Welcome to FlyerTalk!

There are two factors at play: Status and Award miles. On the Status side any of the US-based programs should still give you full credit for distance flown. On the Award side the earn rates are mostly based on spend so that's going to vary based on how much you pay for those economy seats. But the UK/EU-based programs more typically hit you with lower earning rates for both status and award points on the cheaper fares.

Your travel pattern should get you a solid mid-level status on UA, DL or AA - maybe even to the 75k level depending on what the domestic flights are - but that's not going to get you an upgrade to biz on those flights to London.

pinegreen Welcome to FT

What are your objectives from a ffp?
What is your definition of best? (will be the same as mine)

With the majority of ffp's benefits are reducing and ff mile costs are going up. Upgrades are now harder to get.
Frequent miles are not equal, to earn or burn.

USA based airline ffp's tend to be more generous (status benefits/earn/burn/upgrades/award cost/award cash surcharges/expiry/affiliated credit cards/promotions) compared to non USA based airline ffp’s (even after the recently announced changes to some USA ffp’s)

The airline you fly most or an airline of the country you live is the best ffp for many people. Generally however you are better earning on your primary airline due to greater recognition, better service when disruptions, ability to upgrade flights and possible operation upgrades.

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

Hi Sbm12 and Mwenenzi,

Thanks for your quick reply and patience with the wrong thread. Basically, I figured that DL won't get me upgrades over Atlantic, that is why I switched, but maybe I should consider my priorities more. Basically, I don't care about reward flights that much, my main wish is to upgrade to something with a bed on red-eye from JFK-LHR/LGW and to be able to skip security queues (but which on USA side works pretty well with Global Entry, KT #) As I said, I managed this twice on virgin by paying with miles. But one cannot pay with miles on delta for a transaltantic upgrade, right?


Provide the requested information.

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:

upgrades on transatlantic (and red-eye in general) routes to something resembling a bed (I really don't care being upgraded on short domestic flights, something DL seems to be keen on) second: check-in, security queues perks. third: lounges fourth: award flights

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:

60-80k

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

discounted economy, economy

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

I travel for work, but able to choose airlines. They occasionally force me to pay for differential between cheapest option and preferred flight, which I used to do for status reasons

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

transatlantic LON-JFK (7,8 times a year), JFK-SFO (twice a year), JFK-other US cities (further 4 times a year), others (europe, twice a year)

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

LHR (could be any LON)

7. Do you have status in any FFP? What is it? How miles do you have banked in each FFP, if any?
>>> Reply:

silver @ VS, some 40k miles on account at the moment.

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

virgin, european in general, but could live with US carriers...
I like norwegian planes, but no loyalty program there.

Thanks again for all suggestions!

Right now AA still awards miles based on distance, but once that ends the second half of the year, you'll accrue miles based on the ticket price less taxes, just like UA. One distinct difference is that AA will not put every elite on the upgrade list like UA, so if you're clearing a lot of domestic upgrades at UA at midtier you might not see those at AA (you'd need to purchase upgrades beyond what you'd normally accrue - no free upgrades).

Look at Alaska which partners with both AA and Delta. They're still awarding miles based on distance, though anyone's guess how much longer that will last. Probably safe for this year. Downside here is that there are no reciprocal upgrades with AA or Delta, so you'll be riding in coach as an Alaska flyer. AA does offer Alaska elites some perks such as early boarding and seat selection. Don't know if Delta extends any perks.

AS management has publicly stated Mileage Plan is a core aspect of its program and there is no plans to move to revenue based earnings

And one can get upgraded on DL as an AS elite. Odds are quite low depending on route, but it can happen.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/alask...ta-flight.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/alask...des-delta.html

Starting Fresh!
 

Hello All!

Long time reader here but finally decided to register to grab some advice.
My international travel is checkered how ever over the next few years it will be rising and I wanted to find out the best way to sign up for some perks.

Current Information

Based out of Washington, D.C.
Hyatt Platinum Member (Almost Diamond)
Southwest Rapid Rewards Member

Often Travel to or thru

Amsterdam Schipol
Many Italy Airports (Wife is from Italy and we travel there at least 1 time a year)
Germany (Munich Mainly)
Sweden (Gothenburg)

Most of the time classing is just economy or premium economy.

My Questions are

What would be a good airline to sign up for rewards and me be loyal too?
I was looking at Star Alliance since they seem to have many carriers as well as airlines I Often fly. My Main goals are getting the following perks

-Lounge Access (For me and my wife)
-Faster Security would be a +
-Any Upgraded seating again would be a +


I do not mind obtaining a United Club Credit Card (https://creditcards.chase.com/credit...edit-card.aspx)
as it seems this would get be very close to the perks but if there is anything else someone could recommend please let me know.

Also please excuse any newbness for this post :D

Take a look here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...help-here.html

Thanks Adam! (Fellow DCer)

One recommendation independent of which FF program you choose would be to sign up for Global Entry, as that gets you expedited TSA pre-check on all outgoing flights both domestic and international as well as expedited entry back into the US through immigration.

Thank you for sharing the information.

Long-time reader here, no status this year and with Delta's changes it has made it harder to achieve status so am open to considering other programs. Enjoy DL lounge access through AMEX.

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: Upgrades, lounge access

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: 25000-50000 (with plans to increase), 15-20 segments (on 5-10 trips)

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: Primarily pleasure, can choose most airlines.

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

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

7. Do you have status in any FFP? What is it? How miles do you have banked in each FFP, if any?
>>> Reply: No status this year, but Delta member. Very few miles banked.

8. What are your preferred airlines, if any?
>>> Reply: Delta (fly to Northeast US often, so prefer MSP transfers in the summer and ATL in winter to avoid delays)

Thanks!

Hello,

I'll get this out there: I'm quite a newbie and have been lurking for a while. I have some questions that may not be as simple to answer as I thought to, but let's go to formalities first:

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: 1st: Get as many free flights as possible; distant 2nd: lounge access.


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: I estimate 25k-50k in 20-25 flights (maybe more)

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: mostly, yes -unless there's a stiff cost increase.

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

6. What is your home airport?
>>> Reply: Montreal (YUL)

7. Do you have status in any FFP? What is it? How miles do you have banked in each FFP, if any?
>>> Reply: MileagePlus - Current: 8,964; Lifetime: 43,064. AAdvantage - Current: 9,409. Lifetime: no clue. Note that my current job requires substantial travel (which is the reason why I'm looking into this now)

8. What are your preferred airlines, if any?
>>> Reply: No preference.



Now, my questions:
- Is it advisable to have an account with the "local" airline (in my case, Air Canada), or it makes no difference at all?
- Is the answer to the previous is yes, would it be advisable to "transfer" (if possible) my MileagePlus miles to Air Canada's system?
- Generally speaking, which one of the two alliances I should stick to?

Thanks in advance...

Good redemption rates, upgrades, lounge access, in that order.
Between 20 and 30 flights, around 25000-35000 actual miles. It varies a bit.
Mostly economy or premium economy.
Mostly free to choose flight routing. Most travel is for business. Airline most flown is Delta at the moment.
Mostly US domestic, PBI-SEA, PBI-DFW, PBI-IAD for work. Personal international flights PBI-OSL or FLL-OSL once per year or so. Would like to amass miles for international travel to Asia/Oceania for vacation (making it to Australia on miles, especially in business/first, would be awesome.
I should note that I do a lot of domestic travel, both personal and business, by car. This is in part because I enjoy road trips, and in part because I prefer to avoid the lines, security theater, cramped airplane seats etc whenever practical. However, getting NEXUS has admittedly made the security theater less painful, and while I'll never get on an airplane to do "mileage runs", I'd consider replacing some road trips with flights if it helps me meet some threshold for status or earn enough miles for a particular flight.
Home airport is PBI. Can also easily get to FLL, and would be happy to drive to MCO or MIA if it saves me money on fares, especially for personal travel.
Currently, 50K with Delta; 35K with United (but trying to avoid United); 26K on Alaska. No actual status with anyone.
Reply: Delta for domestic; Qatar Airways impressed me in the past internationally. Trying to avoid United.

I've noticed Delta seems to offer me pretty good options if I'm willing to take a stopover. Basically, PBI -> ATL -> huge list of destinations, both domestic and international. For that reason, I'm thinking Delta's program might make sense for me (and I might apply for a Delta Skymiles card once I've completed a planned RV purchase.) But I'm having a hard time comparing programs and figuring out the best way to earn status, and would appreciate feedback from more experienced FTers. :)

New to Forum!!

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: good award redemption rates

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: less than 25000 miles

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:JetBlue

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

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

7. Do you have status in any FFP? What is it? How miles do you have banked in each FFP, if any?
>>> Reply: BarclarCard = 100K , UR = 80K, SPG = 50K


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

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: Award access is probably the most important one for me, but not by much.

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: 15-20k, 20+ segments/year

3. What fare class do you usually buy?
first, business, premium economy, economy
>>> Reply: 95% coach 5% B or F

4. Are you able to choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
>>> Reply: I nearly always get to choose for business travel. I also travel for leisure but it's an odd case there, read on.

5. Which routes do you fly most often?
transatlantic, domestic USA, intra-Asia, etc.
>>> Reply: PHL-LAX heaviest, though I want to find a better way to do ABE-BUR. Mostly domestic USA with maybe 2-3 int'l/year.

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

7. Do you have status in any FFP? What is it? How miles do you have banked in each FFP, if any?
>>> Reply: All expired at this time, thinking about starting over.

8. What are your preferred airlines, if any?
>>> Reply: I love Alaska, but I'm nearly never on routes they serve.

I used to save miles on American and USairways. I wasn't really banking enough miles to make any real use of them, plus I hated all the spam so I dropped out and let everything expire a few years back. Enjoyed the freedom of always picking the best itinerary for the destination.

Meanwhile I married a flight attendant, and we take full advantage of non-rev benefit travel for leisure trips. (~20k miles since 1/1/16)

My business travel still isn't enough to consistently get me any useful status or frequent rewards. For various reasons it is also time to shop for a new credit card, so I want to consider the combined effect. Standby seats for non-rev travel have been getting harder to snag, and I wouldn't mind having a better back-up plan for getting home when loads are high.

Suggestions?