Mwenenzi

https://www.phl.org/Pages/Flight-Information.aspx Which go where you want to go? Connecting will get you more miles/status but will take more time

Airline ffp's have alliance & non alliance partners. Some airlines are not in an alliance. For example AA & DL are both Alaska AS partners

theroyalwe

I could end up being sent anywhere in the US with very little notice. Because of that I'm thinking based on the flight availability AA may be my best choice. It looks like there is a huge number of flights out. My guess is that is due to the merger with us air? And it's interesting that I would get more points for connecting flights. I'll try to do that when possible.

JMGPhila

I fly AA. And they have a STRONG(EST) presence in PHL (my home as well.) They are the main airline operating out of there. They have a ton of clubs spread wide. They are changing how award miles are earned, effective in August. But they are really following other major airlines. Anyways, the miles wont rack up for economy seating as it is shying away from distance-based earnings and moving to revenue-based. It increases the earning for premium cabins however, as premium earns a multiplier. Thats how I understand it. If anyone can second that, please do. I got the AAdvantage Executive card that earns 60k miles with $5k in purchases in 90 days. The annual fee is a discounted Admirals Club Membership fee and includes the membership. A one-way First Class ticket on BA (dba AA) can be $12,000.00 USD to Europe. Or 85,000 miles. I'm cashing in 240k miles in October (not including my 60K.) Woot woot! By the way, yes, BA will be the partner airline flying you to/from EU, UK if you choose to go AA. AA & Partners: http://www.Oneworld.com

Southwest I believe has the second most number of flights, but certainly limited destinations.
United is next, but typically requires a layover it seems no matter where you go (from my experience.)
Delta is actually very light in PHL from what I know of. Another one that in the bulk requires layovers.
Frontier, which until last year or two only flew out of Trenton, is growing but you could list all the routes on a single sheet of paper.
Spirit (has grown up from Atlantic City) is very limited also, but I think has a larger presence than Delta IMO. I could be wrong.

-Copy and pasted from an earlier post of mine today on another thread->

Someone in this thread and another asked when the GE (Global Entry) scheduling availability is updated.
GE schedule IS updated in real-time. Fact.

Note: PHL automated voice greeting (also confirms above) says that they do not accept walk-ins and that you will be turned away. The CBP Officers said they WILL take walk-ins (not a guarantee). They had 4 officers rotating doing interviews. THEY ARE EXTREMELY FRIENDLY!!! I cannot stress that enough.

PHL GE Location:

Go to International Arrivals (Arrivals Rd Philadelphia, PA) Terminal A Parking garage.
Do not pull into the short-term. Enter the garage.
Drive to third floor of garage.
When on the third floor make right turns and you will eventually see "A West." There is an entry door on the side (where you will find at least one officer smoking at a time) which takes you straight to the hallway leading to the CBP GE Entry office. There is a button outside of the GE door (which the door is loudly marked by a giant floor sign) on the left that doesn't look much like a button at all. Press and they will answer you.

JMGPhila

Isn't Delta & United (limited flights and destinations in comparison to AA) on a fare/revenue-based award earning program now and no longer distance based?? AA is leaving distance based next month.

theroyalwe

If it is revenue based, will it help that 90% of my flights will be booked only a few days out? I imagine they will cost more, which would then earn status faster? I'm going to be able to select my own flights, and while they prefer layovers if it makes a major difference in cost I will be able to choose at the time. It does sound like AA is my best bet from PHL so I'll plan on using them as a standard.

@JMGPhila; thanks for the info on the GE stuff. I'm expecting an update on my interview within the next few days. Once I switch positions I'll have a few days off and see if I can just go and do a walk in.

Thunderroad

Yes, the revenue-based program changes do benefit you in terms of your more expensive tickets.

You might also benefit in terms of sometimes being offered opportunities for paid upgrades to domestic first class. While the cost of such upgrades will come out of your own pocket, they might cost less by virtue of your already having paid a good amount for your economy ticket. But I don't know that game very well, so I'm just speculating here.

Given your PHL base, AA seems to make the most sense for you. The fact that much of your travel is nearly last-minute makes it an even more logical choice.

Whether to pick a given hotel chain might be a tougher matter. There are definitely benefits to concentrating on a given chain; depending on the chain, this can include upgrades, free breakfasts, lounge access, etc. But whether and to what extent you can focus on one chain hinges on where you're going, which sounds like it will be all over the map. For what it's worth, Hyatt probably has the best membership program at its top tier, Diamond level (especially now that Starwood and its very good program are being taken over by Marriott). But Hilton, Marriott and the Intercontinental Hotels Group have far more properties. With all of the travel you're doing, you might find that you can get top tier status with more than one hotel program.

One other thing you should definitely look into is the many credit card opportunities discussed at the credit card forums here at FT, with many ccs offering hefty bonuses of 50K or more miles or points for some initial spending (typically $1K to $3K, though this can vary) within a few months of getting a card.

How to strategize about ccs is a long discussion in and of itself. But for starters...you could simply go for credit cards affiliated with AA and whichever hotel chain(s) you end up shooting for status with. But there is a range of other options, such as the Chase Sapphire card (which gets you double points for dining and the best rental car coverage) and the Citi Thank You card (which gets you triple points for all sorts of travel expenses, including hotels, air fare and taxis, along with multiple points for other kinds of spending). Chase, Citi and Amex points can in turn be converted to airline miles and hotel points, though each one of these has its own limitations on which airlines and hotels it partners with for such conversions. Starwood points also can be converted into airline miles, but as I noted that program is coming to an end.

Getting one kind of cc is not mutually exclusive with getting another, though there can be limits in terms of how many you should try signing up for at once.

mikelat

Premium cabin flights earn a multiplier on the Qualifying miles on AA but do not affect the Award miles earned. Using the info at https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/...n-airlines.jsp it clarifies that award miles are earned based on ticket price only. Yes, since premium tickets cost more than economy they will earn more, but it's not a straight multiplier.

JMGPhila

The following does not completely apply as I have been corrected!!! THE MULTIPLIERS ARE INCREASED DEPENDING FFP STATUS LEVEL!

Certainly it will help if your company reimburses or somehow covers the cost. But on a 2,000 miles flight for those in economy that costs $200, loses 1,800 miles not going in the bank, as opposed to distance-based. A few days out, the economy traveler will still be earning, what, a third the distance-based at very most? This is assuming its 1 mile earned per $1 USD spent. I forget if its 1 0r 2 miles. I think its 1.
Each bump in class gets a multiplier, with First getting a x5, I believe.
An AAdvantage program credit card helps boost if booked with it, of course. 2 miles per $1 plus the fare-based earned miles? Yes, please..

JMGPhila

That is great to know. I hate misinforming. I was going based on memory from reading back in June. Thank you.

theroyalwe

Thanks again all for the information!

All of my travel will be booked through the company concur travel system, which I believe is or used to be American Express travel. Either way I can't book my travel with a personal card. I have a corporate card, but that doesn't benefit me other than not paying for anything personally. I will probably get the AA credit card for non-work purchases and put my monthly personal expenses through that and just pay off the balance each month. I'm still working out being able to break my work expenses off so that I can put them on a personal card and be reimbursed for them. That used to be the way it was at all times, but now that I have the company card I've been told it's best to put everything there. Of course I'm not sure if that's best for them or best for me

I have already joined the rewards programs for Hyatt, Hilton and IHG. I will probably join the rest and then try to stay primarily in one or two of the hotel systems. I've primarily stayed in Hilton properties in the past, but that was because our other facility was close to a Doubletree and I spent weeks there. I'm trying to get myself in the mindset of just sticking to one or two groups for hotels and primarily AA for flights.

I've actually never flown AA out of Philly. I always stuck with United because that was where I started flying and points were, but I'm sure AA is as nice. Just knowing that I'll have a lot more options for flights makes sense to me.

Mhays

Thank you for discussing about the airlines and also about transportation. It is always a good thing to take a trip when you can for vacation or business, but it is important to always keep in mind of what type of airplane that you fly on. It makes all the difference in the world. My favorite airlines are American and United, but I also like Delta. When I was growing up, I liked Pan Am when they were in business as well.

MSPeconomist

The UA, AA, and DL FF programs are similar. Status is distance (or segment) based, with extra credit for premium cabins, FULL Y fares, etc. You earn redeemable miles as a multiple of spend and also need spend on airfares or on an affiliated credit card for status. Your last minute tickets will help.

GlobalMatt

We're all (those of us that aren't grumps and flame-throwers) are very happy to help! I will say that my wife is AA Platinum now, and books about 60% of her travel through her company's Concur system with AMEX. The other 40% is personal travel, and we utilize American's co-branded Citi credit cards, with a boost from the Citi Prestige.

We are both AA Plat/1W Sapphire now and are happy we chose AA over other airlines for many reasons.

In case you are ever questioning why you chose AA, look here to understand how AA Elite Platinum Status is valued.

Furthermore, if you are flying quite a bit after August 22 of this year, feel free to try out the $395 American Airlines status challenge through FoundersCard (with a slew of other travel benefits) that gives you trial Platinum Elite Status as you "try before you buy", or just try the non-trial status challenge for $240 offered directly through American Airlines' AAdvantage program 800#.

yellowjackets49

Hey Guys,

New to the forums . I am moving to ORD for my new job, and wanted input on which FFP to join. I currently have Gold with AA, but also know United has a hub there, so trying to decide whether I should status match with United and focus on United instead? Is there any advantage to United now that AA has switched to revenue based as well?

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, Priority services, lounge access, better award 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: 50,000+ miles

3. What fare class do you usually buy?
first, business, premium economy, economy
>>> Reply: Full fare economy, business if international or over 3 hours

4. Are you able to choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
>>> Reply:Able to choose airlines, not class of service. I travel for both.

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

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

7. Do you have status in any FFP? What is it? How miles do you have banked in each FFP, if any?
>>> Reply: AA Gold, 55k miles

8. What are your preferred airlines, if any?
>>> Reply: I do like AA and Cathay Pacific (for those asia trips)

jacobsteuer1

Hey everyone.

My name is Jacob and I am from San Francisco but recently moved to Tallinn, Estonia. I got a job while studying in Germany so I also fly back to Berlin about once a month, as well as other destination within Europe for several short trips. This year was the first time I tried to do anything regarding FFP's. I was aiming to do 30 flight segments on Miles and More with LH to get Frequent Traveler status. For me this is important because I often travel heavy and I generally am unwilling to buy a cheaper flight because of a long layover or a 5-6AM departure, so the extra checked bag and business lounge access would help me in the long run.

Unfortunately, I made the mistake of confusing M&M airlines with ALL *alliance partners and didn't realize it until it was too late; that SAS and UA don't count for M&M flight segments, but just miles (which won't be enough). I will fill out the questionnaire below but before I do that, what should I plan for 2017 assuming I don't move? Should I stick with M&M and just be smarter about who I book with exactly? Is there any *A status still within reach? Should I switch to something else completely? Any help would be highly appreciated!

1. What is most important to you in a frequent flyer program (FFP)?
>>> Reply: Baggage Allowance, Lounge access, upgrades, in that order

2. How many miles do you usually fly each year? How many flights/sectors?
>>> Reply: About 30-40k, but 40-50 separate flight segments

3. What fare class do you usually buy?
>>> Reply: Economy like 98% of the time.

4. Are you able to choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
>>> Reply: Mostly work, but it is on my personal budget.

5. Which routes do you fly most often?
>>> Reply: Within Europe about once a month, and back to SFO 2x a year. I fly TLL-SFO and TLL-TXL a lot, usually connecting in FRA, CPH or RIX.

6. What is your home airport?
>>> Reply: TLL. Honorary mention SFO, TXL

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. Total newbie I regret all those years of budget airline flights just to save 20 bucks. It has hurt me in the long run.

8. What are your preferred airlines, if any?
>>> Reply: LH, SAS, Finnair, Adria (soon to be Nordica out of Estonia so we'll see how that plays out), United if I have to fly a US carrier, mostly because they fly from SFO to anywhere.