Ive been lurking around, finally registered and am even more confused than ever.

Ok, here is the deal with me.

I live in Houston, and am about to embark on a new adventure where I will be taking a job in Alaska on the slope. That will consist of working two weeks on two weeks off. So basically, every two weeks I will be flying from IAH to Anchorage...

Ive never flown much, but have always wanted to do weekend trips with my wife etc. So i want to make sure and do the correct thing when it comes to maximizing travel miles that will help us in the future.

So what im curious about, is what the best avenue is to earn maximum miles for the travel only. I dont use CC's for everyday purchases but i dont have a problem getting one, just usually pay cash for stuff.

Also, its my guess that i will be flying CO most of the time, since they have direct flights etc.

Im not asking for exact description of what would be best, just point me in the direction so i can get a good start at racking up some miles for travel.

Thanks

Tex

Get a CC for the respective airline you will be traveling on. Most give you bonus miles for airline ticket purchase. Find an airline that allows you to use the miles in the most beneficial way. You'll be getting roughly 6,400 miles for each RT, so by your 4th rotation on the slope you will have earned a free economy award ticket.

Also, nobody runs a non stop out of IAH into ANC. You will be stopping someplace along the way. SLC, PDX, SEA.

Have fun, being on the slope you work some long hours and the environment can be quite hostile. You will definitely rack up some cash on your rotation.

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texxan1, welcome to FT!

Unfortunately, it's a little more complicated than just amassing the most miles. You want to amass miles that you'll actually be able to use when you want to redeem for a free trip, and the ease of using FF miles varies widely from program to program. Tell us how you would like to use your miles (what destinations? what class of service?) and you will probably get some suggestions geared to your particular situation. Also, how important are things like lounge access and free checked-baggage allowance going to be to you?

Welcome to FT! With that schedule, you should make platinum/1K on COUA each year, which will make your flying experience much more pleasant.

My recommendation is to the the Presidential Plus MC from Continental. This card carries a $375-ish annual fee, BUT... it comes with lounge access which will be welcome for your frequent trips AND you get a 25% bonus on redeemable miles AND you get flex EQMs which will allow you to push toward status sooner rather than later. Also, since you will most likely be exceeding the 100K mark in miles each year, the extra EQMs will give you the ability to push forward to the next threshold for SWUs... which will make leisure travel with your family MUCH more enjoyable!

Good luck in your new job!

Welcome to FT, texxan1 If you don't want a card with a high annual fee I'd apply for the CO OnePass Plus Card. Use the link on the CO website. 30K miles, $50 statement credit and NO fee 1st year. Plus a few other goodies.

Just a point of clarification: CO runs IAH-ANC daily during non-winter times. I've taken it a few times in the last few years, with the most recent one being last July. It is, however, tough to get a free upgrade on.

You might want to consider AA through DFW. By my calculation, you'll be making about 25 round trips per year. If you always connect, that's 100 segments, which will make you Executive Platinum on AA.

Not to get off topic, but do you work in the pipeline business?

Either the Continental low-end card or the continental high-end card would work. Lounge access might be valuable (high-end card) if layovers exceed an hour or so.

Be sure to visit Pepe's North of the Border if you swing by Barrow. And get some good noise cancelling headphones.