Hi Guys,

Due to the amount of very helpful comments on my last post I thought i'd see what useful pointers you could all come up with for my next newbie issue.

Due to the work I do I travel fairly frequently, on many different airlines, on flights booked by someone else other than myself.

I have an executive club membership with BA which I use to collect Avois on and a Tesco credit card which I earn points on purchases with and then convert to Avois.

I have just started looking into joining the other two main alliances SkyTeam and Star Alliance in order to gain points on any flights I happen to be on through that are not under the oneworld umbrella.

I would like to use my earned points on leisure flight purchases, upgrades and lounge access.

Is there any advantages in choosing a loyalty card from one particular airline than another in the same alliance? Is there a dedicated alliance card that you can acquire and collect points with rather than having one affiliated with one particular airline within an alliance? Or is it advantageous to acquire many different loyalty cards from airlines within the same alliance?

Hope that makes a bit of sense to someone!! Thanks in advance.

1) No, you cannot collect miles with "an alliance". Each airline has its own program. Different airlines credit flights on alliance partners differently, based on fare class, point of origin, etc.

Without knowing what airlines you fly, and to where, it's difficult to provide you any guidance.

2) It is not typically possible to use miles for lounge access. Where it is, it's a terrible value.

3) http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...faqs-more.html

4) http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...help-here.html

There is no such thing (yet?) as an alliance-wide frequent flyer program. Splitting your flights over two or more programs in the same alliance is usually a bad idea, as the value of high-level status on one alliance member is usually greater than the value of lower status on two or more. (There are exceptions, especially if you can earn at least mid-level status on both, but they are exceptions.)

Several decision factors can influence your choice within an alliance. In no particular order:

1. How easy is it to gain elite status? Within oneWorld, for example, AA is better if you fly primarily on economy fares, BA is better (as regards this factor) if you fly a lot in paid first or business.

2. Which airline do you fly most? Generally, upgrades are reserved for that airline's own frequent flyers. Upgrades for frequent flyers of its alliance partners are harder to get or nonexistent.

3. Lounge access rules vary. If you fly around North America a lot, other than as part of overseas travel, the fact that AA elites don't get complimentary access to AA lounges but BA elites do may be significant. There are similar differences elsewhere.

4. The number of miles (or points, Avios, whatever) you need for a given award varies. Avios are distance-based, so they're great for short flights. They're less great for long ones, and BA is notorious for exorbitant "fuel surcharges." AA miles work out better for long flights. Can you plan ahead? In SkyTeam, Delta miles are good if you plan 11 months out and get an award in their initial allocation; once that's gone, and it tends to be skimpy, their mileage requirements double or triple to absurd levels.

5. Some airlines provide substantial benefits at the entry elite level. Others pretty much ignore them, saving the good stuff for second-tier and higher. You have to ask what elite level you're likely to reach in order to evaluate this factor.

Others will say more ...

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

Airline ffp also often have other non alliance freq flyer partners

Nice one guys. thank you!!

Different programs in the same alliance can have very different requirements for the same tier of elite status as recognized by the alliance. For example, Aegean requires less than UA or LH for *Gold. However, some programs require that you fly a small number of segments on their airline (maybe including codeshares of joint venture partners, so read the fine print) or spend a certain amount on their fares.

Look also at expiration policies for redeemable miles in various programs. For example, DL miles currently don't expire until you do, while SQ miles absolutely expire after two or three years regardless of continuing activity in your account. In some programs, having a certain credit card or making a very minor purchase can keep your miles alive.

You should have enough FF accounts in order to avoid ever taking a flight where you cannot credit miles to some program, but you should also concentrate your miles on as few different programs as possible. For most people, this means one account per alliance, with it often being wise to pick the carrier within each alliance that you fly the most, but there are many exceptions to this general rule, some of which were pointed out above by Efrem.

ADDED: If you haven't already done so, you should read your company's travel policy very carefully. You might have more or less flexibility to pick flights than you think. Also, don't forget about hotel and possibly rental car programs too.