AS is going to be your best bet IMO. AA also flies NS on the SEA - PHL route but anything to CA other than LAX will be connecting.

AS and AA do have a partnership so if you do find yourself on the AA SEA - PHL flight because of cost, you can credit that over to AS.

If you don't have an AS account and sign-up now you can earn 5k miles if you fly on them once between now and end of September.

Link: https://www.alaskaair.com/content/de.../join-5k.aspx?

Hi FT! I'm in a bit of a different situation than many of the other posters in this thread. I've been flying heavily for several years and have built up Platinum with American, but I'm starting to wonder if that's the best choice for my situation and looking for advice on if I should try to switch or build up with somebody different. I'm somewhat frustrated with never getting upgrades, even on flights where first class is almost empty (since American has the 500 mile upgrade threshold).

(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: Upgrades, free lounge access, and good award redemption rates are most important. Priority boarding/better seat choices is something I currently enjoy but is secondary to the other things I listed above. I almost never check bags so I don't care much about that.

(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: Right now I'm at 32,000 about halfway through the year. Last year I ended at just short of 65,000. There is some fluctuation, but >50000 is a safe bet.

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

Reply: Always economy.

(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Airline most flown? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?

Reply: Can choose airline (within reason based on price) but not class of service. I travel mostly for work, but about 50% of my trips are paid for by someone else and 50% paid for by me (where cheapest ticket benefits me the best).

(5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often
(US Domestic, Transpacific, Kangaroo, in Asia etc)

Reply: US Domestic exclusively.

(6) What is your home airport?
(SFO, SCL, London LHR, HKG, Singapore SIN etc.)

Reply: PHX

(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: AA Platinum status, lots of miles banked with AA. Also have some miles spread out among the other major carriers each in the 20,000 range (total redeemable, not qualifying). Also have miles on a Chase Sapphire that I could transfer to United if I wanted (but I don't think they qualify for status).

(8) Preferred Airlines

Reply: Don't care.

Thanks for your advice and help!

The grass in not always greener on the other side

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 greener on the other side

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: In Order of importance: 1. Good Award Redemption (especially overseas), More Free flights etc. A major thing for me is availability to go around the world.1.5 upgrades ...no harm in more comfort on longer flights and free drinks!
2. Lounge Access. I would love to have a nice free meal and a few free drinks prior to a flight. 3. Priority Services

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: More than 25,000 miles a year albeit many shorthaul flights. I fly almost every week for work (Management Consultant). I although Fly internationally for pleasure atleast 2-5 times a year.

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: Yes, Both. Travel more for work.

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

6. What is your home airport?
>>> Reply: I live in between the PHL and all of the NYC Airports, but the easiest access airport to me is EWR. There is also a small regional airport near where I live called ABE (Allentown Bethlehem Easton Airport) which flies on all 3 major carriers to their hubs (American takes a short flight to philly, 20 mins long, United has a bus service to EWR, and Delta flies to Atlanta). This is where i book most of my business travel out of, because work pays for it...hence i'm indifferent with price and rather would have the comfort of flying right out of my backyard.

7. Do you have status in any FFP? What is it? How miles do you have banked in each FFP, if any?
>>> Reply: I have about 20,000 miles with American and 10,000 miles with Delta Currently. No statuses in either.

8. What are your preferred airlines, if any?
>>> Reply: At this moment none.

I hope it's not too many infos! :) :)
 

Hey guys, I'm new on the forums as I started flying A LOT lately (past 1-2 years). I've been looking a lot on the forums so far, and there's a wealth of information. For some things I know you guys will be much smarter than me (nonetheless, I will keep looking and using the Search function!).

So I was wondering what your suggestion would be for me:

1) what is your definition of best?

I would just like to fly more comfortably. If it lets me wait less, gives me free or cheaper upgrades, lets me get through the airport processes faster, Hallelujah! Also, free or discounted lounge access would be ace!

2) do you value miles/points (or equivalent) for redemption over gaining status?

I don't want to use the miles for anything other than flying more comfortably. I don't want to redeem them, I just want to have nicer flights, and as many processes as possible at the airport should go faster.

3) Do you fly enough to gain any meaningful status?

I have at least one return flight every month (which makes it 2 flights, right? There and back). But in many months, I have 2, 3 or 4 return flights.

3B)How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors?

Usually Economy class. Planning to start flying business class as soon as my business reaches a certain level (should be in the next 12 months). I just scrambled my past flights from this year together, and I guess it's 5000 to 15000 miles. I'm still looking.

4) What do you want to use the miles/points for (award, upgrade, hotels, what ever)?

I guess I want to use the miles on a higher status with the airline or the Frequent Flyer Program.

5) what sort of flight award is of interest (destination, class of travel)?

Class of travel is definitely interesting.

6) Are you interested in topping up by paying cash for miles?

I don't mind paying a few hundred euros extra to get better miles and a higher status.

7) Which airline and where do you normally fly? Which routes and airlines do you fly most often?

Ok, so I'm based in Europe at the moment. Bucharest, Romania to be more exact. I fly to Bangkok and to the United States every once in a while.

I fly a lot within Europe, mostly to Germany and Spain. Barcelona, Mallorca, Ibiza, Berlin, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Prague, Amsterdam, Zagreb, Vienna are really my main destinations.

Flights this year were with: Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Eurowings, Germanwings, AirBerlin, British Airways, Wizzair, BlueAir, RyanAir, Tarom.

8) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Airline most flown? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?

Both. As I have my own business, I make my own schedule, and for most journeys I stay a bit longer to enjoy the countries. So I'd mainly classify my flights as business flights. And yes, I can freely choose airlines. Class of service is still a bit too expensive, but in the future that'll be no problem. My most flown airline must be Austrian Airlines and Lufthansa at the moment, followed by WizzAir, BlueAir and RyanAir.

9) Where do you live? What is your home airport?

I live in Bucharest/Romania at the moment. I have my official residence here. However, I can easily sign up to any German programs, if that helps, as I have the German citizenship, bank accounts, and possible addresses there. I also have an address in the UK where I could receive mail.

This info might help: I'm very flexible location-wise.

So my home airports are Bucharest (OTP) and/or Stuttgart (STR) and/or Frankfurt (FRA)

10) Do you have other ways of earning points in the various programs, e.g. credit cards, shopping, etc,?

No, since from what I know, UniCredit discontinued the Miles & More credit cards in Romania. I went to one of their branches in Bucharest and that's what I was told. But I could go and check in another branch.

I could sign up to German or UK credit cards, if you guys have any suggestions?

Other than that, I have never really looked into receiving points through any ways. Maybe you could help me find a way to get more points?

11) Do you have FFP status of any kind in an airline? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP?

I just signed up to Lufthansa Miles & More a week ago, and I put in some of my flights of this year. I now have 4500 miles in there.

I also have a bunch of miles with British Airways, AirBerlin and a few other smaller Eastern European airlines lying around, that I could use, right?

12) Preferred Airlines

I really enjoyed Emirates when I flew from Frankfurt to Bangkok through Dubai. I like Austrian Airlines and Lufthansa for their good connections within Eastern Europe (but not for their service).

Need help choosing (narrowed AA and UA... I think...)
 

Hello folks,

I'm hopeful for some help here. A bit of background - I have worked in the airline industry for about a decade, US and now AA, so I have a reasonable understanding of the AAdvantage program, but never have really paid much attention to loyalty programs in general. I'm leaving soon for a non-airline role which will require a fair bit of travel (not certain if I'd hit 100k, but it's certainly a possibility), and quite a bit of it INTL. I'm based in PHX, and don't want to necessarily confine myself to AA simply because it's a hub. I won't have any routes that I fly constantly, it will largely be all over the place, but always needing to get back to PHX. That said, here're my answers. Any and all help is greatly appreciated!

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: upgrades, 2nd: convenience/ease of use, 3rd:lounges

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: 50k+ miles (not really sure if I'll hit 100k...), 20 or so flights?? Really unknown at this point... I'll know more in a year. :)

3. What fare class do you usually buy?
first, business, premium economy, economy
>>> Reply: Domestic, <4 hrs - Economy, Domestic > 4hrs, P. Econ or Business, INTL - Business.

4. Are you able to choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
>>> Reply: Can choose the airline/alliance for the most part. Travel for both, but mainly work right now.

5. Which routes do you fly most often?
transatlantic, domestic USA, intra-Asia, etc.
>>> Reply: Likely #1 . TATL, #2 . Domestic, #3 Trans-Pacific.

6. What is your home airport?
>>> Reply: PHX. I know this may nudge people into recommending AA, but I likely need to leave PHX to get anywhere INTL (except LHR), so I'm not convinced it HAS to be AA.

7. Do you have status in any FFP? What is it? How miles do you have banked in each FFP, if any?
>>> Reply: Not really... Always fly standby, and can't earn miles on that. :)

8. What are your preferred airlines, if any?
>>> Reply: None. Looking for reliability and easy to do business with.

More thoughts by me that may help in a suggestion: For INTL travel, I understand the need to connect as home base is PHX. I'd prefer to backhaul to LAX to go East, rather than flying transcon to ATL, PHL, CLT, EWR, JFK, etc.... LAX is a decent Asia gateway, SFO even better. DFW or IAH are equal to me as far as going south.

I'm leaning heavily to UA right now just given the strength of their route network as well as the strength of the Star Alliance....tho just as I say that, AA is adding LAX Asia, and the nonstop PHX-LHR on BA is appealing... I've also noticed they are improving on-time performance...

However, while I may understand the route networks, I don't know which company is better at taking care of its elites? I hear the horror stories, but haven't been on the road with either company before, so hoping for real world advice.

Thanks!

UA or AA?
 

Hello all,

I'm hoping for some help here. For a decade I've worked in the airline industry (US and AA), and never really had a need for a loyalty program since I was flying standby anyway. Things have changed and I'm leaving the airline, but will now still be flying quite a bit. Don't have specific frequent routes.

That all said, I'm based in PHX, and while I understand that this naturally gets me to lean towards AA, a lot of my travel will be INTL, and I'll have to connect anyway (unless by chance I need to go to LHR...).

Without further ado:

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: 1. Upgrades 2. Ease of use/convenience 3. Not sure... lounges? Redemption, route network???

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'm guessing 50k+. Not sure if I'll make 100k, but it's a possibility. I'll know more in a year. :)

3. What fare class do you usually buy?
first, business, premium economy, economy
>>> Reply: DOM < 4 hrs = Economy, DOM > 4 hrs = Biz or P.Econ, INTL = J class.

4. Are you able to choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
>>> Reply: Both. Though right now it's mainly business.

5. Which routes do you fly most often?
transatlantic, domestic USA, intra-Asia, etc.
>>> Reply: Likely, #1 TATL, #2 T-PAC, #3 Domestic

6. What is your home airport?
>>> Reply: PHX. I do realize I have to connect for all INTL. I prefer to back-haul to LAX to go east rather than ending up in PHL, EWR, JFK, ATL, etc.

7. Do you have status in any FFP? What is it? How miles do you have banked in each FFP, if any?
>>> Reply: Nope. Plenty of standby miles tho. :)

8. What are your preferred airlines, if any?
>>> Reply: None

Ultimately, I'm looking for an airline that takes care of it's fliers and is very easy to do business with. I know that AA is less than stellar in the IT world... they have big plans, but uncertain when anything will materialize.

I think I'm leaning to UA... strength of *A is a huge plus, as well as the strongest hub/route network of the big 3 (IMO). I may forego some easy non-stops with this choice, but trips will largely be DEN, ORD, NYC, DFW, ATL, so not a deal breaker.... as 3 of those are UA hubs... Anyway... hoping some folks have real world experience on this... I'm a newbie starting off, and realize there are switching costs if I make the wrong choice at the start...

Thanks everybody!

Hoping to get some help here. I've just started a business within the past year and have banked miles on credit cards (Chase, Amex) that let me transfer to airline partners. I'm just not sure which airline / FFP to transfer to. Please help? Really really appreciate any advice you may have to offer.

(1) What is most important to you in a FFP?
Reply: Ease of use. Good award redemption rates.

(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: This is difficult for me to answer because there's not really a "usually" for me. 2-4 roundtrip flights is probably my average. In 2015, I took 6 months off to travel and flew from Dallas to UAE to Sri Lanka to Vietnam to Bali to Java to Thailand and back to Dallas. Lots of short haul domestic flights in Asia. In 2016, I took 1 month off and flew DFW to Doha to Bali and back to DFW. I'll be flying Orlando to Mexico City for a few days next month. Less than 25 flights a year, and I book fly coach (was lucky enough to get a free upgrade on Emirates once :) )

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

(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Airline most flown? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Reply: Travel for pleasure. In the past, I've flown Jetblue the most but that's because I used to live in NYC. Internationally I'm open to whomever is the best deal.

(5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often
(US Domestic, Transpacific, Kangaroo, in Asia etc)
Reply: I'm traveling to see the world, so I'm really open to routes and airlines. The way I plan things is generally like this: I'll decide I want to go to a country, scour the internet for cheap flights and book it when I find something, usually 3+ months in advance. On my bucket list right now: Chile + Easter Island, 3-4 countries in Europe using stopovers or open jaw, Japan and the Philippines.

(6) What is your home airport?
(SFO, SCL, London LHR, HKG, Singapore SIN etc.)
Reply: JAX. Jacksonville, FL. But I'm very close to ORD and ATL and open to those.

(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: I've just started a business within the past year and have banked miles on Capital One, Amex and 60k+ Jetblue miles banked. I have FF accounts with different airlines with meager miles, nothing useable at this point. 106k points on Capital One (can't transfer those), 100k points on Chase (can transfer) and 15k points on Amex (can transfer.

(8) Preferred Airlines
Reply: I don't have preferences. I've flown anything from Jetblue to Emirates to Tiger Air to Singapore Airlines and as long as they get me to the destination, I'm happy. That's part of why it's so difficult for me to figure out who to transfer points to.

Which mid-tier status DL vs UA vs AS?
 

Currently a soon-to-expire AA platinum.

I don't travel much for work, maybe enough to cover 25k MQMs each year. No way I'll hit 50k MQMs.

Was thinking of matching/challenge mid-tier status. Options are DL or UA or AS. I fly from a few different airports, but my area is dominated by DL and AS. Which one should I go for?

UA is probably almost out, because I get Silver status from Marriott Platinum, and I'm renewing my Plat status for the forseeable future. Also, I'm not sure if you can MS MQMs with UA.

Perks of DL is that I do MS, so I can generate MQMs from spend in addition to flying. I think Delta is clamping down on the MQM from spend, but I have enough MS capacity to get the max. Not sure what that is now, but requalifying for Gold with 50k MQMs should be easy with MS and flight.

As for AS, their MVP program have less MQM requirements, which makes it easier for me to qualify. Their mid-tier status MVP Gold also comes with the upgrade certs which DL Gold and UA Gold do not have. Also with 3 tiers vs 4 tiers, I'm guessing upgrade probability is better. So in terms of perks MVP Gold > DL/UA Gold. Trouble for me is keeping MVP Gold after match/challenge, I don't think I will fly 40k MQMs, and I can't MS MQMs. Also, does AS fly to every major city in the US, especially on the East Coast were it has a weak presence?

Thoughts?

IMO, DL is likely the best option if you don't want to stick with AA.

AS if the best program (still earn on mileage not spend, good redemption value, etc.) but if you need East Coast there is going to be a much more limited presence and the AA/AS partnership is going away (otherwise you could go AS and still bank miles when flying AA).

If you fly internationally, AS also has limitations in terms of alliance benefits (since they aren't in one) whereas DL gives you SkyTeam alliance benefits if you fly ST partners internationally.

The grass in not always greener on the other side.

What are you objectives with a ffp?
What do expect/hope mid tier status will do for you?

Why not stay with AA?
With AS now not having DL as a ff partner and next year AA not an AS ff partner, AS has lost some of its features as a good catch all ffp.

The grass in not always greener on the other side. Its all going brown

HI

Please would you reply to my post?

Maximis Value for flight to India
 

Looking to take a family of 5 to India (AMD) in January 2019 and what to know what FFP I should leverage to get as many free tickets as possible. For business I take a quarterly trip to FL which is booked on a corporate travel website but with my own card which they reimburse. So I need help selecting which Airline to take to India which will probably dictate which alliance and airline I should use for my business trips.

1. What is most important to you in a frequent flyer program (FFP)?
>>> Free 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: 10,000 miles. 10 flights

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: I can choose between, United, Delta or American Airlines for the business trips.

5. Which routes do you fly most often?

>>> Reply: domestic

6. What is your home airport?
>>> Reply: Boise, ID (BOI)

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, only about 6K in Delta

Best airlines from GSP?
 

Greetings! I am currently based at CLT but will be moving to GSP / Greenville, SC at the end of October 2017. I fly AA for a majority (95%) of my current flights. My travel is mostly East of the Mississippi with twice a year hops to LAS or SAN for conventions. Common destinations for me are MCO, MIA, EWR, PHL & BWI with less frequent hops to BNA, BDL & BOS.

I've only recently started flying again heavy for business after a few years of airline hopping while working in another sector.

I'd appreciate any input on the best airlines / FF programs for those of you who fly out of GSP as your main airport. With some planning, I will still have access to CLT (approx. 2 hrs. drive) as well as AVL (Asheville, NC - 1 hrs.).

Thanks in advance. Great forum and I look forward to getting more involved.