New to "Frequent" Flyer Programs
Jan 13, 2013 | 10:02 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: In between continents.
Posts: 14
New to "Frequent" Flyer Programs
Hi, I'm really new to this and sorry if this has been posted a million times but I couldn't find any previous threads that relate to my situation.
I'm not a Ryan Bingham or a frequent flyer in comparison to the pros on this board but I do fly at least twice a year since one of my parents lives in Asia and the other lives in California, and I go to university in North Carolina. So I fly from RDU roundway to PUS or SFO at least once or twice a year for break. I figure that since I'll be making these trips for quite a while, I might as well get something out of it.
I usually fly DL/KAL and thought I start accruing mileage with DL since they are part of the same alliance as KAL and their miles never expire. But I've been seeing a lot of hate on the Skymiles program. So now my question is, is it just better to get a travel card like Chase Freedom/Sapphire or an AMEX card and forgo airline "loyalty" or should I stick to an airline and just accrue miles with them (namely Delta since I find their service a lot better than AA or UA)?
I'm not a Ryan Bingham or a frequent flyer in comparison to the pros on this board but I do fly at least twice a year since one of my parents lives in Asia and the other lives in California, and I go to university in North Carolina. So I fly from RDU roundway to PUS or SFO at least once or twice a year for break. I figure that since I'll be making these trips for quite a while, I might as well get something out of it.
I usually fly DL/KAL and thought I start accruing mileage with DL since they are part of the same alliance as KAL and their miles never expire. But I've been seeing a lot of hate on the Skymiles program. So now my question is, is it just better to get a travel card like Chase Freedom/Sapphire or an AMEX card and forgo airline "loyalty" or should I stick to an airline and just accrue miles with them (namely Delta since I find their service a lot better than AA or UA)?
Jan 13, 2013 | 10:45 pm
#2
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,657
I don't think there's anything wrong with accruing Delta miles. That's not incompatible with the other option, getting an Amex or Chase card. You can use those card(s) for your spending, and still accrue miles on your flights. If you really want Delta miles, you can get a Delta credit card and earn miles on all of your spending. If you want flexibility, you can get the Chase or Amex cards you mention, which transfer to a variety of partners.
By the way, you may not be limited to Skyteam airlines because KE is in that alliance. It looks after a quick search like any DL/KE flights from RDU to PUS is going to require two connections. If you're making two stops anyway, then there isn't necessarily much of an advantage to flying KE, and you could fly another airline. For example you could fly on AA/JL, going RDU-ORD-NRT-PUS. Flying United, you can go RDU-SFO-ICN-PUS. And you may prefer UA because it has nonstops to SFO (of course, if you want to accrue more miles, you may prefer more stops, not fewer!).
If you flew to PUS once and SFO twice you'd have enough miles for a free r/t in the U.S. So it's definitely worth racking up some miles. If you prefer DL, there's no reason not to accrue DL miles. They do get a bad rap in some contexts but I've had a pretty good experience with them. The only reason to hesitate would be because it's rumored that their award program might get revamped (in a bad way) this year. But that's just rumor. If you do like them, then I'd go with it.
The only thing to make sure is that, whatever you pick, you make sure that all of your flights are with that alliance going forward. When you don't fly all that much, it's annoying to have 10-15k miles in two or three different accounts.
By the way, you may not be limited to Skyteam airlines because KE is in that alliance. It looks after a quick search like any DL/KE flights from RDU to PUS is going to require two connections. If you're making two stops anyway, then there isn't necessarily much of an advantage to flying KE, and you could fly another airline. For example you could fly on AA/JL, going RDU-ORD-NRT-PUS. Flying United, you can go RDU-SFO-ICN-PUS. And you may prefer UA because it has nonstops to SFO (of course, if you want to accrue more miles, you may prefer more stops, not fewer!).
If you flew to PUS once and SFO twice you'd have enough miles for a free r/t in the U.S. So it's definitely worth racking up some miles. If you prefer DL, there's no reason not to accrue DL miles. They do get a bad rap in some contexts but I've had a pretty good experience with them. The only reason to hesitate would be because it's rumored that their award program might get revamped (in a bad way) this year. But that's just rumor. If you do like them, then I'd go with it.
The only thing to make sure is that, whatever you pick, you make sure that all of your flights are with that alliance going forward. When you don't fly all that much, it's annoying to have 10-15k miles in two or three different accounts.
Jan 14, 2013 | 5:16 am
#3
In Memoriam
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: dallas texas usa
Programs: aa plt 4.9MM LTAC
Posts: 14,828
flying 25k gets the low tier status on most all carriers....so staying on 1 alliance can get award mi bonus, free checked bags & other benes....
however, flying as little as you do, i would always check for the low bidder on orbitz/other....
however, flying as little as you do, i would always check for the low bidder on orbitz/other....