PDX based flyer; which FF program should I concentrate on
 

I apologize if this is not the right forum for this question.

I am moving to Portland (PDX) and I am confused which airline to concentrate my loyalty on.

For the next 18 months, bulk of my flying will be bimonthly PDX-IND: start late night on Friday and return late night on Sunday (Want to mazimize the time in IND).

Currently I am Plat on AA, Silver on DL.

I don't drink alcohol and sleep pretty well even in Y. So, upgrades normally don't matter a lot to me.

In the next few years, I want redeem Y awards to Hawaii, Carribean, South America (Brazil/Argentina/Chile/Peru), Australia/New Zealand and of course last minute PDX-IND if required.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

PDX is a hub for AS. Interestingly, they are partners for both DL and AA, which doesn't seem to make much sense.

I would have gone with AS. But on my regular flights PDX-IND, there probably wont be any segments on AS.

Well there is an AS flight from PDX-ORD then an AA regional from ORD-IND..

pdx-ind rt via ord is ~ 4k mi....so, 9 trips is 36k.....sans other paid flying, not much for your award trips....so you need to get into the cc churn cycle...

but, you should try to concentrate the commute & vacation trips on i carrier along w/the carrier cc if a bonus is available....

OP can maybe status match to AS MVP which is 100% bonus miles which is beneficial..

Thanks for overwhelming vote for AS.

I did some research and here are the options for the flights that I found suit my schedule. Of course schedule can change anytime.

Options PDX-IND
UA PDX (2130)-EWR-IND (9AM)
UA PDX (1120PM)-ORD-IND (9AM)
US PDX (1030PM)-CLT-IND (930AM) (Seasonal)

AS PDX(5PM)-LAX-DL-IND(5AM)
DL PDX(11PM)-ATL-IND(10AM)

AS PDX(930PM)-SEA-AA-ORD-IND (8:35AM)

Return
UA IND(7PM)-ORD-PDX (10:30PM)
UA IND(5PM)-IAH-PDX(11:30PM)
US IND(6PM)-PHX-PDX (11PM) (Seasonal)

AA IND(5PM)-DFW-PDX (10:30PM) (Seasonal)

DL IND(730PM)-MSP-PDX (11PM) (Seasonal)

This wide variation is what has confused me. My current strategy would be credit *A routes to UA, AS/DL to AS and AA to AA. If redeeming AS is as easy as AA, I may even consider crediting AA to AS.

I understand that with my flying pattern, I would hit the super elite level of any airline next year. But I am not sure if it is worth the extra money I would have to shell out in choosing the flights which earn me credit.

Should I rethink my strategy?

No, it's 50%. Which is still better than UA/DL/AA 25%. ;)

AS MVPG is 100%. Which is better than UA 50%. ;)

It sounds to me like what you want is as many miles as humanly possible ("In the next few years, I want redeem Y awards to Hawaii, Carribean, South America (Brazil/Argentina/Chile/Peru), Australia/New Zealand and of course last minute PDX-IND if required.")

AS MVPG75K (75,000 miles on AS only, 90K on AS+partners) gives you a 50,000 RDM bonus. That by itself is a big chunk of a Y trip. You would also get no checked luggage fees and better Y seating on AS/AA/DL at at least the AS MVP level (which as mentioned you should be able to match to), and (this one is important) no change fees on tickets/awards booked through AS. AS also has partnerships with LA (S. America) and CX/QF (Australia/NZ).

The big caveat with AS is AS allows only one partner + AS on an award, and no partner one-ways (yet, they're working on it)- you can't fly AS/AA to IND, AS/DL from IND.

AS, AA and DL awards are searchable online on alaskaair.com. I've found the AS partner award desk easy to deal with over the years (for the ones that are not). There is a $25 fee for partner awards that you can't avoid (it's basically the only fee AS will charge a Gold).

It seems to me that if you truly want to be agnostic about status because upgrades are unimportant, AS's program is the one for you, since you can put DL/AA/AS miles in that bucket, leaving all your *A flights to UA...

Good call! This is what happens when you post at 2AM :D

Thanks a lot for the replies. If AS status matches me to MVP Gold, I would credit my AA flights to AS as well. Otherwise, I would be crediting AA to AA this year and credit AA to AS from next year and shoot for MVP Gold 75K next year.

Not an important point. But does anybody know if I can use my sticker upgrades on AA (I have qualified as Plat until 2/2014) despite crediting the flight to AS?

Plat should match to MVPG. I'd probably ask your other question in the AA forum.

Just the thread I was looking for. PDX based as well and just started concentrating on miles & points. The community's experience and wisdom are greatly appreciated.

I currently have AS MVP and UA Silver (left over from my east coast days).

2012 had me fly mostly Denver west locations (SFO, SJC, LA area, SAN, DEN, SLC, PHX, YYR, etc) with a few east coast & mid-west trips thrown in there. I am on track for about 60-70 segments in 2012 split between AS and UA evenly but barely 60-65K total miles flown.

I enjoy the few perks MVP and Silver provide but Gold seems like a significant step up.

What can I do better in 2013 if I am anticipating a similar year in order to maximize miles and status?
AS and UA seem to have the most nonstop flights from PDX but I'm open to other airline suggestions for 2013.

Vacations spots on the dream list are Hawaii, South/Central America (Costa Rica, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina), and Europe (I know that's broad but we haven't nailed down locations and dates yet). Asia at some point.

Thank you all for your advice in advance!

Sticker upgrades can only be used in association with your AA number. If you want the perks of AA, credit to AA :)