Flying one airline, crediting elsewhere - how to choose?
Aug 13, 2018, 8:05 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Olde Dominion
Programs: DL Silver - uh huh!
Posts: 948
Flying one airline, crediting elsewhere - how to choose?
I’m not sure where to put this question. Mods, feel free to move as necessary.
I will be flying Emirates in a few days but don’t have an FF account with them and don’t really want to open one. I don’t fly EK often enough for it to be worthwhile.
My choice boils down to JetBlue or Alaska, but I am undecided as to which is better. In the past I have credited EK flights to B6.
B6 Pros: I currently have 23,000 miles on them, and their FF miles do not expire.
B6 Cons: The nearest airport B6 serves is at least 2 hours away from me.
AS Pros: I could use the miles for travel on American, which flies to my nearest 2 airports.
AS Cons: I only have 500 FF miles on AS, so it might take a while to earn enough to get a free ticket. Plus who knows how long the link with AA will last.
Any thoughts on which makes more sense? I’m trying to push as much travel as possible to OW right now, but this is an outlier.
I will be flying Emirates in a few days but don’t have an FF account with them and don’t really want to open one. I don’t fly EK often enough for it to be worthwhile.
My choice boils down to JetBlue or Alaska, but I am undecided as to which is better. In the past I have credited EK flights to B6.
B6 Pros: I currently have 23,000 miles on them, and their FF miles do not expire.
B6 Cons: The nearest airport B6 serves is at least 2 hours away from me.
AS Pros: I could use the miles for travel on American, which flies to my nearest 2 airports.
AS Cons: I only have 500 FF miles on AS, so it might take a while to earn enough to get a free ticket. Plus who knows how long the link with AA will last.
Any thoughts on which makes more sense? I’m trying to push as much travel as possible to OW right now, but this is an outlier.
Aug 13, 2018, 8:16 pm
#2
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: PDX
Programs: AS DL
Posts: 9,038
Just a year or two ago, Alaska was a great program. Now it's only a good program. Before, you could fly on Delta, American, or Alaska and get Alaska credit.
The main factor in choosing is whether you will fly on JetBlue/Hawaiian/JetBlue foreign partner airlines or Alaska/Alaska foreign partners. If the answer is none, then put the Emirates flight on JetBlue because added to 23,000 miles already in the account, you will have enough for a reward. If you put in on Alaska, you will have enough for a short trip award, like San Francisco-Seattle but that will likely not be useful for you.
If Old Dominion is Richmond or Norfolk, VA, then neither airline flies there, I think. You could calculate if your Emirates trip alone + 500 miles adds up to enough for a domestic Alaska award on American. If so, put it on Alaska and redeem an AA domestic award.
Bottom line, put it in Alaska if enough for an AA award after an Emirates trip. If not, put it in JetBlue because it is enough for an award after your Emirates trip.
The main factor in choosing is whether you will fly on JetBlue/Hawaiian/JetBlue foreign partner airlines or Alaska/Alaska foreign partners. If the answer is none, then put the Emirates flight on JetBlue because added to 23,000 miles already in the account, you will have enough for a reward. If you put in on Alaska, you will have enough for a short trip award, like San Francisco-Seattle but that will likely not be useful for you.
If Old Dominion is Richmond or Norfolk, VA, then neither airline flies there, I think. You could calculate if your Emirates trip alone + 500 miles adds up to enough for a domestic Alaska award on American. If so, put it on Alaska and redeem an AA domestic award.
Bottom line, put it in Alaska if enough for an AA award after an Emirates trip. If not, put it in JetBlue because it is enough for an award after your Emirates trip.
Aug 13, 2018, 8:25 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Olde Dominion
Programs: DL Silver - uh huh!
Posts: 948
Thanks, Toshbaf.
Norfolk is my airport of convenience now. B6 flies to Richmond (its closest city to me), but that’s a lot farther than ORF (which is 15-20 minutes away). AS flies to the DC area, I think, 4 hours away.
Would not have enough AS miles after this EK trip for a one-way AA ticket, so would take more travel - but not sure when that might be.
i do at least have several cities served by B6 for which I could make use of a ticket on them. The downside is having to drive past both ORF and PHF to get to RIC (that, and having to pay for parking!)
Norfolk is my airport of convenience now. B6 flies to Richmond (its closest city to me), but that’s a lot farther than ORF (which is 15-20 minutes away). AS flies to the DC area, I think, 4 hours away.
Would not have enough AS miles after this EK trip for a one-way AA ticket, so would take more travel - but not sure when that might be.
i do at least have several cities served by B6 for which I could make use of a ticket on them. The downside is having to drive past both ORF and PHF to get to RIC (that, and having to pay for parking!)