Beginner Questions
 

Hello, all. I'm a former frequent business traveller who is getting back out on the road. Back when I used to travel frequently, I thought I was pretty smart about maximizing my miles and points, but after looking at this site, I'm not so sure. Given that, I'm wondering if I could get some basic advice for frequent travellers.

Here are my questions:

1. Should I concentrate on one airline no matter what my status is or switch to another airline after I hit platinum (or whatever)? I always concentrated on one airline because of the bonus miles I was earning. Is this a bad idea?
2. Same as the above, but for hotels. I prefer Starwood, but should I branch out after I hit platinum or concentrate?
3. Are there any basic strategies to get miles/status faster? I have heard of people checking in and out of hotels to get more stays. Are there any other sorts of suggestions like that one that a new frequent traveller should know?
4. I had a bunch of Hilton points expire because I didn't stay at a Hilton enough. Is there any chance of getting those reinstated, especially if I tell them I'll concentrate my stays in their hotels?

Any advice you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Bill

Welcome to FT! I'd concentrate on one unless you expect to fly enough to have at least mid-level status in two different alliances. Even then, many people feel that top-level status with one is better than mid-level with two. I'd say it depends on where you're based (your public profile doesn't say) and what your travel patterns are. For most people, the benefits of using status once you've earned it swing the deal.

Again, depends on where you tend to stay, what there is there, and what you want. If you stay enough for top-tier status in one chain, you might want to look at the hotel forums here. You might prefer a different one after you take top-tier benefits into account.

I take indirect routings on flights. Regular BOS-LHR travel, which I did for a while, builds up miles much faster if you change planes in Chicago - and at the same fare in most cases. I've never switched hotels to get stay credits, but that's because I've never been close enough to top-tier in a hotel chain to make it worthwhile.

I don't think your chances are good, but if you don't ask, they're zero.

Why obtain it on one airline then switch and not take advantage of it? The only value I could see is if your location/travel forces you to use multiple airlines. The reason they are called "loyalty" programs is the intention of rewarding loyalty.

If you can get the vast majority of travel done on one airline I would stay with it to maximize the benifit. However, you will find most of the responses you are about to recieve will have one thing in common "it depends on what you want/your situation"

Hard to believe, may I say so. Especially #4. <shakes head> What a waste.

Regarding letting those Hilton points expire, that was a shame. However, I don't know what else is hard to believe. Could you elaborate?

Thanks,
Bill

MUT86....where are flying from?.....where do you think you will go?.....how many times/calendar year?.....coach or 1st?...

if your travels can be mostly on 1 carrier, will you be able to reach top tier?...if so, that would be the way to go.....if 2 carriers are convenient for you, then perhaps trying for status on both would make sense....

you should consider things like challenges for status, status matches, upgrades, and premium seating.....

so, if you would post your best guess re my ?'s, you will probably get some specific suggestions.....good luck...

Well, I am flying out of Seattle to various locations in the US primarily. I guess that Alaska will generally get me where I'm going, so it seems like I should book with them and only them. I do like the idea of using 1 stop flights when possible to get extra segments; I would not have done that normally.

Hotels might be a bit different, but I think the general advice is to go with your primary program as much as possible.

Thanks all,
Bill

The other consideration, of course, is that you need to think about how you want to spend the miles you earn. It looks like Alaska Airlines has enough partners to get you anywhere globally, so hopefully that's not a big concern. Not sure what kind of benefits you can enjoy on those partner airlines as an MVP, though. A consideration if your routings will require you to fly with other airlines.

No Mention of Credit Cards
 

Wait let me get this straight, you can get miles by actually flying? Humm, that is a strange way to do it indeed.

OK look on FT for the best CC offers. DO NOT just check out the airline's website, as they rarely have the biggest bonus offers. While I don't know which airline you would prefer, American Airlines rarely has it's $30K bonus offer on its own website. Jump on super rare offers, like the British Airways $100K offer. Sorry that one is no longer available. While the hayday of churning is sadly over, sign up for different products, i.e. United's three cards. Just do not do it all at once, and maybe have a few months in between. Such as 3-6 months.

Also sign up for the personal and then the business Starwood AmEx. With normal spending and $K/month travelers check, I doubled up with their 15K bonus with $15K spending in the first six months. That got me 5 free nights in Vienna during my honeymoon, worth about $1K.

Good luck with your addictive habit. :)

Thanks for the additional info. I already have the Alaska Airlines Visa. In addition, I'm required to put all business purchases on the corporate Amex, but I have signed up for Membership Rewards on that puppy.

Bill

I live in Seattle and AA works real well for me. Great perks. You might give their program a look.

for me personally, it makes sense to have top status with 2 airlines & 2 hotel programs....

there are times when its more convenient for me to fly one airline (due to price or timings) & the second one another time....same with hotels....in india & asia i have a great choice of spg properties but in the us & the uk there is a better choice of hilton properties....

i travel enough to make this happen every year so have no problems....

By the way, if anyone is interested, I talked to Hilton yesterday and they reinstated half my points immediately, and told me they will reinstate the other half if I have 5 stays in their hotels this year. That should not be a problem, so welcome back 226,000 Hilton points!

Woot! Well done.

very nicely done....you are one of the very few people to get all your points back....

Welcome back to the road (for better or worse:D)! You've already gotten some good advice here. My own two cents:

Yes, definitely concentrate your travel on one airline program to the extent possible. After your reach top status, it's more of a judgment call that, as others have emphasized, that depends on your travel patterns and preference. I like accumulating miles on both UA and AA partly because it opens up more options for the main way that my wife and I use them, which is for business or first class international vacation travel. But if you're just flying domestically, you may not accumulate enough miles to make that an option (unless you'll be on the road as much as George Clooney in Up in the Air).

Are domestic upgrades important to you? If so, does sticking with Alaska's program get you a good chance of them when you fly partner airlines such as AA? If not, you might want to switch to AA or UA.

Congratulations on getting your points reinstated with Hilton! As for where to stay after you get your five more Hilton stays under your belt to complete the reinstatement, my basic take is that Starwood is a better program and has nicer overseas properties for cashing in your points, but Hilton has many more options for more places in the United States, plus the added perk of free breakfasts if you reach Gold or Diamond status. Which one to concentrate on will hinge on your travel budget and the places you'll go to.

Though you mention that your business expenses spending will be concentrated on the corporate Amex, it still might be worthwhile for you to get the Hilton and/or Starwood Amex cards simply for the bonus points for initial spending, which in both cases can work out to the equivalent of a free night at one of their better properties. Someone already described the Starwood bonus. If by some chance you spend $30K per year, you also get Gold status on that. Hilton now has a Hilton Honor Surpass Amex Card. (Surpass is just the fancy name HH has attached to the card.) I don't know what their current bonus offers are, but last year it was 40K points for signing up and some initial spending, plus Gold Status for the first year. Then, if you spend $20K per year you retain Gold status and for $40K per year you get Diamond.

One thing about these Amex bonuses, though: If you sign up for either or both cards, print out or do a screen save of the bonus points offer. There are separate threads about Amex reneging on such offers if the customers can't prove that they signed up for them.

With airlines, you can concentrate in one program and, if you're careful, the rare times you need to fly on a different airline, it'll be in the same alliance and you'll receive enough elite benefits to make it tolerable.

But I think a good case could be made for maintaining high status in multiple hotel programs. It tends to be easier, especially if you have many short stays.

Specifically, I think Priority Club Platinum could be a great addition to Hilton Diamond, especially if you ever find yourself traveling to obscure smaller towns. You'll then often have your choice between a Hampton and a Holiday Inn Express - and one of them is likely to be good enough. :cool:

It's relatively easy to achieve Platinum in Priority Club using the info in the forum here. They are generous with point bonuses and (almost) all points count toward status. It's reasonable to expect Platinum in 7-10 stays if the promotions line up right. Then you have a legitimate backup plan if Hilton lets you down.