Probably a stupid question, perhaps I am missing something obvious, but…

I see the mega- churn posters talk about “million miles in a year” or some other great number. But when I see their details – it’s spread amongst many cards.

In my mind, 100,000 on USAIR + 100,000 on DELTA + 100,000 on UA is NOT 300,000.

(It’s just an example, not specifics or real numbers…)

Is there some way of magically combining these? Am I missing the point? Or the fine print?

If I were trying to accumulate 500K miles, it would be for two business class tickets, together, to Europe, not several different domestic coach fares…no?

100K x 3 is 300K No one said they were all in one program. And no, you cannot combine them (there are a few exceptions like BA's household acct.).

You need to decide what airline you are going to fly & what they charge for two Business tix to Europe. Then, apply for the cards that will achieve that goal. Two Bus. class tix will only cost you 100K each if you fly US-Europe on AA, as an example. Do some homework on the routing & airlines you want to use and then start applying for the appropriate cards.

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And miles in one program can be redeemed on any of a number of partner carriers. UA miles, for example, can be redeemed on UA, US, or any other Star Alliance carrier. The same with US miles. But each program has its own redemption rates, fees, and rules.

Welcome to FlyerTalk.

I have moved your question to the MilesBuzz! forum because it is not specifically about Credit Card Programs. There are dozens of ways to earn miles, most do not involve credit cards.

Some programs offer one-way redemptions for half the miles of a round-trip. This means you could fly one direction on American Airlines and return on United Airlines, and in this example AA + UA do combine to provide meaningful value.

Clearly 'orphan' miles are of no use, but learning how to redeem miles effectively and efficiently is a lot more research and work than earning them. I would hate to have all my miles in one program and have no availability on that particular program for the trip I want. As has been noted, many (most other than Delta and US) programs allow one-way travel for half the miles of roundtrip, so you can piece together a trip.
Also, everyone has different needs and wants. You might want two simple roundtrip business class tickets to Paris; I want 4 tickets to the opposite side of the globe each November with as many open jaws, stopovers and 23 hour layovers as possible in ~10 days. I would gladly ride in the baggage compartment if that's what it takes to show my kids the world.

As others have noted, earning is part of the equation. Learning to spend miles wisely and efficiently is the second part. Learning about the various airline programs and alliances will give you the necessary background. To take an extreme example, I could easily blow 50K RT on a coach seat to get from ORF to JFK--or I could spend 9K for the same seat.

Research will also reveal how to use the miles for exactly the type of travel you want to do. Biz class on international flights is a fine goal, one that many here have. I started out thinking solely in terms of miles for redemptions, but because I'm in a decent financial position in my life, I've discovered that using miles to upgrade a seat paid for in cash may be my best option--thus, I've learned my strategy is not necessarily flying for free but instead taking the money I was already spending and getting a better class of travel. My best option is not necessarily your best option, however (and would be a terrible strategy for a young person in an entry-level job who might simply be looking for cheap or free flights so he can visit his girlfriend 2000 miles away), which is why you have to do the research to see what works best for you.

Saying that 100K in US, 100K in UA, and 100K in AA doesn't add up to 300K airline miles is similar to saying that $100 and Ł100 and €100 don't add up to something around $400 (using rough currency exchange numbers here)--the airline miles may be in different currencies, but they each have value. I hope you're here to get more information to help you find out that value for you.

I don't know...would you? Are 2 J seats to Europe what you want?

When I accumulate Star Alliance miles (the US and UA miles in your example), I'm usually after long-haul J. Using your example, that would be two J seats to Europe on the same flights, one redeemed with the 100k US and one redeemed with the 100k UA.

When I accumulate BA Avios, it's about half for domestic U.S. coach and half for Aer Lingus coach.

I agree that saying "I have 500,000 total miles" isn't necessarily useful information, but people around here are generally pretty conscious of avoiding leaving large swaths of orphaned miles lying around.

It really depends on your needs and wants. For some people, families for instance, several domestic coach fares can get them to vacation destinations (if they didn't get a WN Companion Pass) and are more "valuable" to them than 2 business class tickets to Europe.

as mentioned above, one ways

also, two alliance carriers for one ticket each on same itin

ONE set of awards doesnt have to be ONE program

I agree that 10K on 20 different airlines is not as good as 200K on one airline.

But 400K on each of 5 airlines is probably better than 2M on one.

I personally have 400K+ in each of the following programs: US/AA (counting these as one), Chase UR, Amex MR, and Delta. I'm a little light on United but I consider Chase to be a good option for United. Thus, if I want a couple of biz class overseas tickets, I have quite a few options. (I have 200+ in each of AA and US.)

+1. Diversity is ideal if you can do it without sacrificing your desired elite tiers to get it.

You're in a good spot with US elite status (and thus free access to *A partner awards), Delta, and two flexible sources of miles...