Hello everyone. This is my first post.

I was wondering if anyone has suggestions on how I can get enough miles/points to earn a trip to Manila by mid-January 2001?

I am so new to this that I am not sure if I should just decide on an airline then try to get all the miles through them or should I try to rack up points through sites like www.webmiles.com?

Are the points available through sites similiar to webmiles.com good on any airline?

I hope the rest of my postings are not so elementary and naive. I will learn as much as I can about FF programs.

Thanks,Ron

Hi Ron

What I get from your e-mail is that you don't have any affiliation with any airline yet and are looking to do an award ticket with a carrier. What I would do is try to accumulate as many points/miles with a carrier that services Manila through whatever means available, ie: Clickmiles, Hotel pint transfers if available, actual flights, bonuses offered by the carrier. Do some research on who you would want to fly on and then post under the applicable airline thread and get as many ideas from them as possible. And a big welcome to the board.

Cheers Scott

I see you are from the midwest. I recommend that you choose Northwest Airlines because they have one of the most generous ff programs and also have the most frequent service from midwestern cities to Manila. Good luck!

I would agree with Paul3456 for you to consider Northwest Airlines. Since you are planning a trip to Manila for 2001, you still have a lot of time to earn miles. With Northwest, you can switch your phone to Sprint and earn 25,000 miles over 5 months! If you are able to do this a couple of times, you may be well on your way to a free ticket to Manila. I don't recall any other airline which is offering such generous telephone transfer mileage bonus at this time. Gook luck.

Holy mackrel! I was just going to edit my original post to ask which credit card everyone recommends and I find replies to my original query already!!

Thank you very much.

So, is there a credit card that I should be applying for that will help me garner miles?

Best Regards, Ron

rnmcd, welcome to FlyerTalk...

I'm kinda partial to both Diner's Club (fee) & the Am Ex Starwood/Starpoints card (no fee).

Diner's gives 2 pts./$, but 2pts.=1 mile. They sometimes have bonus conversions to airlines. Diner's will give you 24K points as a new member (=to 12K miles). If you let me refer you , I'll get 6K points for the referral. If you then refer someone else, you would get the bonus too. Diner's points can be used on virtually all domestic airlines.

Starpoints card gives a 5,000 mile bonus when you transfer 20,000 points to an airline (theoretically giving you a free domestic ticket for 20K instead of 25K). You get 2 pts./$ spent on purchases (3/$ for stays at Sheraton, Westin & other Starwood properties). The CC also gives you Gold level elite membership in the Starwood hotel program for 1 year. Not sure if they are running any sign-on bonuses now, but you can go to the AmEx website & check. There's a drop-down list of all their cards.

I've dropped my AmEx Gold card of 30 years & my UA Mileage Plus Visa in favor of these 2 cards. I'm very happy with both.

There are MANY other options for mileage-earning cards; Delta Plat./Gold AmEx, Hilton AmEx, Marriott, AA, Chase, etc. These are just my experiences.



[This message has been edited by shadow (edited 04-20-2000).]

Thanks for the info shadow. I will use you as a referral if I apply for the Diner's Club card.

I did check out the American Express card. I think they may have renamed it: Sheraton/Starpoints. According to their information they are only offering 1 point/$1 spent. Are their points good for any airline?

-Ron

rnmcd,

There is also a NW Visa card available through US Bank. Currently you get 5,000 miles to sign up. It is listed on the NW website.

rnmcd: Once you get enough points to go to MNL, let me know if you want some info. I've been to MNL several times so I might be able to help you in that regard.

As far as FF programs, your best bet is NW.

Thanks for everyone's assistance.

Is it possible to combine the Northwest Worldperks miles with the miles I obtain through sites like Milesource.com?

I checked my Worldperks miles and I see my balance is 10,000 miles (I don't recall getting that many miles but I won't argue). Is it feasible for me to obtain the additional 35,000 miles in 8 months for a free ticket?

-Ron from Iowa

Well...it certainly sounds like you are on your way. Call sprint and get them to give you 25K over 5mos to switch your tele, they may tell you there is no such offer, but many on here are still getting so be pleasant but persistant, and if you have no luck call back the next day and talk to someone new. Also be sure to register your e-mail address for an extra 1K miles. Also sign up for the Dining for miles program (its free) and links to any CC. Go check out www.mileageworkshop.com for other good ideas and the links. Then say thanks to Mileage Addict for this great website.

Also as soon as you see you can get enough points, call the airline and see if they will book you the award ticket even though you dont have the points yet, you will probably have to convince them that the miles are on the way, but award tickets get tougher to get as the date nears.

Hope this helps!