Delta Skymiles or Who?
 

Hi Everyone,

My name is Matt and I am 15. I do a frequent amount of traveling, maybe at least 4 times a year, I will probably be traveling more now that my family moved to a pretty boring place so we will be going on lots of vacation. I am currently a Delta Skymilies member with 13000 milies. I also have a US Air Diveidends card with 1 thousand milies. I was wondering who would be the best like delta partner, continental northewest to have frequent flier card from. I probably will fly Delta most but you who will I get the most benefit from? If i switch to somones else will they maybe match my milies?

Thanks
Matt

Hi Matt, and welcome to FlyerTalk! Ah 15 years old, I'm very proud of you for being interested in frequent flyer miles at this fine age! :) I recall myself being the same age as you were when I started questing all this frequent flyer miles stuff.

First off, having 1,000 miles on US Airways is really worth nothing. Secondly, while others might disagree, I would not suggest earning mileage in their program because I have a real good feeling that this airline will become defunct in the coming year. I may be wrong, but I wouldn't feel comfortable accumulating mileage in a program where I'm not sure if the miles will be there for my use in the near future.

As for your 13,000 Delta miles, now you're getting somewhere. You mention that you will probably travel at least 4 times per year, depending on distance, you may or may not be able to obtain "elite" status on an airline. To obtain the entry elite level status, most airlines require you to fly at least 25,000 elite qualifying miles (EQMs), which is butt-in-seat miles, and accumulate each calandar year, January 1-December 31. A person's EQMs resets to zero upon each new calandar year. As for which program is ideal for you to earn elite status with, whether it be Delta, Continental, Northwest, or even American, United, etc. that would depend on your travel patterns and priorities. There is extensive information located on the various airline forums regarding the different elite programs offered to frequent travellers.

However, if you are not concerned with elite status or will not be flying enough to worry about obtaining elite status, then the ability to accrue and redeem miles is top priority for you. With having 13,000 Delta SkyMiles already, you're best bet is to keep Delta as your primary program. This way, anytime that you fly Delta, Northwest, or Continental, along with any of Delta's other SkyMiles partners, you can earn all your mileage into one program, this being your SkyMiles account. Keep in mind 25,000 SkyMiles is good for a free domestic ticket on Delta or its partners. It doesn't hurt to necessarily have a secondary/back-up program in case your travel plans might not allow for you to utilize your Delta SkyMiles account. Chose that secondary program based on the airline that would be an ideal backup. That generally is based on an airlines schedule which would provide the greatest convenience.

You might want to look into Southwest Airlines as well. If you do fly at least 4 roundtrips per year, Southwest will earn you a free ticket most likely after 4-5 roundtrips. They are the only airline to award you based on credits (not miles), which means they award you based on how much you fly, not how far you fly. So if scoring free travel is top priority for you, then Southwest would be a good way to go. Keep in mind with Southwest, you do have to earn 16 credits (one-way flight is one credit, regardless if nonstop or connecting, a roundtrip nets two credits. There is also a 2 credit sign up bonus, 4 credits if a college student) within a 1 year period. I would only advise the Southwest approach if you can earn 16 credits in one year, and of course, Southwest flies to the places you wish to visit.

Lastly, no airline will simply match your mileage balance. If they did that, we would have tons of happy people on this board travelling in every way possible, especially those who have account balances that are in the millions. Airlines will generally match elite status levels one-time only, however, that is simply a status match and nothing to do with your mileage balance.

Hope this is of help to you. Feel free to PM (private message) me if I can answer any other questions for you. I wish this board was around when I was 15, so you're in for a real treat (and an addiction!) browsing through all the forums here on FlyerTalk. This is the ultimate place to learn and stay up to date on all the airline, hotel, car rental, etc. programs and promotions out there today!

Welcome aboard! :)

Welcome to FT, Matt.
Feel free to peruse the all of the Airline Boards and do a search if you have specific questions . You will find that most Flyertakers are very happy to assist our newcomers. The Delta Forum can be a great source of information.
Obscure2k
Delta Moderator

Welcome, matt --

You're on the right track, you just want to take it one step further maybe, and think in terms of alliances rather than individual carriers.

Since you have 13,000 miles on Delta already, you're a SkyMiles member. While Delta flights give you SkyMiles, there are other carriers that will also allow you to earn SkyMiles, so when you think in terms of a "back-up" airline, think first about another airline in the same SkyTeam alliance. (Or, since some feel Sky Team is the weakest alliance, think in terms of shifting all of your travel, where possible, to one of the stronger alliances such as Star Alliance.)

If you decide to stay with Delta and SkyTeam, that would mean Korean Air, Alitalia, and Air France as partners on which you can earn SkyMiles. Continental and Northwest are also supposed to be joining it soon, I understand, and KLM is not far behind.

Also, I'm not sure if this willl work for a few years, but American Express has a credit card that earns Delta SkyMiles, and comes with a nice bonus for sign-up. I don't know what the minimum age is, or whether one of your parents could "co-sign" the application with you.

Finally, we might be able to give you more specific advice if you were to tell us where you will be located, and where you're likely to be flying to. That sort of thing can make a lot of difference in what airline (and what alliance) you choose.

Thanks
 

I having been flying for ages but since I am traveling more now are more interested in milies and so on. Us Airways/United are carriers I could be flying espcially when delta prices maybe high, since Us Air and United usually flights from Mississippi to were I want to go. I am traveling on US Air this summer, wanted to travel delta but but couldnt since flights didnt work out. Should I sign up and use United? I am also worried they could becoem defunct in the next couple of years. Next summer we are going europe on Air France, so I home to earn lots of sky milies then.

Thanks Again,
Matt

If you're planning a long trip, you should try to get elite status with Delta this year to maximize your gains next year.

I am going to try to, I had to travel on US Air once this summer unfortunately.

Mat

If me, I would personally sign to United's Mileage Plus program and then use that account for any future United or US Airways flights that you may take. Again, I just have more faith about the long term outlook of the Mileage Plus program opposed to the Dividend Miles program.