My son is flying to paris on air france on july 12. The ticket was purchased through student universe. He is not a member of any frequent flyer program. Anything I should be doing for him? TIA

What airline is he flying on? The first thing I would do is see if there are any sign up bonuses for this airline, then use that means to sign him up in their frequent flyer program. If he will be staying in hotels, you might want to see if they are partners with the same airline, and have him give his ff# when he checks in to get even more miles. Hope this helps.

Sign him up for DL's FFP. DL gives miles for AF flights.

If I sign him up on delta ffp, do I register him with sky team? Do I need to call af with either the delta or sky team #'s? Are there any sign up bonuses available? A lot of ?'s, I know, thanks for your consideration!

You could also sign him up w/ Continental's OnePass program, & obtain OnePass mileage credit for the Air France flight.

http://onepass.continental.com/infocenter.htm


As a student, he could avail himself of the Continental AmEx student travel program (FYI, he'd get 1,500 miles for first time use of the program).

http://home4.americanexpress.com/blu...ent_travel.asp


You could also follow up (not necessarily right away) w/ a purchase of a Continental OnePass Privilege Pack, for $99, which includes 7,500 bonus miles, as well as a $99 companion certificate, space available upgrade certs, & Presidents Club airport lounge passes.

With the miles earned from the Paris flight, plus the miles obtained from a Privilege Pack purchase, he would be not-so-far-away from an off-peak domestic award flight.

Note also that Continental 0nePass miles can not only be earned from flights w/ other carriers, they can also be redeemed for award flights w/ other carriers.

Additionally, FYI, an AmEx card enrolled in the Membership Rewards program allows one to earn 1 mile per $ charged...the miles can be transferred into a Continental OnePass account, or used to obtain $-off or companion certs for use w/ Continental (though I don't believe a Student AmEx can be enrolled in the program; if your son was a secondary on a card which was eligible, the points earned could be transferred as miles to his OnePass account). Note that one can also purchase OnePass miles.


There are various options, of course. The Continental program is just one of them...

[This message has been edited by ILTE_Miles (edited 07-07-2001).]

I do not think you can credit transatlantic Air France flights on Continental, but I may be wrong.
True that you can credit on a new Delta airlines (Skymiles) account that you can create by calling them or even on-line. They are partners in skyteam. As far as I know, there is no bonus for joining.
You can also open an Air France Frequence Plus account. You can find various discussions about comparison between Frequence Plus and Skymiles. On Air France, there is a bonus for joining. I your son grab a form in CDG he can get 3000 miles when suscribing (for free).
If his ticket is not a cheap one (first business or coach full fare); I can get you a better bonus, but I do notthink this will be the case..)

Air France is a partner of Continental's. And I will vouch for their Privilege Pack (which can only be purchased the first year of membership). I would vote for Continental simply because of the ease of dealing with an American airline when you are American. The Privilege Pack will more than make up for any Air France bonuses.

Okay, if we're "voting", I'll cast mine...

I'd vote for Continental also, because of the many advantages & overall options available in the program. That we're talking about a student in the U.S., Continental's having a student travel program is a big plus. Continental's partner network, & the reciprocal agreements re: mileage earning & award redemption, make for flexibility that, in the end, does not limit one to flying only on CO metal (even for award flights), or booking only w/ CO (even for award flights). The award redemption levels for domestic travel are among the lowest in the industry.

Lastly, FYI, the rates cited for the student travel program are NOT necessarily the rates you'd get--they're technically the maximum--you CAN get lower.

I went with the most votes and registered him with continental. Should I call a/f with his # or have him give it to them when he registers at the airport? TIA

I would call in it to AF ahead of time. One less thing to worry about at the airport.

Both--cover the bases.

Give the OnePass # to the AirFrance folks, & then call back & check, to ensure that someone else reading the reservation sees your son's OnePass # being associated w/ the reservation (have them read it to you).

If he is traveling in a high school group, you have to make sure he understands the importance of registering the frequent flyer number. Sometimes groups are processed by a guide who doesn't want to be bothered with frequent flyer numbers, and the student may go up to a counter. I would definitely call and put the number on the record in advance if you could.

Last month my daughter flew from Barcelona to Milan on Alitalia, and the guide insisted that she wouldn't get Northwest miles (as I had told her) and wouldn't let her go check.