|
If you work for a large or large-ish organization, it has a travel coordinator or agency. Talk to him/her/them about this. They have sales reps at all the major airlines/hotels/etc. who can pull strings the rest of us have never heard of. If things are as you described them, and I have no reason to suspect that they aren't, they'll be able to get you instant status that will last until your earned status equals it in 2016.
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Looking for advice before relocation to Singapore
Hi there!
Since this thread seems to be quite active, I am posting here (after I posted in the *A FF programs without answers). I am based near JNB but will be relocating to SIN next year. I fly between 55k and 75k miles per year, mainly on LH, LX or SA, and I am currently on the M&M FTL. The gold status on Miles&More is not accessible for me. Now that I will be back in SIN, I will probably fly on SQ more often (as much as possible) but my FTL status don't give me any benefits on SQ. I was wondering if I could hope anything better from another program. Here is my profile: (1) What is most important to you in a FFP? 1) Bagage allowance 2) access to lounge, 3) priority check-in, 4) upgrades, 5) priority boarding (2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors? between 55k and 75k miles per year, in about 20-30 flights (3) What types of fares do you usually buy ? Economy (not necessarily cheapest: mostly Q, V, W, sometimes H, M, Y, or K depending on the availability and price) (4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Airline most flown? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure? I fly both for work and pleasure (about 60/40). I can choose/buy my own tickets and class. I used to fly mostly LX and LH but would like to fly with SQ next year if it makes sense (5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often I expect to fly mostly SIN-FRA-BRU-FRA-SIN or SIN-ZRH-BRU-ZRH-SIN or SIN-CDG-SIN, then regional flights to Asia from SIN (up to China) (6) What is your home airport? SIN from April next year (7) Do you have FFP status of any kind in an airline? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP? M&M Frequent Traveller (8) Preferred Airlines SQ With my profile and >50k per year, is there any chance that I can get better benefits than my current M&M FTL status? Thanks! |
Long time reader first time poster! Great service for travelers.
I live in Southern California and travel to Europe (London and Frankfurt) being the 2 hubs for business averaging 35K to 50K miles per year. What is the most suitable FF program to maximize my travel experience. (1) What is most important to you in a FFP? Reply: 1)upgrades on travel, 2) good award redemption rates, 3)better award access (2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors? Reply: 35K to 50K per year. (3) What types of fares do you usually buy ? Reply: 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: Lufthansa, BA and AA (5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often Reply: LAX to EU (London and Frankfurt being the preferred hubs) (6) What is your home airport? 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? Reply: Lufthansa Miles& More Frequent Traveller, AA basic (8) Preferred Airlines Reply: Lufthansa, BA but open to any carrier with good miles program Thanks for all your assistance and help. |
Hi,
I am asking here because friends of mine (one with an Aegean Gold) urged me to consider joining a FFP. So far, I have just gone with the overall most convenient flights (which on my European trips was mostly LH, and on world-trips was EK), seeing also that I fly more than most people, but surely not enough to gain any real value from binding myself to the tyranny of one FFP. As per my friends, this is not the case and they told (and showed!) me that they are quite frequently upgraded to Business. With a few long journeys next year, I am considering joining. However, I am quite unclear as to which would be the best program to join to maximize my potential benefits. I am unsure about the *real* advantages of being a Star Alliance Gold member (yes, I read the forum for the whole of yesterday!). Some say you are sometimes upgraded (at Checkin/Boarding), some say you are not. It seems to me that doing the upgrade with the award miles I earn is my best bet. And here come my questions: 1) Will I receive a different number of award miles when I claim my LH flights of the past and future on, for example, Turkish or Aegean? Can I do this at all, or do I have to go to M&M for the award miles, and for the status to Turkish? 2) Which FFP should I join? Thanks for explaining! hahnebuechen 1. What is most important to you in a frequent flyer program (FFP)? >>> Reply: Upgrades to business for long-haul flights, award redemption, lounge access 2. How many miles do you usually fly each year? How many flights/sectors? >>> Reply: Normally ~10 flights a year in Europe, however next year, there will be some very long distance flights (Europe-Japan, 6x) 3. What fare class do you usually buy? >>> Reply: Econonomy (but on 'mile-earning' codes) 4. Are you able to choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure? >>> Reply: Yes. Work 5. Which routes do you fly most often? >>> Reply: - 6. What is your home airport? >>> Reply: AMS (but I do not like KLM) 7. Do you have status in any FFP? What is it? How miles do you have banked in each FFP, if any? >>> Reply: No, but I have ~8 flights with LH from last year that I could retro-claim. 8. What are your preferred airlines, if any? >>> Reply: LH |
Originally Posted by Mwenenzi
(Post 22326735)
A number of threads have been started by members asking for guidance on which frequent flyer mileage program they should join.
After emails with the moderators, in order to help users, we have started this thread to allow people to post their requests for information here and to allow other people to offer assistance-advice-opinion. Best Frequent Flyer Program for you? The answer to this question depends very much on your personal travel profile and objectives. - what is your definition of best? - do you value miles/points (or equivalent) for redemption over gaining status? - do you fly enough to gain any meaningful status? - what do you want to use the miles/points for (award, upgrade, hotels, what ever)? - what sort of flight award is of interest (destination, class of travel)? - are you interested in topping up by paying cash for miles? - which airline and where do you normally fly? - are you primarily a leisure or business traveller? - where do you live? - do you have other ways of earning points in the various programs, e.g. credit cards, shopping, etc,? - etc, etc, etc (above copied in part from a post by dunk) There is a big difference between a frequent flyer and a frequent spender getting frequent flyer miles from a credit card. For questions about which is the best credit card to sign up for, to get frequent flyer miles, please do not post here, but refer to other threads on this topic. Credit Card Programs click this link and Which Forums Relate to Credit Card Topics? Similar sticky threads If you are sure a Star Alliance or OneWorld Alliance or Skyteam airline FFP is for you, please post in those forums, as more Star/OW/Sky experienced people are likely to answer your question. Star Alliance forum http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/star-...post-here.html OneWorld Alliance forum http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/onewo...help-here.html Skyteam Alliance forum http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/skyte...i-sign-up.html Questions For members asking for information, to help people to assist you, can you please provide: (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: (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: (3) What types of fares do you usually buy ? (First, Business, Premium economy, Economy, cheapest) Reply: (4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Airline most flown? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure? Reply: (5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often (US Domestic, Transpacific, Kangaroo, in Asia etc) Reply: (6) What is your home airport? (SFO, SCL, London LHR, HKG, Singapore SIN etc.) Reply: (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: (8) Preferred Airlines Reply: Major airline alliances are www.staralliance.com web site and the Flyertalk forum Star Alliance www.oneworld.com web site and the Flyertalk forum OneWorld Alliance www.skyteam.com web site and the Flyertalk forum Skyteam 1) Upgrade, priority boarding, priority checkin (2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors? between 55k and 75k miles per year, 60% in J, 40% in Y (3) What types of fares do you usually buy ? Business class in lower fare brackets, occasional economy for short to medium haul, usually Y or semi-refundable. (4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Airline most flown? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure? 80% on Skyteam, (5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often I expect to fly mostly Europe-China and Europe-SE-Asia (6) What is your home airport? PRG mostly, but occasionally SIN (7) Do you have FFP status of any kind in an airline? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP? None:o (8) Preferred Airlines None really |
NJ Flyer
I currently fly united mostly from EWR, but with my travel patterns changing, I am finding that nearly half my flights (about 15-16 round trips) are to CLT and PIT, both of which are AA hubs. I can fly out of LGA but it means dealing with the bridge/tunnel as I live in NJ. LGA is marginally nearer (27 miles) vs EWR (32 miles), but unpredictability is greater. I also find that AA (A321) uses better aircrafts for the CLT segments than UA (Embraer/CRJ). I can also access the lounge in PIT and CLT with AA. UA has no lounges in these 2 cities. The other trips I do may are evenly split with UA (SFO, DEN) and AA (PHX, BOS). The dilemma stems from the fact that EWR is a better home airport for me, while most of the cities I fly into is an AA hub/focus city.
Would AA or UA be better for my future travels? 1. What is most important to you in a frequent flyer program (FFP)? Service, airplane quality, lounge, timeliness, award access in that order. Lounge access is important, but that I can get through credit cards as long as the airport has the lounge. 2. How many miles do you usually fly each year? How many flights/sectors? 50,000 - 75,000 miles, 30 - 35 segments round trips (60 - 70 segments) 3. What fare class do you usually buy? Economy 4. Are you able to choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure? Work mostly, economy class. 5. Which routes do you fly most often? Domestic USA mostly for work (30-35 round trips), 1 asia (work), 1 europe (pleasure / award travel); Half of the round trips are to CLT and PIT. The rest would be to SFO, PHX, DEN, BOS 6. What is your home airport? EWR (32 miles), LGA (27 miles); I live in NJ so don't have to deal with bridge/tunnel if I go to EWR. LGA is slightly nearer, but time taken is variable. 7. Do you have status in any FFP? What is it? How miles do you have banked in each FFP, if any? UA Silver; 232000 miles, 84000 lifetime miles 8. What are your preferred airlines, if any? UA/AA/DL |
What kind of service does AA have out of Newark? I read something this week, in a story about UA slots there, that AA was the second largest carrier with something over 70 departures/arrivals per day. Do they just not fly nonstop to the destinations you want to go to from there?
Personally, I'd never make the trip to LGA or JFK from New Jersey - just too much potential for obstacles to be thrown in your way on the way to the airport. Think of the travel there during heavy rain or even snow. Throw in an overturned big rig or stalled bus. Why would you want to put yourself through that? I've done that trip a few times visiting relatives in NJ and then out to Long Island, and have to say I've never enjoyed it, but maybe I'm spoiled by wider freeways out west. One thing you don't want to lose is those UA lifetime miles. Even if you make the move to AA, find something to credit to UA every 18 months (UA mall purchase, charitable contribution to one of their preferred charities, or even a flight). Tom in Arlington VA tonight |
UA flies to all the destinations I go to direct from EWR. UA is sometimes very expensive for EWR-CLT and EWR-PIT. Fares for AA to CLT or PIT from LGA will be much lower. And these tend to be 50% of the trips I make. AA has direct to CLT from EWR but not to PIT. AA flies out of Terminal A at EWR which I have heard is not good. And even AA fares from EWR run high compared to LGA. Ad like I said AA has lounges in CLT and PIT while UA doesn't. Many times I am done earlier than my flight and would be at the airport earlier than my flight with a few hours to kill. AA seems to have more options to get on an earlier flight back. If I can't do that they have a lounge.
Also, who is better with standby UA or AA? |
Originally Posted by jsk1973
(Post 25684007)
I traveled very little this year and currently have no earned airline or hotel status, but I'll be traveling extensively over the next year, starting around Dec. 1 (150 to 200 nights, minimum, in U.S. and Latin America).
Since most programs are based on the calendar year, December seems like a bad time to start traveling, but I have no choice. What's my best strategy for the rest of 2015 and into 2016? Is there any point in getting and using airline and/or hotel credit cards and using those, or should I just try to rack up points on an Amex PRG or Citi Prestige and then reevaluate earning/elite strategy once 2016 rolls around? Also, I know there are a bunch of hotel challenges/accelerators available, but what about airlines? Anyone heard of any? Great site. Thanks for all feedback. if you already have some DL MQM already you can always get the reserve amex it is expensive but get you 10k MQM if u can get silver right away, worht it (less then platinum BUT) Priority Checkpoint (it is in amex benefit term but i don't know why no one ever mention or advertise it) Priority Boarding (Zone 1) Priority Check-in 20% of in flight Free Checked-Bag Delta SkyClub for you and any additional card holder ($175 each on top of $450 Reserve card annual fee) after earning elite status the card gives Upgrade Priority within the same Medallion Level and Fare Class (i.e L,U,V) so the card is worth the $450 fee if you book Y and want upgrades on these small segment as DL has pretty good presence in Latin America and also has AM. one more big perk is when you book your personal travel, the card comes with: Buy 1 get 1 free (First or Domestic Companion ticket) that can be good value if used like LAX-JFK Round Trip 1200 for 2. so basically if you can get silver before Dec31 then is worth it coz all the other miles rollover after -25k for the last year silver!!! 25k amex Spend will also earn MQD Waiver for status as you buy your travel for 2016 if you have many flight on DL code and DL operated flight also check SPG for sure as they have crossover rewards that every dollar you spend on the airline base fare automatically get an extra 1 Starpoints (SPG currency) if you don't get SPG status via Amex Plat or so on, DL PM or DM also get SPG gold benefit without the extra points 3pts/$ vs 2pts/$ |
Originally Posted by phbl
(Post 25684762)
you're prob sol for earning airline status in december, but that's not a big deal because earning status in january will give you almost 2 years status.
if you're stuck to ihg, you're also kinda sol for december as status is based on nights and not stays. if you can go over to spg, you can get plat with 25 stays (ie one night at a different hotel), but you can also get gold with 10 stays, which would suffice moving forward into january, where you can knock off your 25 stays. i do not know about hhonors or marriott just be sure to break up your stays, as iirc with spg, a single stay over 90 nights (need to check the exact number) would result in no elite status earning...at least with spg. read and understand the ts and cs. so maybe you should go for low-tier elite with 2 hotel programs and do what you can to get low tier elite with 1 airline program. or maybe even just fly with various airlines and see which one you want to put all eggs in the basket with for 2016 onwards. Also don't forget that Chase IHG card give instant Platinum status with IHG now is a new mid-tear but still gives upgrade, the differences with the new higher level should only be point earning rate I have got a great offer gives 80k points card also come with an anniversary free night after you pay your first annual fee (1 year after opening) so well worth annual fee which i think is $59. your card also gives you 10% back of the points you redeem up to 100,000 i believe. |
Originally Posted by Efrem
(Post 25685076)
If you work for a large or large-ish organization, it has a travel coordinator or agency. Talk to him/her/them about this. They have sales reps at all the major airlines/hotels/etc. who can pull strings the rest of us have never heard of. If things are as you described them, and I have no reason to suspect that they aren't, they'll be able to get you instant status that will last until your earned status equals it in 2016.
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Originally Posted by blackeagle
(Post 25709158)
I currently fly united mostly from EWR, but with my travel patterns changing, I am finding that nearly half my flights (about 15-16 round trips) are to CLT and PIT, both of which are AA hubs. I can fly out of LGA but it means dealing with the bridge/tunnel as I live in NJ. LGA is marginally nearer (27 miles) vs EWR (32 miles), but unpredictability is greater. I also find that AA (A321) uses better aircrafts for the CLT segments than UA (Embraer/CRJ). I can also access the lounge in PIT and CLT with AA. UA has no lounges in these 2 cities. The other trips I do may are evenly split with UA (SFO, DEN) and AA (PHX, BOS). The dilemma stems from the fact that EWR is a better home airport for me, while most of the cities I fly into is an AA hub/focus city.
Would AA or UA be better for my future travels? 1. What is most important to you in a frequent flyer program (FFP)? Service, airplane quality, lounge, timeliness, award access in that order. Lounge access is important, but that I can get through credit cards as long as the airport has the lounge. 2. How many miles do you usually fly each year? How many flights/sectors? 50,000 - 75,000 miles, 30 - 35 segments round trips (60 - 70 segments) 3. What fare class do you usually buy? Economy 4. Are you able to choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure? Work mostly, economy class. 5. Which routes do you fly most often? Domestic USA mostly for work (30-35 round trips), 1 asia (work), 1 europe (pleasure / award travel); Half of the round trips are to CLT and PIT. The rest would be to SFO, PHX, DEN, BOS 6. What is your home airport? EWR (32 miles), LGA (27 miles); I live in NJ so don't have to deal with bridge/tunnel if I go to EWR. LGA is slightly nearer, but time taken is variable. 7. Do you have status in any FFP? What is it? How miles do you have banked in each FFP, if any? UA Silver; 232000 miles, 84000 lifetime miles 8. What are your preferred airlines, if any? UA/AA/DL UA Mileage Plus Club card or explorer may give you an edge though given that you want lounge access the Club card will be good for u as it comes with complimentary united club "membership" unlike just DL SkyClub on their card for "access" you can use many international location as well if you bring your physical club card and frequent flyer card. the card also give Premier Access automatically, 1.5 miles per $ which is better then the explore card IF you spend more then 25k Hyatt Platinum. etc |
Originally Posted by Felixishim
(Post 25714763)
UA controls EWR right now with huge margin so unless you are also considering traveling to LGA or JFK, you have not a lot of options.
UA Mileage Plus Club card or explorer may give you an edge though given that you want lounge access the Club card will be good for u as it comes with complimentary united club "membership" unlike just DL SkyClub on their card for "access" you can use many international location as well if you bring your physical club card and frequent flyer card. the card also give Premier Access automatically, 1.5 miles per $ which is better then the explore card IF you spend more then 25k Hyatt Platinum. etc There are essentially a few issues with moving to AA: 1) getting to LGA or JFK for every direct flight other than for flights to CLT (AA has EWR-CLT direct) 2) sometimes, need to connect e.g. DEN 3) no free same day standby if not EXP (though they actually put me on same day standby and cleared me last time for free. Potential benefits of moving to AA: 1) lounge access at all my away airports 2) potentially better product (airplanes, service) and FFP 3) no revenue requirements for status (though this may not continue and may not be an issue for me either). I haven't considered Delta, but I have been Delta gold earlier and remember getting upgraded quite frequently that too on JFK-LAX. |
Hey guys,
Excited to join this forum. I travel twice a month to SFO from NYC and for personal reasons travel to the caribean two or three times per year. Delta and Jetblue are my top two airlines, however, from reading the forums I know Delta doesn't have the best frequent flyer program. Jetblue seems to be limited when it comes to international travel. I am a tall guy and I have noted they have the best seating space but concerned they don't have as many international options. Any thoughts? Here are the rest of the questions: (1) What is most important to you in a FFP? Good Award Redemption Rates/Good Award Assets (2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors? I flight about 60K miles each year on economy class (3) What types of fares do you usually buy ? 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 travel for work. I can choose my airline. But can't choose service (has to be economy) (5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often Most common route NY to SFO (6) What is your home airport? JFK/LGA Reply: (7) Do you have FFP status of any kind in an airline? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP? No (8) Preferred Airlines Jetblue/Delta |
Maintain Qantas Ruby OW status or earn AA points
Hi there!
We have recently moved from Australia to New York for a 2 year work placement. We intend returning in late 2017. My husband has Ruby OW status with QFF. We would like to maintain this due to the boarding priority and baggage allowance but we are unsure how we will be able to maintain the status when we have no, or very limited plans to use Qantas during our time here. To date we have used AA where possible to earn points that are easier to use in the USA (for domestic travel) and have used the Ruby OW for free baggage and priority boarding. Our questions are: 1. Is it possible to maintain Ruby OW status with QFF if we are not planning on travelling Qantas in the USA. 2. Are we better to accumulate AA points while we are here. Here is my profile: (1) What is most important to you in a FFP? 1) Baggage allowance 2) Priority boarding (2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors? 30+ 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? Primarily work travel. Can choose airline. Should stick with economy. (5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often New York to major US cities (LA, Chicago, Dallas) (6) What is your home airport? JFK (or La Guardia) (7) Do you have FFP status of any kind in an airline? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP? Silver QFF Ruby OW (8) Preferred Airlines AA Thanks! |
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