philemer

I would look at our AMEX forum and check out the AMEX Delta cards and consider those for bonus/earning miles. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...p-rewards-410/

Also look at AMEX cards that earn Membership Rewards pts as they can also be transferred to Delta. Chase cards, like the CSP, do not earn pts that can be transferred to Delta. I'd stick with AMEX cards. See the AMEX website too.

SanDiego1K

Your first step should be to determine what carriers go from your home airport to Manila. Check out flights.google.com. Check your home airport and major gateways close to it. Then see what alliance those carriers participate in. For example, let's say you found Cathay Pacific was a possibility, or a combination of AA and Cathay. Both are part of OneWorld. That would mean you'd want miles on AA that you could then redeem for a combined AA/CX itinerary.

Philippine Airlines is not part of any major alliance.

In looking out a year, RT coach tickets are roughly $1K. That's a good benchmark to know if you need any repositioning flights in order to get to an airport where you can use miles onward. Sometimes it's easier to buy coach tickets than to redeem miles. Miles become more beneficial when you're looking for biz or F tickets, whose prices are often beyond the reach of many of us.

Wooglin

Is there a FT thread on this topic, but for Hotel Loyalty programs? Or is this the place to ask?

Mwenenzi

This is not the place to ask
Not aware of any which Hotel loyalty master thread
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hotel...-programs-389/

Mhays

My flying experience has been a hard one because most flights have either been extremely bumpy or hard in general. One flight that I can remember was when I was about 8 years old and we were coming back home from Spain. I remember we flew from Spain to New York. They had to toe us into the hanger. Then, we missed our flight back home; so we got on another airline back home to Virginia. The bags were not on the flight; they were on the flight that we missed. So, it took the airlines two days to bring our luggage back home to our house and they did bring it home.

techflyer86

I wanted to get some advice on which airline program to join for the situation I am in. I am from the US but I will be living in Europe for 2-3 years while traveling inter-europe extensively. European flights will mostly be on Air France and Lufthansa. Would it be better to join their programs and collect my miles directly with them or link them to their partner airline in the US? Trying to maximize what I will have while I am there for 2-3 years and come back to the US hopefully with status on the US airlines as well. Thanks for any advice.

littleadventures

Hi everybody!

First time poster. I want to transfer my American express membership rewards points to a frequent flyer mile program very soon as I want to cancel my card before the annual fee goes into effect. So I need to be looking at one of the 17 airline transfer partners they have. Not sure what to transfer to.

I'm leaning towards Singapore Airlines Kris Flyer but there are a few special better than normal offers right now and not sure if I should consider them. Namely Aeromexico at a rate of 1000:1600 points, Alitalia 1000:1400 points, and Iberia Avios 1000:1200 points. These would be all new FFP to me. I'm leaning towards Kris Flyer which is just the 1000:1000 because I think they have a good redemptions around the South Pacific, either to get there or between the islands (if I'm not mistaken). I've heard that Flying Blue 1000:1000 points is good for the Caribbean.

I'm not looking for this to be my new primary FFP. I don't plan on earning many more miles with this FFP, just want to use about the 51k points I have for flight or two. Though if this FFP has a good cobranded credit card I may join that later. The only FFP that I can transfer to that I have an existing account with miles and is Delta SkyMiles, which I don't necessarily want to transfer to.

I plan to travel long term (1-2 years) that won't start for another 1.5-2 years so I'd like some miles that are not hard to keep from expiring.

I've done long term travel before around Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe so I'm not really looking to travel around those parts as much, especially with Air Asia and other low cost carriers so cheap. Also I traveled overland a lot and I'm not sure I would need that many redemptions on the future trips.

Any advice for me? Especially between those 5 FFP?

(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, better award access. Right now I'm leaning towards awards that would take me around islands the South Pacific or the Caribbean and not sure what's best for that. Places that might be a little more difficult to get to. Possibly Central and South America though I may not need that many flights around there either cause I can connect soon most of it overland. That this is not set in stone.

(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: I am an infrequent flyer, probably only two long haul trips a year. <25000 miles, <25 flights.

(3) What types of fares do you usually buy ?
(First, Business, Premium economy, Economy, cheapest)
Reply: I usually buy the cheapest flights.

(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Airline most flown? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Reply: I mostly fly United and travel for pleasure.

(5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often
(US Domestic, Transpacific, Kangaroo, in Asia etc)
Reply: Mixed. I prefer not to fly domestic. Either Intl, Transpacific, or between Caribbean or South Pacific islands. Destinations not set in stone but I am more interested in.

(6) What is your home airport?
(SFO, SCL, London LHR, HKG, Singapore SIN etc.)
Reply: My home airport is 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?
(AA Executive Platinum, UA 1K, LAN Comodoro, etc)
Reply: No

(8) Preferred Airlines
I'm not really tied to any specific airline but I fly United the most. I also earn miles with American and Delta. My favorite airline is Emirates but I don't see myself buying there a lot.

Mwenenzi

littleadventures Welcome to FT

Focusing on the transfer conversion rate is short sighted.

Frequent flyer miles are not equal to earn or burn between ffp’s. 10,000 frequent flyer miles in 1 ffp may get you a longer award flight than 15,000 frequent flyer miles in another ffp. Each airline ffp has different rules for using (burning) those miles/points for awards and different copay/surcharge $$ fees. There are award cash surcharges with some ffp’s/routes/airlines. With awards taxes are the same for all airlines for the same route and class. Award surcharge can/are different.

SQ does not fly between most(all?) South Pacific islands. Few airlines do.
SQ KrisFlyer miles have a hard 3 year expiry. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...-t-expire.html

Awards assistance tools
Use at your own risk. These may not be up to date. (These are not recommendations)
If a multi segment award check the rules/cost carefully. With some ffp’s it can be 2 or more awards or cost more ff miles than a direct flight.
Some awards/airlines/routes can have cash surcharges, in addition to real taxes.
-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/

jcg20

Moving to dublin and will effect a status match if possible.

(1) What is most important to you in a FFP?
upgrades on travel, priority services when flying the airline

(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors?
>50000 miles, >50 flights..have been doing >100k PQM for the last few years, but role changing.

(3) What types of fares do you usually buy ?
economy for domestic, but I can buy premium economy for >8h flights. Today I fly united and upgrade with instruments or miles

(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Airline most flown? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Mostly work, but some pleasure. I can choose airline, but for business (most of my travel), I buy coach and try to upgrade

(5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often
EU-EU, DUB-LHR/LCY, DUB-CDG, EU-US

(6) What is your home airport?
Today, ORD. 1/1/17 DUB

(7) Do you have FFP status of any kind in an airline? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP?
UA1k/MM, will be 1k in 2017.

(8) Preferred Airlines
eh, staying on *A makes some sense, but I'm unattached, really. I want to do my TATL legs in C or prem econ (not E+) as long as I can.

I have about 800k in UA miles and 750k in Amex MR banked.

Mwenenzi

How long are you going to be living in Dublin? A few months/years or for ever?
A status match to another airline is very unlikely.

You will not get upgrades flying an Eu airlines. With non USA based airlines always expect to fly in the cabin you buy.
If you look at the USA airlines forum there many threads on upgrades. If you look at the non USA airlines forum very few, in any, threads on upgrades.

You find flying Eu airlines different to the way USA based airlines operate

jcg20

2-3 years. My thinking is to match over to AA, so I at least have status with BA and maybe Aer Lingus.

Mwenenzi

AA do not status match. AA do off a platinum challenge for a fee.

For 2-3 years stay with you current ffp's. Join AA if not a member to collect AA miles from BA & others. The BA ffp's is good for short haul awards. AS is also freq flyer partner of AA & BA

kevinsalee

Hello FFP masters,
I am a recent college grad, who will be starting his first career in consulting industry.
As you all may know, consultants travel on a weekly basis, so it's in my interest to select which FFP to commit to.
I am based out of Chicago, and along with domestic flights, will be traveling to Korea once every 2 years or so.
Please provide me with your FFP wisdom, so one day, I will become as one of you.
Below are the answers to the questionnaire:

(1) What is most important to you in a FFP?
---Reply: Upgrades on travel
(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors?
---Reply: >100,000 miles, 30-50 roundtrip flights
(3) What types of fares do you usually buy ?
(First, Business, Premium economy, Economy, cheapest)
---Reply: Economy
(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. N/A. Mostly work
(5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often
---Reply: US Domestic, to Korea (every 2,3 years)
(6) What is your home airport?
---Reply: ORD (Chicago O'hare)
(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: Nope
(8) Preferred Airlines
---Reply: Airline that gets me complimentary upgrades (hopefully every flight?)

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.
I look forward to hearing back some feedbacks.
Have a wonderful day.

mg1o

(1) What is most important to you in a FFP?
Upgrades and overall pleasantry of experience

(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors?
coach or coach+, 50,000-75,000 miles, 30-35 flights (not including multiple segments)

(3) What types of fares do you usually buy ?
economy

(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Airline most flown? 85% work, can fly any airline, must usually book economy, typically have flown AA due to lounge access through credit card BUT THIS PERK WILL BE ENDING IN 2017

(5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often
US domestic

(6) What is your home airport?
SNA (John Wayne in Orange County), sometimes 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?
Newly AA Platinum and should continue to be, about 110k miles

(8) Preferred Airlines
No real affiliation or loyalty anymore since credit card is removing lounge access perk. I'm mainly curious what the everyday flying experience is like through Delta and United for equal status and if it could be improved at all via more upgrades or a better overall experience. Thanks!

Mwenenzi

No, no and no.
But every airlines has its devotees. Economy is economy is economy.

With miles/status from revenue based frequent flyer programs, expecting continual upgrades is now an unrealistic expectation when paying for economy tickets.

With the majority of ffp's benefits are reducing and ff mile award/upgrade costs are going up. Upgrades are now harder to get. The halcyon days of frequent flyer programs a decade ago are gone: just accept reality.

The grass in not always greener on the other side