I've redeemed over 800,000 AA miles in the past few years on partner award tickets and still have an AA balance over 500,000 and I've NEVER been on an AA plane !

Also accumulated over 300,000 Delta miles and have never flown Delta.

Welcome to FlyerTalk !

I believe that airlines are more likely to help you in case of IRROPs or if you need a one time favor if they see the loyalty number on your BP. It shows you've made some effort, have room for growth, are knowledgeable etc.

Plus the tangible rewards others have outlined are great.

to the op....join as many programs as you can....while there are chances that it won't help you, it definitely won't harm you in any way....keep accumulating & over a period of time you will have enough....

I would recommend sticking with one single airline and travel using that associated global alliance. In the long run, mileage will build up and less chance of miles expiring. When I first started joining FFPs, I was enrolled in just about all the major airline programs and not concentrating my miles in one specific program. As I was not in control of the airline that I was traveling then, miles accumulated in the various programs but not enough to redeem. Then when the FFPs went to expiring miles after x months of dormancy, I started to have a lot of soon to expire miles. All was not loss as I converted the expiring miles to magazine subscriptions.

exactly what i meant....sometimes you do not have the option to fly your preferred airline....that is why it will never hurt you to have memberships in every program you have used....you can always convert the miles for some use....

I think it depends on your personal travel habits. Signing up for a loyalty program might start to change the way you want to travel. If you're the type of traveler who always shops around for the cheapest airfare, then you probably won't accumulate enough miles in any one plan for it to be worthwhile given the short expiration date for miles these days. If you're wiling to stick with one airline, then by all means, go for it since you have nothing to lose.

Well, I'm going to stick with United for now. I can't justify getting the Milage Plus Visa since I rarely use credit cards (got myself in a lot of trouble in college) and don't want to pay the annual fee. So far, so good with United flights, and it's the best option out of my home airport. Since I do at least one trip per year, that keeps the miles from expiring, right?

Yep, UA miles only expire after 18 consecutive month's of inactivity, so you should be fine. Also always be on the look out for other ways to get extra miles. For example rentals from Avis can accrue miles, you can also double-dip hotel points and miles for stays at Hilton, etc. There's a whole list of partners on the UA website.

Welcome to FlyerTalk!

Can't justify the MP Visa ????
Right now, they are offering 50,000 miles for a new account and waive the first year fee. (Hint - cancel the card before a year is up).
It's a no brainer. See the FlyerTalk thread http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...promotion.html

If you are going to do it, do it soon.

You should always join whatever program is needed to get points.
I've joined everything. When hotels or airlines merge, I've benefitted the merges. I didn't have enough Sheraton or Westin. But when they merged, I suddenly had enough for a free night. Delta and NW together gave me a free ticket. USairways and America West, also produced me a free ticket. AA and TWA got me close enough that a car rental put me over the top for a free ticket.
Always join. If UA and US merge, who knows, you might have enough pts.
The one I benefitted from the most was Air Canada and Canadian Airlines. That one got me a free ticket to Asia.

I think most posters here are missing the point. Yeah, sure, the OP should sign up for the program -- it costs nothing (besides the time that it takes to sign up to monitor one's account).

The more relevant question is whether he should exhibit any loyalty behavior -- principally, concentrating flying on one airline or steering all possible other loyalty-point-earning scenarios to his frequent flier account.

And the answer is, not necessarily. If you fly 5,000 miles per year, then that's 25,000 miles in five years, or enough to get a free flight on most programs. So, you could join a program and get a free flight every five years, which is not a trivial award (if the flight that you want is available for an award redemption -- which is a big if).

But if you are like most travelers, and choose each flight based on price, convenience, or other factors, then you might not fly the same airline or alliance every time, and the benefits of forcing yourself to do so -- the free flight every five years -- might not be worth the cost.

It's also an exaggeration to assume that one can get miles doing things that one already does. Most of the big-earning possibilities are via credit card, and there are plenty of other credit card rewards -- e.g., cash back or merchandise rewards -- that are more valuable to many people than frequent-flier miles. Even other loyalty programs like hotels' provide reward options other than miles that might be more valuable to some travelers.

Of course this is FlyerTalk, and most of us (including myself) place perhaps an irrational valuation on frequent flier miles, but that doesn't mean that they are for everyone.

Pssst- he is actually a she

As for whether or not I go for the cheapest tickets, it kind of depends on how much cheaper and what airline is cheaper. I've flown cheaper on SW, but I hate their line up by the number on your ticket way of boarding, so if the difference was less than $75 or so, I'd go with the pricier airline. Credit card wise, I prefer the cash back, which is what I have now. And I'd be quite happy with a free trip every five years or so since I pretty much only do one big trip each year that would involve flying.

And thanks for the welcomes!

Care to share a brief synopsis to us newbies/infrequent fliers on just how you managed to do that without having to sign up for a whole bunch of credit cards?

You are setting your sites way too low. Why not make that one big trip each year always free? You can. If you will.

Step 1: Get the United Chase credit card with the 50,000 mile sign up bonus.

Spend money that you would have paid cash for on the credit card. Do not ever spend a dime you would not have paid cash for otherwise. Pay the credit card with money you already have. A few months from now, after Chase has given you your 50,000 United miles, close the account.

Cost: Paying attention and a little of your time.

Benefits: 2 Free tickets anywhere in the USA/Canada or one free ticket to Europe

You could earn another free ticket each year by signing up for the United Dining program and choosing to eat at restaurants in your earea that offer United miles.

Add to your miles by doing your online shopping using United's shopping portal. Say you need a new computer and see a good deal at tigerdirect.com. Go to the United Mall and click on the United link for TigerDirect then buy what you were going to buy.

Get miles for magazines/newpapers you subscribe to.

If you are changing phone or internet providers, get miles from your new company.

On that rare occasion you need to rent a care or stay in a hotel, get miles for each rental/stay.

If you are sending someone special but far away flowers, get miles while you are at it.

If you ever join Netflix, get 4,000 miles from them.

Switch banks to Chase and earn miles on all your debit card purchases.

Free tickets are waiting for you....do you want them?

signed up for a whole bunch of credit cards