I think you have to be more specific about your goal - assuming you have a specific goal - than "Asia". Asia is a very big place - and I doubt there's a single carrier that serves every major city in Asia. I remember when I was planning my first (and only) trip to Asia to date. I completely underestimated the distances between city A and city B (by thousands and thousand of miles). I was kind of like someone from Asia who wants to take a 7 day trip to the US - and see New York - Florida - Chicago and San Francisco . Anyway - take a look at the route maps of various airlines. See which airlines go where.

Like I said - I have only been to Asia once - but my specific goal then was Japan (which I think is a fabulous place for a first trip to Asia). I went on CO (EWR to Tokyo non-stop). I am now thinking of my second trip to Asia - to China. Want to fly into/out of Shanghai/Beijing. CO does that - again out of EWR. FWIW - I have never been thrilled about using international partner airlines for rewards (although I wouldn't hesitate to buy tickets on them). Too many possible "gotchas" (like big fuel surcharges). Note that trips to Asia are pretty expensive in terms of points (check the airlines you're considering in terms of their reward charts). Unless you want to fly BF or First - you may be better off hunting for specials and sales on various airlines - especially during off or shoulder seasons (although off season in various parts of Asia can be super hot - or really cold).

What airlines do you usually fly to Detroit and France? Do you spend a fair amount of money on credit cards? Robyn

My specific goal right now is China. And in comparing Delta with CO (since I have to decide what to do with my AMEX MR points before 9/30) - I concluded that CO is better in terms in terms of China. CO also has slightly more flight coverage to Europe - but Delta has plenty. In fact - my last 2 trips to Europe (France and Germany) were reward tickets from CO on Delta flights (when CO and Delta were partners). CO is better in terms of Australia and most of South America. Overall - unless I read something persuasive to the contrary - I have decided to move my MR points to CO before 9/30.

FWIW - there is no international service from JAX. I usually hub through a New York airport or Atlanta when I fly out of the US. Robyn

Is it easy to get "Saver" level first class reward tickets to any part of Asia on AA? Sure isn't easy on any other airline. Robyn

Choosing credit cards is very personal. Depends how you spend and travel. For example - one advantage of most airline credit cards these days is at least one checked pack for a minimum of 2 people. And different airlines have different perks on their cards (and most have several kinds of cards). For example - I have a CO One Pass card ($95/year). Free checked bags for me and my husband. 2 club passes a year. And now - the ability to book any reward ticket on any flight at Easy Pass levels (twice Saver Pass levels) without capacity controls. Some airlines have never had capacity controls on these rewards - but CO has had them for a long time. I get my $95 worth out of that card - even though I'm not a frequent flyer. Robyn

Haha, yes Asia is a big place. I guess if I had to pick a place, it would be Hong Kong or Tokyo. I just assumed both are fairly large airports with lots of service, but I'll double check that.

I've flown Delta and Air France to the respective areas. I just don't hear a lot about people who use Delta miles to go to Asia though...

IMHO, *A is unmatched in Asia. Between ANA, Air China, Singapore, Thai, Asiana and Turkish, if you can't get there, it's probably only accessible by boat.

x2 on underestimating the distance. I had to go to Korea for work, and I asked if I should "swing by" another vendor in Malaysia ... my coworkers showed me the map ... I felt pretty American at that point ... LOL

I think when it comes to Delta - the issue would be the equipment - whether the planes are older or newer on a particular route. I have found it easier to get international rewards on Delta - but have generally found the equipment to be somewhat inferior to the equipment on other carriers. Of course - I don't have current "as of today" information.

And I would very very much recommend Japan as a first trip to Asia. It is a totally first world country. Extremely clean (you can eat food at street festivals - you could probably eat food dropped on the streets too) - no street crime to speak of - people are polite and honest - and there is no tipping at all anywhere! Very compact country too. With its excellent train system - you can see a fair amount of the country on a reasonably short trip.

Two downsides. Unless you're a trooper when it comes to jet leg - the 12-13 hour time difference will drive you a little nuts (but that is true of all of Asia). So I would recommend a trip of at least 10 days (we were there for 3 weeks - and I never did get totally straight in terms of jet lag - but I am also totally terrible when it comes to jet lag). Second - you will find very little English spoken. So if I were planning to go to Japan - I would try to learn at least a little of the spoken language in advance (forget about the written language unless you have 3-5+ years) . I plan our international trips usually 9-12 months in advance - and my husband studied speaking Japanese using the Pimsleur tapes for almost a year before we went. He didn't learn a huge amount - but a little Japanese in Japan is a whole lot better than none.

If you are considering a trip to Japan - go to the Japan forum here. The people there are very knowledgeable and very helpful. FWIW - I am a garden type person - and we went during Cherry Blossom season. It was wonderful . Robyn

I was thinking of doing a side trip from Tokyo to Hong Kong until I took a good look at a map . Robyn

I'm also based in an NY. I'm not a fan of Delta. I never seem to be able to find reward flight at the low-mileage level. I love Continental and I've had great luck finding exactly the tickets I need on their website. One world seems good too. I've redeemed a couple of awards with them, and I'll probably redeem more once the 150miles I have coming from the Citi cards post to my account.

I'm building from scratch as well and the people here and some other blogs are invaluable. I have not flown USAir, and have almost 16000 miles. So my advice, especially if you're still on the fence for credit cards, is to read here (and the blogs of many of the members) and get yourself an Award Wallet account to track all the programs you join. If you need an Award Wallet upgrade code, there's a thread (I forget if it's in Miles Buzz or SPAM).

Thanks for your tip on that! I do like those cherry blossom festivals here in the U.S., I can only imagine what they're like in japan! Thanks for all the other advice on traveling to Japan too!

I flew Delta to MNL via NRT a few months ago and the plane was old and terrible. Something from the 1970's... a community movie screen type display (just one for an entire section) with a few terrible movies didn't make a 20 hour flight go any quicker. They also overbooked the hell out of all legs of the flight, no empty seats in either direction and they made us disembark in NRT even though the second leg was on the same plane.