Routing and partner advice
 

Im looking to go from BOS to JNB in the fall. This will be my first huge point trip and I need (and appreciate)all advice. I would love open jaw but I'm not sure if I could pull it off on this route. I thought AirCanada was my best focus but now it seems Emirates and OW partners. I need to monopolize a credit card( I have most already), it seems Alaska is my goto?
Thank you!!!

Welcome to FT
Are you looking for an award flight? What class of travel?
What ffp's are you a member of now?
Expecting to get ff miles now from a nil balance and then get a long haul award flight is very ambitious. Long haul awards are far from certain.

Thank you for your "welcome". I am not coming from nil but it could seem so. I have 38k thank you miles and 30 spg, AA 70k. I will have 75k avios When I finish my spending next month and could have 100k if I had to.
I would like to travel non-coach if it's even possible. I would do a great deal to get out of coach, but will settle if need be( hopefully not).
I read all these sites a great deal, I just need some pointed input. I am pretty ambitious, it's a good trait, I need a direction to shoot.

Premium cabin awards to South Africa are very hard to get with any ffp. Many people start looking & booking 355 days or 330 days out to snatch awards when they become available.

Have looked at what airlines Citi thank you miles can be transferred to?
From SPG you can transfer to a wide range of airlines

AA & BA (avios) are both OneWorld alliance so have the same alliance partners with the same nominal awards available. However award availably does seem to vary with ffp. Both have non OW partners. With 70,000 AA miles you have a start. Many BA awards have high cash surcharges.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...help-here.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...demptions.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...s-seconds.html

AA information
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...es-2015-a.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...iscussion.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...l#post26495098
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...solidated.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...solidated.html

Edit
Having lived in JNB for 2 years its not a place I would visit. Far better places in South Africa to visit

Membership rewards are 40k, avios I'll get 25k next month and Alaska I thought would be important as a sort of " middle man" so I opened that with just the 5k you get at the start . I also have 71k Ultimate Rewards. I forgot those. I don't think I'm in a horrible spot, I think it could happen. One world I guess then? The citi thank you rewards 66k. I figured jfk-jnb Emirates but it seems beyond me.

JNB because my best friend and I plan to meet there. I think it will be fantastic.

Having multiple ffp’s with low balances is never a good idea. You never get enough miles to be of use before they expire. FFP’s are for the long term.

You cannot move miles from one ffp to another ffp.
Some ffp's have one way awards and others do not.

EK are as AS partner. Look on the AS forum on how(& the problems) using AS miles for EK awards. BA is also an AS partner. The AS award chart is limited and has restrictions.

I thought
 

I had the idea, if organized, you can cross them around to work together. For instance, Alaska is a middleman doe so many.
I started without a goal( biggest error), I still had great times and smaller great travels ( all over Mexico, New Orleans jazz fest this week!!!) but now something huge comes up and I'm screwed but at least I'm not SOL, or am I.... Maybe I should just be saving for full price but that seems like such a failure or waste

If you have AA miles you must spend with AA and are subject to AA t&c’s for awards.
If you have AS miles you must spend with AS and are subject to AS t&c’s for awards.
If you have BA avios you must spend with BA and are subject to BA t&c’s for awards.
With redeemable miles/points/avios in an airline frequent flyer program you can spend(use) for an award flight on that airline and the airline frequent flyer partners of that airline.
Each ffp has different rules & costs (in miles and cash co payments) for awards.
Frequent flyer miles/avios/points are not equal to earn or use.
You cannot move miles/points/avios from one ffp to another ffp
Awards are not guaranteed to be available a when you want to travel. You need to be flexible on dates & routes

Tutor
 

But aren't any of them families in OW or SA? Couldn't I take points and move them to emarites since its within gone of the alliances? Then take my UR, Amex and spg in that same place and make it happen?
I know I'm to the point of being an annoyance but I need a path,I'm the average person. I just need to learn. Am I that scre**d? Does the aero plan even mean anything in this web or it is just another nusance? I should have picked one from the start, then why does everyone say pick up this, this, and this..?

UOTE=Mwenenzi;26495970]If you have AA miles you must spend with AA and are subject to AA t&c’s for awards.
If you have AS miles you must spend with AS and are subject to AS t&c’s for awards.
If you have BA avios you must spend with BA and are subject to BA t&c’s for awards.
With redeemable miles/points/avios in an airline frequent flyer program you can spend(use) for an award flight on that airline and the airline frequent flyer partners of that airline.
Each ffp has different rules & costs (in miles and cash co payments) for awards.
Frequent flyer miles/avios/points are not equal to earn or use.
You cannot move miles/points/avios from one ffp to another ffp
Awards are not guaranteed to be available a when you want to travel. You need to be flexible on dates & routes[/QUOTE]

[
I think it's seeping in, same thing as hotel points.So I pretty much am screwed? Ppl just pick one "currency"? None can switch?

QUOTE=Megz;26496016]But aren't any of them families in OW or SA? Couldn't I take points and move them to emarites since its within gone of the alliances? Then take my UR, Amex and spg in that same place and make it happen?
I know I'm to the point of being an annoyance but I need a path,I'm the average person. I just need to learn. Am I that scre**d? Does the aero plan even mean anything in this web or it is just another nusance? I should have picked one from the start, then why does everyone say pick up this, this, and this..?

UOTE=Mwenenzi;26495970]If you have AA miles you must spend with AA and are subject to AA t&c’s for awards.
If you have AS miles you must spend with AS and are subject to AS t&c’s for awards.
If you have BA avios you must spend with BA and are subject to BA t&c’s for awards.
With redeemable miles/points/avios in an airline frequent flyer program you can spend(use) for an award flight on that airline and the airline frequent flyer partners of that airline.
Each ffp has different rules & costs (in miles and cash co payments) for awards.
Frequent flyer miles/avios/points are not equal to earn or use.
You cannot move miles/points/avios from one ffp to another ffp
Awards are not guaranteed to be available a when you want to travel. You need to be flexible on dates & routes[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]

No. Effectively you cannot move miles/points/avios from one ffp to another ffp. :td:
You can move points from SPG, UR, Amex & thank you points to ffp's as allowed by those loyality schemes.

Emirates EK is not a member of any of the 3 main global airline alliances.
EK are a ff partner of several other airlines.
For example with AS miles you can get an award flight on EK if available and if in accordance with the AS rules for awards on EK.

Aeroplan is the Air Canada ffp: many unhappy frequent flyers in Aeroplan (see the forum). Air Canada are in the Star Alliance.

That would be Air Canada. ;) CP went out of business many years ago!

To the OP - you will need about 300,000 Aeroplan miles for a round trip on Star Alliance from Canada to South Africa. You are far far away from that. Even if you had the miles, I think you'll find it hard to actually get the seats.

Do I am s o l. I'm devastated but my bestie in London will be so excited it's easier to get there I suppose. I never should have cancelled Barclay but I raged it and thought I was done. So just start cancelling or organize? Only use the Amex I guess or UR.
Devastated but I'll just have to push to Hong Kong in Jan 2017.
I can't believe how sweet you are, I want to delete everything for appearing a pinhead. When people say open all these cards they mean only if they are in your plan( miles or points?)


QUOTE=LondonElite;26496271]That would be Air Canada. ;) CP went out of business many years ago!

To the OP - you will need about 300,000 Aeroplane miles for a round trip on Star Alliance from Canada to South Africa. You are far far away from that. Even if you had the miles, I think you'll find it hard to actually get the seats.[/QUOTE]

You need focus your cc spending and flying so that you have one FF account where all the miles go. Having 16 different small buckets everywhere does not help you. Even if you had the necessary miles there is no guarantee you would have been able to get the seat on the date(s) you wanted since, particularly from Europe to South Africa there is very heavy demand for these. Also, depending on what airline you eventually chose, you would have had to pay a fuel or carrier surcharge (potentially a lot of money). It might be easier to just look for cash seats in economy.