IMO, FTers could do a better job rating cars than CR will ever do rating FF programs. :p

Not sure what the methodology is, but if it's award redemption, this list is garbage.

US and UA should be next to each other (they redeem on each other and the same Star partners)

NW, CO, and DL should be next to each other, as they all redeem on each other and the same SkyTeam partners.

(oops - wrong thread!)

I'm still waiting for mine to arrive to see the comparison. Seems like a long delay between the first poster.

I like NW for reasons I won't explain so no one swamps NW with their presense, but I still don't know if they're THAT high...

I'm still waiting for mine to arrive to see the comparison. Seems like a long delay between the first poster.

My Oct CR arrived yesterday. The ff article is unfortunately quite lame ie not up to the usual CR standards. It seems mostly the fault of the ff programs becoming unbelievely complex with qualifiers such as "only in the 48 states", "only in the 49 states", CO stating Hawaii fights to be international, different mileage requirements and opportunities for different elite levels etc. Most read like the IRS tax code and also have the unpublished (hidden) rules. Far to complex for a 1-3 page CR or anybody summary.

MisterNice

consumer reports
 

My consumer reports hard copy still hasn't arrived but I believe they
write for a very general audience and are not as well traveled as FT.

I'm sure the article won't exceed my expecations. After over one
million miles on both AA and UA, I value FT inputs from those whose
knowledge comes from actual expereince.

I'll let you know my opinion FWIW.

My experience would be that CO is better than DL. I have not had any problems redeeming from YVR on CO, flexibility helps. I tried redeeming YVR-LHR using Skymiles last December, they could get me there on CO but returning on DL to Cincinnati on to NY then stuck. Onepass got me the same flights to LHR on CO, the same DL flight to Cincinnati then home on DL via SLC. I even booked 3 reward tickets to MCO without any problem using Onepass. I also find the service a lot better on CO vs DL. Just my personal experiences over the last 10 years.

I agree. CR should stick to rating products and services that consumers have a hard time evaluating for themselves. It's not hard to look at award charts, partnership arrangements and the airline route maps. Then, decide which program is right for you based on your travel patterns.

This reminds me of the food product taste tests they often do. So, more people liked Diet Pepsi than Diet Coke -- what do I care? I have more expertise in determining which tastes better to me. Tell me which washing machines are most reliable.