A 'which reward program' thread from the NE of England
May 10, 2011 | 10:14 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 4
A 'which reward program' thread from the NE of England
Hi all,
Newbie here, your advice is appreciated.
My wife will in the next year or so be taking over a reasonably large family business (turnover c. Ł1 million) from her retiring parents. It's a retail business so there's very little corporate travel but there are plenty of expenses that could be settled via credit card, probably totalling around Ł150,000 per year. My wife and I would probably add another Ł50,000 to the total spend per year for personal use which currently we spend on a debit card.
So the question is, what is the most effective way to transfer our spend and the corporate expenses into flights? Our time off is pretty limited due to the demands of the company so our aim would be to try to get a couple of pairs of business tickets every year to somewhere warm with perhaps the odd few city breaks in between.
We're in the North East of England so KLM/Air France would make most sense as they have good connections and frequencies locally. BA would be okay although the one place we go regularly (Beirut, Lebanon as we have friends there, isn't a goer with them) and we've steered clear in the past because the connection timing doesn't stack up. Lufhansa/BMI/Swiss etc are out of the picture locally, although using them (or indeed any of the other big airlines) from Manchester airport would be okay for the couple of trips a year that we make although ideally we'd stick with local airlines.
I'm thinking the best option is an Amex Corporate card for both of us, redeemed to a Flying Blue account. How does personal spend work with Amex? When I had a personal Platinum card years back, I recall that they sent me a second card for business expenses, which came with a separate bill. Does a corporate card work the other way around in that you can have a second card for personal expenditure? Also, how does redemption work? Are there limits as to many cards can be redeemed to one Flying Blue account, for example?
Sorry for all the questions, but this frequent flying lark is a minefield to non-frequent flyers!
Newbie here, your advice is appreciated.
My wife will in the next year or so be taking over a reasonably large family business (turnover c. Ł1 million) from her retiring parents. It's a retail business so there's very little corporate travel but there are plenty of expenses that could be settled via credit card, probably totalling around Ł150,000 per year. My wife and I would probably add another Ł50,000 to the total spend per year for personal use which currently we spend on a debit card.
So the question is, what is the most effective way to transfer our spend and the corporate expenses into flights? Our time off is pretty limited due to the demands of the company so our aim would be to try to get a couple of pairs of business tickets every year to somewhere warm with perhaps the odd few city breaks in between.
We're in the North East of England so KLM/Air France would make most sense as they have good connections and frequencies locally. BA would be okay although the one place we go regularly (Beirut, Lebanon as we have friends there, isn't a goer with them) and we've steered clear in the past because the connection timing doesn't stack up. Lufhansa/BMI/Swiss etc are out of the picture locally, although using them (or indeed any of the other big airlines) from Manchester airport would be okay for the couple of trips a year that we make although ideally we'd stick with local airlines.
I'm thinking the best option is an Amex Corporate card for both of us, redeemed to a Flying Blue account. How does personal spend work with Amex? When I had a personal Platinum card years back, I recall that they sent me a second card for business expenses, which came with a separate bill. Does a corporate card work the other way around in that you can have a second card for personal expenditure? Also, how does redemption work? Are there limits as to many cards can be redeemed to one Flying Blue account, for example?
Sorry for all the questions, but this frequent flying lark is a minefield to non-frequent flyers!
May 10, 2011 | 11:18 am
#2
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: LAX
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold but PlatPro thanks to LPs
Posts: 4,456
I'll offer some general suggestions.
First: Decide where you are most likely to fly. Check out airline website to see what kinds of flights and connections they offer to the places you want to fly. (It looks like you've already done that.)
Second: Based on that research, pick one or two airlines that best serve the places you want to go.
Third: Now, look in detail at the frequent flyer programs of those two airlines. What will it take to get an award ticket to a place you wish to fly on each airline? Remember, an airline that heavily advertises "Paris" does you no good if you don't want to go to Paris.
Fouth: Look at credit card offers associated with those two airlines. Look at costs and benefits.
At each step, return to FT for detailed answers for each point. You are on the right track, but as a FT participant, it's easier and more accurate to respond to a specific question rather than "Which one, in general, is best?".
As an example, I have stuck with American Airlines because, back then, it had good connections to the city where my parents lived. My parents have, since, passed on, but AA still pretty much flies where I want to fly. They have a decent frequent flyer mile program, and I have received good service from them over the years. I continue to investigate ways to maximize the associated credit cards and various bonuses. Just last week, for example, I set things up so I will pay no annual membership fee for the foreseeable future.
You are right. Welcome to Flyer Talk. There's a whole lot if information here and a whole lot of people willing and able to give you good advice.
Plus a few stinkers.
First: Decide where you are most likely to fly. Check out airline website to see what kinds of flights and connections they offer to the places you want to fly. (It looks like you've already done that.)
Second: Based on that research, pick one or two airlines that best serve the places you want to go.
Third: Now, look in detail at the frequent flyer programs of those two airlines. What will it take to get an award ticket to a place you wish to fly on each airline? Remember, an airline that heavily advertises "Paris" does you no good if you don't want to go to Paris.
Fouth: Look at credit card offers associated with those two airlines. Look at costs and benefits.
At each step, return to FT for detailed answers for each point. You are on the right track, but as a FT participant, it's easier and more accurate to respond to a specific question rather than "Which one, in general, is best?".
As an example, I have stuck with American Airlines because, back then, it had good connections to the city where my parents lived. My parents have, since, passed on, but AA still pretty much flies where I want to fly. They have a decent frequent flyer mile program, and I have received good service from them over the years. I continue to investigate ways to maximize the associated credit cards and various bonuses. Just last week, for example, I set things up so I will pay no annual membership fee for the foreseeable future.
Sorry for all the questions, but this frequent flying lark is a minefield to non-frequent flyers!
Plus a few stinkers.
May 10, 2011 | 1:14 pm
#3
Senior Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: San Francisco, CA
Programs: UA Plat/2MM [23-yr. 1K, now emeritus] clawing way back to WN-A List; MR LT Titanium; HY Whateverist.
Posts: 12,458
As the essence of your question seeks to maximize the benefits of travel loyalty programs, I'll move this to the MilesBuzz forum for continued discussion. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.