Mwenenzi

What is your definition of better ? Lowest award cost in ff miles? However frequent flyer miles are not equal to earn or burn. 10,000 miles in 1 ffp may get you a longer award flight than 15,000 ff miles in another ffp. And then there is award cash surcharges. BA has savage cash surcharges on many award flights. If awards are your only objective earn to burn and cash surcharges are what is important.

So your home base is CDG? So award flights from/where to CDG is your objective? The second paragraph does not make much sense to me "However, I would like.....from my points"

As above, how will you earn the ff miles/points? Or only as your other thread http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starw...e-program.html

Look and ask here (or one of alliance which ffp threads) http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...help-here.html

Awards assistance tools Use at your own risk. May not be up to date. These are not recommendations. If a multi segment award check the rules/cost carefully
- AwardAce: Compare Award Redemptions Across Airlines In Seconds -->http://www.awardace.com/
- Economical Excursionist's Tools to compare Frequent Flyer Mile Redemptions --> http://www.flyermiler.com/
- http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...ast-miles.html --> http://www.awardhacker.com/

lin821

It appears OP currently only have a few points in some FFPs:


+1. Just follow nux's advice and great suggestions from Mwenenzi.

fancyflyer

My definition of better = the one that gives me the most amount of flights for my points within europe.

From CDG to any airport in Europe, and then return back to CDG. Just trying to get the max number of flights from my points.

Yup, that's correct. I would be earning them mostly just from those starpoints transfers and other credit cards.

I realized from that earlier post is that since I don't fly enough, joining a program to get just 1 long-haul flight isn't wise I guess... So I thought I should join a program that allows me to spend my points/miles on inter-european flights and get more than just 1 flight.

Did some search for sample flights, and you're right, it also seems that inter-european flights are dominated by star alliance. Just need to figure out I guess the star alliance program that would give me most flights for my points...

fancyflyer

Thanks for those website links by the way Mwenenzi , they're like a gold mine

nux

Perhaps you should specify that from the beginning. You know how many SPG points you have and should be able to calculate how many you will get if transferred to program x, y or z.

Also keep in mind that the flights will not be free, you will have taxes, fees and surcharges to pay which in some cases can be higher than a cheap low cost carrier to the same destination.

If an award flight with one carrier is 5,000 points but requires $100 cash co-payment is that better than one that is 10,000 points and $0 co-payment, or better than a $120 revenue fare?

If your goal is simply to redeem SPG points I would suggest:
Look at flight options ex-CDG that go where you want to travel
Looking at the SPG transfer partners that allow you to redeem on those airline(s)
Look at their award charts and pick the best one

It is no use transferring to the program with the 'best' award chart if there are no partners that fly from the airport you want to use or don't go to places you want to go.

You can join almost all programs for free.

Krieg

Questionnaire: Copy and paste into your post
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: Baggage allowance, good award redemption rates, and better award access. Probably the latter two in front of baggage.

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 just started flying more (some?), so this is a guess. I will be somewhere between 10k-30k miles and 10-20 segments. I'm hoping for the higher end, but it might be the lower end.

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: I'm self-employed, so I can choose whatever I'd like. It's my cash, though, so cheaper is better.

5. Which routes do you fly most often?
transatlantic, domestic USA, intra-Asia, etc.
>>> Reply: Domestic. Award flights would be mostly, if not entirely, international except for something like Hawaii.

6. What is your home airport?
>>> Reply: ACT, technically, but AUS, DFW, DAL, and even IAH are doable if needed. Realistically DFW and AUS will be used most. ACT only has AA.

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, and not enough miles yet to matter anywhere.

8. What are your preferred airlines, if any?
>>> Reply: I'm all but forced to use AA most since it's by far the most convenient and generally has the best rates in my airport options. So, this has made me assume OneWorld programs or AS. I don't really care for AA, but I'm not sure another is realistic to actually use their metal consistently.

mrisoli

So I just got a huge job offer to move to Budapest and accepted it, I currently live in Belo Horizonte, Brazil(CNF), and my flight habits are about to undergo a huge change, I'll probably try to fly back home a couple times a year.

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.
Good award redemption rates, better award access, upgrades as distant third

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.
Just a guess, because I'll be flying more each year, but as CNF-BUD could net about 14k RT I could probably fly between 30-50k each year

3. What fare class do you usually buy?
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?
The company will probably choose my relocation flight so at first no, but after that I will be the one choosing my flights, travel is kinda work related(expat returning home)

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

6. What is your home airport?
Today its CNF, it will be BUD by the end of the year

7. Do you have status in any FFP? What is it? How miles do you have banked in each FFP, if any?
No status, but I have earned some 90k on G3 Smiles, about 20k on AD Tudo Azul and some 20k on Latam

8. What are your preferred airlines, if any?
For Brazil its AD but they have few routes, for Europe I like KL and TK, hated AZ as that was my worst economy flight ever.

Mhays

I live in the Washington D.C area where there are three major airports that are located within the area. The D.C. area covers a wide-range of areas and they are the states of Virginia and Maryland. The District of Columbia covers a smaller range and it is only a very small area or portion of the area. The air port that is close to me is called Dullus International Airport. I live in Virginia and that is the one airport that is close. The airport that is in D.C. is called Reagan National Airport. It is not as close to me and there is also a lot of traffic in order to get to that airport. The final airport that we have is called BWI and that airport is in Maryland. All of these airports are so nice to have in a metropolitan area because it is such a big area and we need a choice in where to get on a plane and go onto our next destination. This is a nice web link because it talks about living well for a vacation that you need to fly to:

http://www.pacificmedicalacls.com/ac...den-years.html

A lot of people travel during those times of their life and the web link has some good information inside of it.

Kamalaasaa

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post, or if I should start a new thread. But here goes.

I'm trying to figure out which FFPs to join as ST and OW (and maybe *A - more on that below) "backups" or "secondaries" for those rare flights for which I can't get miles in my DL, AA, or UA account.

Here's an example of what I mean. Earlier this year I flew an itinerary in K that was UA/LX metal to the Middle East and LH metal back. The LH portions were not eligible for UA credit, so I opened a Miles and More account just for the miles from the LH flights. I figured getting miles in an account I might not use very much was better than getting no miles anywhere.

So my main question is, does anyone have recommendations for the best account with ST and OW partners that could serve as backups for collecting miles that I would otherwise get no credit for? (An alternative to M&M for *A might be a moot point, at least for now. I didn't think to comparison-shop then.)

The point is to have somewhere to put miles that I otherwise would not get. It's that simple.

Now, this is admittedly rare. I have flown 33 non-domestic segments (i.e. at least one non-US airport on the segment) since 2010, and of those 33

- 10 have been on non-ST/OW/*A carriers (like SATA and Oman Air)

- 9 on USA carriers

- 14 on alliance carriers (with at least 5 of those not eligible for credit to a USA FFP, but it might have been a couple more)

Some people might argue that it's not worth the hassle for that few instances, but I figure if I can get miles out of it that I would not otherwise get in my USA accounts, it's worth it. It's not likely I'll get enough miles to fly, but I might at least get a lovely consolation prize from the secondary account before the miles expire, and if don't, I'm no worse off for trying.

As rare as it all is, maybe going for the program without a hard expiration is the best bet, followed by one with as long a hard expiry deadline as possible. But I don't know if I'm missing something in the reasoning.

Thanks!

elliott44k

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

2. How many miles do you usually fly each year? 10-20 segments a year, probably going to be lower with my move.

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? I travel for pleasure, so I can choose any airline.

5. Which routes do you fly most often? I was flying mostly Bos-DC to see my family members and other personal reasons, but I will be moving to Korea. I had been using United when I was based out of DC, and then I switched to AA since I've been in Boston. I've used their credit cards for mileage bonuses and free bags and what not, but since I'm moving, I'm curious as to what would be the best option for me.

6. What is your home airport? ICN/GMP

7. Do you have status in any FFP? What is it? How miles do you have banked in each FFP, if any? No status and almost all of my banked miles will be emptied out within the next couple weeks for awards, so I'm ready to start from scratch.

8. What are your preferred airlines, if any? No preference really, I have flown on ANA, JAL, KE, Asiana, and United long haul from BOS or IAD to NRT or ICN, and I've actually had pretty good experiences on all of them, all in economy.

I'm moving to Korea and I was thinking Asiana since I'll be flying out of ICN/GMP mostly for the next few years and *A is usually pretty good for IAD/DCA/BWI, but I'm definitely open to any and all options. I'd love to here what people think. I probably won't be flying that much, and that was definitely a reason I'm thinking about Asiana since I get two years to achieve status, but I definitely open to all options.

summer08

Just started a new job and will be traveling frequently, so I guess it's time to figure out where my airline loyalty is going to lie...

(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: Good award redemption rates is probably the most important (I'd like my frequent work travel to basically fund my vacation travel).

(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: On track for 25-50k miles, 25-50 flights/year with the new gig

(3) What types of fares do you usually buy ?
(First, Business, Premium economy, Economy, cheapest)
Reply: Economy, whatever is cheapest

(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Airline most flown? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Reply: I can choose airlines, not class of service. Currently I fly United or American most frequently. Southwest when it's cheaper, but I hate layovers. 2/3 work, 1/3 pleasure.

(5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often
(US Domestic, Transpacific, Kangaroo, in Asia etc)
Reply: Domestic (midwest, mid-atlantic, southeast regions), again UA or AA

(6) What is your home airport?
(SFO, SCL, London LHR, HKG, Singapore SIN etc.)
Reply: NYC- prefer EWR (it's the closest to me), okay with JFK, and I try to avoid LGA

(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: Getting close to AA Gold, so I'll have it next year. I have maybe 10k sitting in United, no premier status.

(8) Preferred Airlines
Reply: I'm really trying to decide between UA and American. UA probably makes the most sense with EWR being my home airport, but I really want to take EVERYTHING into account- ease of earning/redeeming miles, upgrades, partner airlines for when I do get to take the occasional international trip, etc. I'm really a casual traveller at this point, so I'd really appreciate your input!

sibad

Hi all,

I'm a long time lurker but still overwhelmed by all the threads and posts. I hope this post is in the correct thread. I've gone through a lot of old threads but haven't encountered the answer to my question.

I recently moved to Hong Kong, so traditional US-based FFPs are no longer viable for me (I'm also not American). There is surprisingly little information on mileage and credit card programs for those outside the US. I'm looking for a good mileage credit card to work with my existing FFPs (SkyTeam: Air France/Delta, OneWorld: All Nippon -ANA, British).

Filled out the form below as it may give clearer info.

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, good award redemption rates, better award access, lounge

2. How many miles do you usually fly each year? How many flights/sectors?
>>> Reply: 5-10 flights a year, ~20k-40k 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: I pick the cheapest but try to stick with the FFPs I have. Mainly pleasure.

5. Which routes do you fly most often?
transatlantic, domestic USA, intra-Asia, etc.
>>> Reply: Intra-Asia, Europe-Asia, transpacific (based in Asia, travel to the US and Europe one a year at least, usually)

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

7. Do you have status in any FFP? What is it? How miles do you have banked in each FFP, if any?
>>> Reply: Ivory on Air France but 1 million miler on SkyTeam + 180k miles banked. ANA: Bronze, 30k miles banked. American: basic member, 10k banked from a long time ago

8. What are your preferred airlines, if any?
>>> Reply:Anything that helps me move up in status/upgrade

charlie1105

My partner and I are planning to move (permanently) to NZ in 2017, and are considering which FF program would meet our needs for the next few years.

We are likely to do 2-3 return trips back to the UK each year. We’ll probably also visit the US at least once a year, together with another long haul holiday destination (we like to travel and see the world!)

Some of the US/other travel we’ll probably be able to do as stopovers between UK & NZ, and the rest we could do either ex-EU or ex-NZ. All long haul will be in J (or F), so status is of little use as we’ll already have lounge and baggage allowance. Jokers and GUFs (or equivalent) would be useful though.

It’s my understanding that if regularly travelling between NZ/EU, it’s far cheaper to start those trips ex-EU than ex-NZ (we’ll have flexibility to wait for sales, book in advance, be flexible with dates, etc.) Together with the requirement for 241s and GUFs to be used ex-LON, it probably makes sense to use the UK as our starting point even if NZ is actually “home”. Please correct me if this is wrong.

1. What is most important to you in a frequent flyer program (FFP)?
>>> Reply: Reducing overall annual cost of travel, which probably equates to reward availability into J/F together with earn/burn rate.

2. How many miles do you usually fly each year? How many flights/sectors?
>>> Reply: 50,000+ - 5 long haul trips, with 20-30 sectors

3. What fare class do you usually buy?
>>> Reply: Business for long haul, fine with economy for short haul.

4. Are you able to choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
>>> Reply: Both, but as we’re self-employed we have complete choice as to who we fly with (and a lot flexibility around dates)

5. Which routes do you fly most often?
>>> Reply: Likely to be 2-3 NZ-EU trips annually, plus a trip to the US and a long haul trip to somewhere different each year

6. What is your home airport?
>>> Reply: AKL or LON could be considered home as we’ll be back and forth between them

7. Do you have status in any FFP? What is it? How miles do you have banked in each FFP, if any?
>>> Reply: Both BA Silver. Have 2 * 241s to use and ~220,000 Avios (between myself and my partner) + 300,000 Amex Rewards points to use as needed.

8. What are your preferred airlines, if any?
>>> Reply: Really not a fan of BA – will fly CW if I have to (first world problems!), but would prefer most other J products. Not flown F on BA yet, but will probably try it out on a 241 to Nairobi later this year. Was a big fan of Qantas new J product (and service) on BNE-SIN leg earlier this year.

If we stay with BAEC, and assume we do 3 trips between UK and NZ, a trip to the USA and a trip to JNB each year (starting the USA/JNB trips from EU), then I estimate I can do the whole lot in J+ for ~£6.5k / person as follows:

2* cash tickets ex-EU to AKL (using Qantas/Cathay and avoiding BA where possible, although spare avios/GUF to upgrade to BA F might make it more palatable) - £2000 * 2 = £4000 each
1* cash ticket ex-EU to USA - £1000 each
1* redemption to SYD in F (using BA 241 + GUF) – 125,000 avios + £600 taxes (would then need a separate cash/miles ticket onto NZ)
1* redemption to JNB in F (using BA 241 + GUF) - 62,500 + £500 taxes

Total outlay (for 2): £13,000 (ish) + 375,000 avios (+ 2* BA 241 + 2 * GUF)

On the cash tickets we’ll earn ~150,000 avios each, and I shouldn’t have any difficulty finding the extra avios through Amex spend/CC sign ups, etc.

With some careful routing and the odd extra trip, we’d also earn 3000TPs each to maintain GGL – we’d probably do a monster EU/HNL/PTY run in the first year to get over the 5000 mark. I’m guessing we’ll need the jokers to make proper use of the redemptions/GUFs.

So, I guess my question is, could we do better in an alternative program?

(Sorry for the long post and thanks for any help/suggestions)

Charlie

tijdelijk

I recently moved to Austria and since then I travel monthly back to the Netherlands by airplane and train.
What is the best FFP for my? And is flying to DUS the best choice?

1. What is most important to you in a frequent flyer program (FFP)?
>>> Reply: priority services, 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: Monthly VIE-DUS-VIE

3. What fare class do you usually buy?
>>> Reply: economy

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

5. Which routes do you fly most often?
>>> Reply: VIE-DUS-VIE

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

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. AB topbonus: 4750 award, 3250 status

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

Thestigs

My wife and I are starting to travel more and more for work and we were wondering if it makes more sense to fly the same or different carriers. We both currently have gold status with our loyalty programs but neither of us are against switching because we expect to continue to travel for a number of years. Everyone's opinion and any advice is greatly appreciated