I'm residing in Singapore. For those staying in this region, the FF programs here(Enrich, Krisflyer, Asiamiles) are so stingy on promo miles, earning miles, redeeming miles. That's why I'm with NW, United (for Star), AA (for oneworld).
I envy US & Canada FFP members. They had it so good over there.
I decided to look for a US mailing/forwarding address to take advantage of offers for US/Canada mailing addresses.
I hope anyone out there can help me with the addresses. Looking forward to your replies. Thanks!

You could probably get a Post Office Box address for USD 40 -50 / year through Mailboxes Etc or even the US Post Office if you can have someone go in and fill out the forms. And most all FF programs will accept a PO box as a valid mailing address.

I might be missing something here, but if Kal gets a P.O. Box, won't he have to travel to it every time he wants to read his mail? That's quite a trek from Singapore....

Friends in New York take care of my USmail - I just give their address as my US-address ("R. Martel@............). This is even correct, as I stay with them 3-5 times/year (and just this week they are with us in Wengen).

I use them for:
- event-ticket-deliveries (examples: the next US-tennis-open and the Yankee-game with Catman)
- membership-address for organizations which only accept members residing in the US (example: AAA)
- questionnaries/promotions etc. for which a US-address is needed

I didn't use that address yet for ff-programs, as often advantages/disadvantages will balance out. Some advantages of being a non-US-resident with US-ff-programs are often not published/known: as the free Red Carpet membership for 1K with UA etc.; or the special tf-line in the US for german-speaking-mileage-plus-members which is never occupied - I am never hold on line! - or the faster readiness to help a foreigner in special/unfortunate situations. Sometimes, when things are urgent and I don't get what I need fast/efficient enough I would just pretend not to speak any english ... it can help (may be only because they want to get rid of me as fast as possible ...).

[This message has been edited by Rudi (edited 07-01-1999).]

Don't imagine Maiboxes etc will forward mail for a customer, especially internationally. On the other hand, you don't often need the actual statements or even cards and you may possibly be able to do most critical things online!

Rudi- Does KLM still offer free lounge access to FD at Schiphol, AMS too? Not the First Class lounge but the almost identical one next door!

james- You are are correct that Kal would have to travel to the PO Box, however I was assuming (maybe incorrectly) that Kal does travel to the US on a somewhat regular basis. Also, if he uses Mailboxes Etc. they will arrange to forward your mail regularly for a price. Anyways, rudi's suggestion is obviously the best option if it is avaialble.

I've seen a couple of posts of late regarding Mailing Addresses in the US.
As doc has menioned the problem with using mailing addresses is that you end up getting a LOT of "junk mail".

However, if enough people are interested I would be willing to get a PO Box at my local post office (@ annual cost of $30 - 45) and then have my office forward the mail as needed to the intended receipients. The costs could be shared or figured out some way. I am sure something would be proposed.

This is just a thought but if anybody is interested please drop me a line.

-indogulf

doc: I have no idea about that KLM lounge in AMS. I have never flown KLM (just their daughter Martinair 29-years ago on our honeymoon-flight to Rio de Janeiro) and Northwest only once from JFK to NRT in 1990.

There are plenty of re-mailers worldwide. The problem is finding a good one. In the US, there is one in Orlando, and there are a few in Canada that I've heard of as well.

Thanks Rudi. Only asked because I thought it was/is such a fantastic perk- free lounge access to all members. You just join FD and you're in. I wondered if they continued it in this day and age of costcutting!

I had the same problem when I lived in London and wanted to get my hands on some of the advantages of being a US resident - such as ff program promotions and the CD clubs - like BMG that now really annoy me! (Now, I live in the USA.) I paid for a PO Box at the post office ($40) and then a few days later filled out a change of address / forwarding card and all my mail was forwarded to me for free (even to a foreign address.) Hope this helps ...

Thanks for all the post.

- Rudi's suggestion is good & cheap but I don't have friends (only strictly biz acquaintances)at the States.

- Re-mailers are a lot but good ones?? I believe they don't come cheap. Maybe burkey can recommend

- leroy11 - does the PO really forward for free? That's interesting & if I'm registering for a PO Box, do I need a US ID?

- Finally, indogulf's offer can be feasible with proper arrangements & argeements - esp the JUNK mails - we don't want to incur unnecessary re-mailing cost, do we??, unless it's free like leroy11 said. Sounds good.

- I see from the posts that someone or the other would like to take up certain country/continent's offers if possible.
I'm making an offer (reciprocating indogulf's offer)- I'm willing to share my mailing address in Singapore with FTalkers in Europe, States & Canada and others. We need only to reimburse one another the re-mailing cost. Drop me a line if interested at [email protected]

Regards

Kal

If you need a US address that bad you can use mine and I'll forward your mail to you on a weekly or whatever basis. When I get over that way for business we can get together for dinner or drinks. Just as long as I'm not a clearinghouse a little extra mail won't kill the mail person. If your interested reply to my e-mail address. Just be advised when I travel on business it'll be a few weeks to forward.

[email protected]

For someone who also resides (sometimes) in Singapore, one can say from experience that one does not necessarily needs to have a US/Canadian address. Sometimes a promotion will be targetted to one particular country, but eventually it will all come round. However, most programmes targetting North American customers usually need you to travel within the US for promotions. In this case, it doesn't help unless you GO there to do the flights yourself.

Careful planning is all that is required. What are your needs and your travel patterns? Which programmes do you use most? Your current selection of NW, UA and AA is fine but have you thought of the 'rules' each of the programmes applies irrespective of where you live? UA for example only awards 0.5 points per mile on TG flights in economy class, and you cannot accrue any miles on AN unless you have flown UA transpacifically within 30 days. AA has very strict restrictions on BA flights when travelling transatlantic and CX flights all over. Check out STAR and oneworld's comparison charts. TG's programme might be better suited for you if you take TG most of the time or UA (you get full miles). If you travel CX or MH within the region, you might be better off with SR's Qualiflyer which award full points for both and neith TG nor SR require you to have a North American address. If you hate Krisflyer, there are other options too with a Singaporean address.

However, if you need it that bad as Scott The Flier added, you may use my addresses in England, Australia or Canada. There's a Singapore PO Box too, if you want !



[This message has been edited by Celestar340 (edited 07-03-1999).]

Gruezi Rudi!

quoting:
"or the special tf-line in the US for german-speaking-mileage-plus-members which is never occupied - I am never hold on line!"

Would you mind sharing that #? Is that only for Mileage Plus matters? Or can one take care of reservations matters as well? Das waere BESONDERS nuetzlich!