Hello everyone!

I am a new member here, I have been browsing for a few weeks, collecting information and reading the forums, but just registered. I am looking for some help/feedback/suggestions in picking a new FF program and/or keeping my current program and selecting the most appropriate credit card to go along with it.

Here is what I am dealing with:

I currently have two different FF programs. Delta Skymiles and True Blue (Jet Blue).

1) True Blue - This program (the old one) served me very well. I went to school in Florida and live in NY so I would always take JB back and forth. I racked up a TON of free flights. I also have a JB AMEX card, which is my primary personal credit card. When Jet Blue switched over to their new true blue program I had 20 of their old points, which is requiring me to accrue 13,000 new points to transfer over and make that one free round trip flight.

I am almost at the 13,000 and I am going to cash them in, but the new program really sucks, and I want to switch FF programs to something that would serve me better.

2) Delta - I have around 15k points on my delta FF program. These are set to expire in March 2011. I am aware that Delta is part of Sky Team.



Quite frankly, I think that the new JB program sucks. It does not really benefit me like it used to because I graduated, so I am planning on switching to a new FF program, and getting a new credit card that complements that program. I am going to keep my AMEX card and use it infrequently to make sure that my JB points do not expire. I will use that card to purchase any JB tickets (I always fly them domestically/to the caribbean/mexico).

I fly internationally at least once a year, mostly to Europe. In the next year or two, this will most likely change. I am planning/hoping to fly internationally 2-3 times a year. I fly domestically a few times a year (at least 5) with 90% of this travel being on Jet Blue.

My monthly credit card bill is anywhere from 1k-4k depending on what I bought that month. Last year I spent ~30k.

I am looking for a Visa card. I already have an AMEX (Jet Blue).

I am currently in the middle of booking a trip to Europe for the summer. I have not purchased tickets yet, but when I do, I would like the tickets to count towards miles in whatever program I am using.

Flights to Europe look like this:

NYC > IBZ (with a layover somewhere, most are in BCN or MAD)

IBZ > FRA (again with a layover somewhere)

FRA > NYC


I would like to be able to redeem my miles for domestic or international travel, but most likely they will be redeemed for international travel.

NYC (HPN, JFK, LaGuardia and EWR are all airports I would fly out of)

I would like to have the most available options on where I can travel when I redeem my miles.

I usually fly with my girlfriend (don't know if this would be to my advantage because I usually pay for her tickets. Could I get more miles?)

I read the BA 100k miles thread, and I don't want a program where the airline is going to charge me fuel surcharges and such so my "free" flight ends up costing a few hundred dollars. With Jet Blue I like the fact that a free flight is actually free, I end up paying like $2.50 or something when I redeem my miles.


So I guess my question is this:

Do I stay with my current Delta Skymiles program, and get a credit card that compliments it (if so which one is the best deal right now).

Do I switch to *A? Which credit card would you guys recommend then?

Do I switch to one world? Again, which credit card do you guys recommend?

Are there any other programs that I am unaware about that may be best for me?


I would like to do this quickly, as I need to book tickets for my summer trip to Europe before they get too expensive.


Thanks in advance for all the help I am sure that you guys will provide!

If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask!

Before you convert those 13,000 TB2 points to the old program to cash out check for availability and what it would cost to redeem under the new scheme. You might be able to just use the points in the new program. Also, I think you actually need 16,000, not 13,000 to get to 100 TB1 points and a free ticket. Check the math there.

Just logged into TB.

You have 20 points due to expire on 10/31/10. Once these points expire, your options below may change.


Redeem points for two TruePasses
help

To choose this option you need to earn or buy enough new TrueBlue points. When you have enough points, just come back to this page and make your selection.
Close
You'll need 13,000 points in the new TrueBlue program to earn two TruePasses based on the current TrueBlue point balance you have. You have two options to get there:



I am going to wait and do what you said, obviously, and if I do choose to redeem for a free round trip (old reward), then I will do it closer to the expiration date so that the award flight will take longer to expire also ( i think it is one year from when you earn it).

I am most likely going to be redeeming them for a free RT from NYC > CUN, flying next January, so i doubt this will be the case BTW... but 100% will look into it

also, if at all possible, I would like a program where the miles do not expire.

Most major programs allow you to prevent miles expiration simply by having ANY activity on the account. Things like a flower purchase, or earning a handful of miles form taking a electronic survey, or credit card spend on mileage earning cards connected to teh FFM account.

I will not advise you on a specific FFP since I am not familiar enough with your travel locations and the airlines that best service them. I will say that The limited number of Delta miles you have are not significant enough to be worth taking them into consideration as a motive for staying with Delta. Let Delta compete on the program itself, not based upon a few potentially wasted miles.

As for credit cards, your generic spending habits suggests that the SPG AMEX might be ideal for you since it is extremely flexible in supporting multiple airlines, it provides a 25%bonus on point to mileage conversion when you transfer in large chunks, and spending 30K in one year grants you automatic SPG Elite Gold status as well. However, Jet Blue is not one of the programs to which you can transfer points. I know you already have an AMEX, but I just thought I would mention this one, since it is widely consdered one of, if not the best, generic mileage earning cards around.

And since I mentioned it, it seems to be a FT acceptable practice, even custom, for me to say: If you do end up taking the SPG AmEx, I would certainly not mind getting the referral points.

Agreed 100% with what you said about the Delta miles, I can redeem them for magazines or something similar and I am fine with that.


As for my travel locations. I mentioned that NYC is where I would be flying out of. As for my destinations, I travel to Europe once a year for business, and at least once a year for pleasure. I have seen a lot of Europe, and am going to see more, but would also like to be able to start exploring new places. Ex: South America, Australia, Africa, Eastern Europe/Russia and the Middle East.

I have been reading the forums and the SPG card does seem like a good deal, but as I mentioned, I really am trying to stay away from AMEX. I do not have a problem with them, as they have served me well and been more than facilitating with any needs that I have had, but I would like my new card to preferably be a Visa, as it is accepted more widely over seas.

If the best card does happen to be AMEX then I have no problem applying for another one.


I have seen a lot of commercials on TV about the Chase Sapphire card. Is this card worth looking into? I haven't done my homework regarding this card and really know NOTHING about it other than what i see on TV.

Also, from reading the forums, it seems as if one world is probably the best FF program for me to enroll in. Would anyone agree? Disagree?

Is so much of your domestic travel on Jet Blue due to personal choice/preference or are you left to the whim of a company travel agent or policy? Just curious because if you have freedom of choice regarding what airline to fly, that could be a potential factor in your decision making process.

flying jet blue for domestic is personal choice due to habit. as i mentioned i live in NY and went to school in Florida, so I would fly back and forth quite a few times a year which earned me a TON of true blue points under their old system. I also have the jet Blue amex card, which i pay for EVERYTHING on, including my college tuition when i was in college (not included in the 30k a year additional spending) so I racked up a TON of free flights by spending money also.

In the past 5 years I have probably gotten no less than 15 free round trip tickets on JB, under their old system.

JB flys everywhere that I want to go, and is comfortable. I love having my own tv in the seat in front of me and having a pretty comfortable seat. The only thing they lack is WiFi.

The most important factor in why I fly JB is that I live very close to HPN (literally 10 mins), and JB flys out of there to FLL, RSW, TPA and CUN (the 4 destinations I take JB to). I fly HPN>FLL every time I am going to Miami because it is so convenient from my house. It is a 10 min drive, and another 10 mins to check in. I can literally leave my house 45 mins before the flight is going to leave and make it on the plane in no time at all. I don't mind the airport not being MIA because I have friends that pick me up at the airport. I fly into RSW because my family has a house about 10 minutes from that airport that I visit on occasion. If I want to go to TPA to visit friends from school, same story. I also vacation to Playa Del Carmen, and HPN > CUN with a layover in Orlando is the same as flying JFK > CUN essentially. Again, out of ease I just leave from HPN.


Outside of these 4 places, I really don't have any desire to fly domestically, as I have seen pretty much everything in the 50 states that I want to. And, if I were to fly somewhere, it is likely that JB would service that area.

If, for some reason, I wanted to fly domestically, I would have no problem just paying for the flight.

I essentially am looking at this from the standpoint of redeeming internationally ONLY. I have pretty much used and abused the old JB system and see how great it is to get so many free vacations. Every single time I fly internationally I pay full price and don't take advantage of any FF program, so I am looking to do so. With JB making their program pretty useless now, I see this as the perfect opportunity to make moves.

An excellent thread for sorting out the best FF Credit Card for you:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...rehensive.html

Another awesome resource for this and other FF program questions:
http://www.freefrequentflyermiles.com/index.htm (check out the credit card tab)

OneWorld is one of the 3 global airline alliance, not an airline program. You don't "enroll" in OneWorld.

Basically what you get to choose and enroll is the airline's FF program (i.e. FFP) that best fits your flying pattern and preference. Then see which alliance your chosen FFP belongs to. After figuring it out, you try every possible way to fly your chosen airline or and the partners and credit all your miles/points into your chosen FFP.

The choice of FFP can also work the other way. Say your flying destination (international) is best served by Star Alliance. It'll make more sense to pick a main FFP within Star Alliance to fly (domestic or international, or both).

Having said that, your current miles balances are, IMHO, too low to be tied up with. You should cast a wider net and research which airline and alliance work best for your goals. Open your eyes and explore the possibilities. Study all the sticky threads in fora of your interest. Then make an informed decision and stick to it. But don't aim for Delta, very difficult to get international award tickets: FTers' collective wisdom.

Good luck!

I would go with AA. very good FF program, lots of caribbean coverage, + its a oneworld carrier w Iberia as a partner. Citi Bank CC w 30k start-up bonus. Seems to be a good fit for you. Welcome to FT.

I use the Crapitol One cashback VISA. The big draw is no foreign transaction fee. Most other cards are 3%.

I prefer cashback to miles because my business travel has died down. I will never reach elite again. Rewards valued in dollars instead of miles or points are much harder to devalue. I take this approach because my accumulation of VISA is slow. Biggest spends are on 3% rewards cards.

Regardless of which legacy airline's program, you will still pay taxes and fees on award tickets, just so some programs (such as BA's) you also have to pay fuel surcharges on top of the taxes and fees.

Also CO is the only program that still claims no expiration date. However this really should not be an issue at all as ANY activity, even getting a burger at a fast food joint, would have extended the life of your miles by another 18 months. There are gazillions of activities one can do, to keep one's account alive. This should be the least of your concern.

While BA program charges high fuel surcharges when flying BA metal, the same surcharge is much lower to 0, when redeeming partner flights. Too bad you dont do more research before summarily dismiss the 100K offer - you would have flown IBeria on that with some but not outrageous surcharge to your spain destinations. Not to mention that it is good for 2 coach r/t to Asia from US gateway cities, or 1 business r/t for the same... Not to mention South America (requires even less miles), and the out of pocket would be less than $100 for ticket would have costed you close to a thousand or more, just of the top of my head for rough estimate.

Forget about DL which miles are so devalued that even a 40K miles balance would only get you a domestic ticket which other airlines only require 25K.

You may want to study AA's program - there are excellent STICKIES in AA forum for you to get started.

Thanks man, that first link really helped out a lot. VERY informative, I don't know how I didn't find this on the site before.

The 2nd website I have gone through a little, there is a lot of information on there also, I haven't had time to digest it all yet.