getting the first class bumps. However, when I get into the Royal Orchid group through Thai Airways I will get first class upgrades as well.

Other Thoughts?: Does anyone have a better suggestion? I am torn at the moment. I think my plan is to get to Royal Orchid status as fast as possible, then when I am at that level I will split between the two plans. I want to keep some miles in United because even if I do not get first class bumps in 2016 I will still have a lot of miles to upgrade.

If this sounds crazy, do you think I should move over to a difference mileage group?

Thanks!

miles

otakuma Welcome to FT

What do want from a FFP?
Look and ask here (where your post will be moved) http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...help-here.html
Just the place for your question, which is common.

Good question Mwenenzi. I will use the form!
(1) What is most important to you in a FFP?
Reply: upgrades on travel and good lounges.
(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors?
Reply: 100-150K
(3) What types of fares do you usually buy ?
Reply: premium economy
(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Reply: I can chose airline/alliance. Sometimes I can get work to pay for business class. I travel for work.
(5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often
Reply: Asia = Thai Airways USA = United
USA/Seattle: 3-5 times
India: 2-3 times
Malaysia: 4-6 times
HK: 1-2 times
Singapore: 1-2 times
Indonesia: 1-2 times
Philippines: 1-2 times
Thailand: 1-2 times
(6) What is your home airport?
Reply: KIX, ITM
(7) Do you have FFP status of any kind in an airline? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP?
Reply: UA 1K w/ ~200K miles banked.
(8) Preferred Airlines
Reply: Open!

To have much chance of domestic USA upgrades, you need high status on the USA carrier you fly. Status on alliance partners doesn't help much, if at all, for this. You could decide to drop down from 1K to Plat or even Gold, but then your upgrade rates would go down by a lot. OTOH, *Gold with an airline other than UA will allow you to use UA lounges for even domestic flights as well as *A lounges when flying international *A itineraries.

Please Help!
 

Just got a job where I will be traveling every week on the company's dime. I'll be based in LA flying to Mainly the midwest and east coast. However, I'll be moving to the London office in April and want to earn miles towards one of the better British Airlines. I understand AA has deals with BA and Delta with Virgin. I've also see that both British airlines charge high surcharges for fuel and such. I'm wondering which program will be best for me if I'll eventually based in the UK full time. Only thing is I don't want to sacrifice my flights on travel with Airlines that have not very enjoyable services for economy(AA, United, Delta) when I can fly say Virgin America and have an enjoyable experience. Any help would be much appreciated thanks!

discombobulated
 

Hi I am new to the world of points and live in Australia and travel back to the UK usually once a year. I am going back to Australia soon and then will be returning to UK on a return trip in July. I have never used the many miles I have flown before and normally use whichever flight is cheapest. I think that its time I started using these miles to earn points but after looking into FF I am thoroughly confused.

I am thinking that I might be best using Star Alliance partners and have signed up for a Miles & More Card which my friend is going to purchase around 5,000 GBP of work purchases on a month to rack up a lot of points but I am confused as to if I do this do I have to only use lufthansa or can I use these points for any airline? Also I am planning to book a single business ticket on Air India soon to stick with the Star Alliance. I am not sure if I completely understand what I am doing! :cool:

Here is my copy of the questionnaire and any advice would be really appreciated.

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)
UPGRADES AND LOUNGE

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?)
30,000 AVERAGE

3. What fare class do you usually buy?
(e.g., first, business, premium economy, economy)
ECONOMY

4. Are you able to choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
CAN CHOOSE, FLIGHTS ARE FOR PLEASURE

5. Which routes do you fly most often
(e.g., U.S. domestic, transatlantic, intra-Asia)
INTERNATIONAL AUSTRALIA TO UK

6. What is your home airport?
(e.g., SFO, LHR, HKG)
SYDNEY/LONDON

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)
NO

8. What are your preferred airlines, if any?
ANY REALLY

stephwana Welcome to FT

I am also confused about your intentions & spending. :confused:
Is someone else going to spend GBP5000 on your credit card?

For in-frequent flying the Lufthansa freq flyer is not the best. Others with Star alliance knowledge will hopefully given an opinion. United Airlines tend to be the default ffp for many people.

With alliance & partners you can earn and use miles on other airlines as well as on the airline which you have joined.

Also very cheap fares can earn or low miles on many ffp's. You have to be careful about expiry of miles.

For one a year trip Aust - UK you better to keep selecting the airline on price. If you get miles it’s a bonus. You are unlikely to collect enough miles to use before they expire to be worthwhile.

Delta's lack of TPAC tier 1 partners.
 

Hope to get some good feedback here. I'm considering a change from Delta and Skyteam for United and or American because of the amount of transpacific travel I do.

I like the Delta business elite product but would like more flexibility with partner airlines. Star has Singapore, ANA, Lufthansa, Turkish etc. While Delta has China Southern, China Eastern, China Airlines and all of which yeild partial qualifying miles (50-75% of base vs 125% for DL ticketed flights. Korean Air yeilds zero qualifying miles and if i want to book a DL ticket on Korean metal the price doubles.

I'd appreciate some insight.

1. What is most important to you in a frequent flyer program (FFP)?
Award tickets/Domestic Upgrades. I really love Delta's free Skyclub membership for top tier Diamond members but don't do a lot of domestic travel.

2. How many miles do you usually fly each year? How many flights/sectors?
For 3 years I have flown more than 125,000 miles. So far in 2014 I have logged 160,000 qualifying miles.

3. What fare class do you usually buy?
International flights are booked in Business Class
Economy flights are booked in Economy

4. Are you able to choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Travel for work and can choose the airline and class of service (for trips over 8 hours). Domesitc must be lowest available economy.

5. Which routes do you fly most often
LAX-TPE (3X per year); LAX-ICN (1X); LAX-BKK (2X); LAX-LHR/CDG (2X)

6. What is your home airport?
LAX

7. Do you have status in any FFP? What is it? How miles do you have banked in a FFP, if any?
I have almost 700K logged with Delta and am currently a Diamond member

8. What are your preferred airlines, if any?
I've stayed within Skyteam thus far (like Virgin Atlantic J product). Just recently flew Singapore (NRT-LAX) in j and really enjoyed it.

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: Good award redemption rates + low fuel surcharges

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: Roughly 50,000

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?

Reply: I fly for work and pleasure. Yes I am able to choose airline, but class must be Economy for work.

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

Reply: U.S. domestic for work. I also like to make a trip to Asia and Europe once per year.

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

Reply: LAX/SFO both kind of home airports (mostly LAX)

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: I have flown quite a bit in the past but never signed up for FFP.

8. What are your preferred airlines, if any?

Reply: No preference. I normally fly either United or American, but I have no attachment to either of them.

Ok thanks for your help, perhaps its not worth it for me. My friend buys stock for her shop after taking cash from customers, so will give me the cash and I will place the orders. Cant hurt!

Thanks for replying

Help with FFP choice
 

1. What is most important to you in a frequent flyer program (FFP)?

Reply: upgrades, priority services, lounge 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:

I am planning on taking approx 10 return trips (4 legs each) in next 12 months

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?

Reply: I can choose airline and class of service

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

Reply: DUB to Balkans (PRN) via FRA or IST or CPH or VIE

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

Reply: DUB

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: normal Miles & More member, 13k award miles built up over two years

8. What are your preferred airlines, if any?

Reply: Lufthansa, SAS, Turkish

Gitwheelman Welcome to FT

What airlines fly those routes at a price & times that are acceptable?
Are the 10 flights for work? Many businesses have travel policies and/or preferred carriers.
Your seem to be indicating a preference to Star Airlines. Star which ffp here, but sadly it gets few replies. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/star-...post-here.html