help me with the decision!!!
 

Hello everyone.

I am thinking of joining frequent flyer program or reward program. But can’t seem to decide what I should do in my situation.

Please, help me with the decision!!!

Here is my situation.

I and my wife fly at least ones a year when we take vacation. At the most we may fly 2, very rear 3 times a year. One flight is usually international – Europe, Caribbean, Mexico. Other flights are local.

I am looking at United and American AA frequent flyer programs and also at American Express rewards program which allows getting hotel stays, car rental and other merchandise. It also allows converting points into miles. But I read that when I do that American Express charges extra point for that. Is it true?

I am also looking at cash back programs, like True earnings from American Express and Costco.

I will really appreciate all the input from you guys.

Thank a lot.

First, welcome to FT! I will say that when I first joined I thought that I would fly only once or twice a year, but now I must (at least I think I must) be an elite -- all thanks to FT. So, you might end up like me. Anyway.

The answer, I think (I won't say IMO because for a newbie it is VERY confusing), depends on where you live. I have heard that it is easier to get reward tickets on AA than UA, but don't quote me on that. If you are making your decision on price alone, Northwest might be good because they are usually fairly cheap compared to other airlines. Northwest might also be good because you can earn miles in your NW account when flying on Delta or Continental. I, as well as many other people, stress NOT to join Onepass.

As for AA, they do have a good FF program. In fact, Consumer Reports just rated AAdvantage as being the best FF program. You say that you will fly to the Caribbean and Mexico. AA has the best presence in both areas, as well as in Europe.

I personally enjoy UA because they have economy plus (more legroom at a cheap economy price), somewhat wider seats in economy, and channel 9 (where you can listen to air traffic control). On UA you can earn miles while flying on US Airways, and you can earn miles while flying on Lufthansa.

Almost all airlines now have a credit card option where you can earn miles, and even some have the ability to earn elite qualification miles with a certain amount of money spent.

Again, the best answer might depend on where you live, but I hope I helped.

thank you for reply.
It seems that place of residence play an important role for choosing the program.
Sorry, did not thing about this. I live in south California

thanks

aa can get you to the carribean & to mexico & europe....i do suggest that you look at aa & ua's partners, both for earning & redeeming mi's...i am not really familar w/ua, only fly them 2 or 3 times a year...put your wish list together & match it w/ both airlines and their partners, it might help in your decision...also spend a lot of time following them in these forums...good luck!

You may find the How to Begin section of my website below to be of interest.

thanks pgary

Actually I am reading your web site right now. Very informative. A lot of information. Will take me a few days to finish it, especially with all the links to the good articles that you reference

Any thoughts on American express reward card any one?

I recommend you visit the AA/UA fora. A little bit of searching and some time spent reading the stickies will give you a lot of insight into both airlines.

One of the AAdvantages (pun intended) of AA is their undocumented elite status "challenges". You and your wife can earn gold or platinum status with just one trip to Europe. Then you start earning bonus miles with your flights and have access to first class check-in. There's a sticky at the top of the AA forum that explains this in detail.

Won't the OP have to earn elite status with UA before having access to economy plus?

I used to primarily use UA with AA in secondary, but I've switched that since I've found out booking award travel with AA seems to be MUCH easier than with UA...

It doesn't cost anything to sign up for FF programs, so go ahead and sign up for both AA and UA. The AMEX starpoints card allows for transfer to about 20 different airline programs, and gives a 5K bonus when you transfer 20K. I just found out, however on another thread, that you get 1:1 when you transfer to AA, but only 1:2 when transferring to UA. I vote for AA. In fact I am flying to San Diego on Friday from Chicago. I think AA has less expensive net-saaver fares and is pretty good to/from Southern California.

Bolding above is mine. Could you please clarify? I thought that card gave a 5K bonus for each 20K transferred. :confused:

Sorry for the typo. You are right. You get the 5K bonus when you transfer 20K.

[QUOTE=dgordon]It doesn't cost anything to sign up for FF programs, so go ahead and sign up for both AA and UA.


Can you clarify for me this, please? Isn’t sign up mean getting one of theirs AA or UA credit cards which run around $60 a year membership fee?
If that the case then what do you mean by : “It doesn't cost anything to sign up for FF programs”

Excuse me for my ignorance in this matter.

Thanks

You do not need an affinity credit card in order to belong to a frequent flyer program. Many people do not have credit cards, but get miles for flying the airline. Just go to aa.com, and united.com and sign up. You will then be members of their frequent flyer programs and get miles for flying their airline. If you then apply for a credit card, you would put in you exisitng ff# to be attached to that credit card. It does not cost anything to belong.

i see now.

thank you very much

AApoke strongly advises NOT to join OnePass which is Continental's ff program. Keep in mind that there may be some people who are very satisfied with OnePass. I am one of them. Each program has its advantages and disadvantages. Check them all out and go with the one that best suits you.

I think the best advice is to sign up with them all. You will most likely go with an airline naturally (more flights, cheaper, better connections). But if you find a good deal on one airline that is not your main airline, you can still earn miles.

I have AA as my main and UA and CO as my back-ups. Sometimes my flights have to go on one of the back-ups and as least I know I am still getting miles even if not the status

I'd say check the routes on the airlines you're interested in.

I really think that for southern California and flying "light," it's going to be United and WN. ;)

While not applicable for the OP's traveling habits, UA does sell access into E+ for an annual fee now.

I agree. Join them all, get an AA and UA credit card if you're interested, and just fly what's most convienent until you get preferences.

As another So Cal resident, I second the notion to go with AA. Their EXP desk is great and the ability to use the Starwood AMEX card to get the extra 5K bonus as stated above is really a plus. Also, I fly to JFK quite a bit and AA schedule is very convenient....

Sign up for every program you might possibly be interested in. Pick your first few flights by schedules and fares. You'll soon see a pattern. Focus on whichever airline it is.

Don't get an affinity card until you've picked an airline. Get a Starwood AmEx, which (as noted earlier) lets you transfer your points to whichever program you end up with down the road. You also need Visa/MC for places that don't take AmEx. If you can afford $95 and think you'll use it enough to justify the fee, get a Diners Club card. It's accepted everywhere MC is and you can also transfer its points to just about any airline program. (If you go this route, find a DC member to refer you. It gets him/her a thousand points or so for the referral and it has no downside to anyone. Many FTers would volunteer to serve if you don't know one already.)

Thank you all for all the info.

I think I started to get an idea how it all works. A long way to go though.

I notice that “starwood from AmEx” is very popular.
Doing my research I found that “Preferred Reward green card” from Amex also allows to transfer point 1 to 1 to 11 FF programs. Which is as flexible as Starwood card. It also gets you 2point per $1 is gas stations, supermarkets, drugstore. Of course it has a hefty fee of $110. but nobody seems to mention, this card on the forum. Is it not popular because of the fee or some other reasons?

Thank you

If you spend $20,000 per year on the Starwood card, you will end up with 25,000 miles when transferring to most airlines. If you spend $20,000 per year on the "Preferred Reward green card", and want 25,000 miles, $5,000 of the $20,000 would need to be at gas stations, supermarkets, and drugstores, or around $100/week. Discount stores like Costco, Sam's, and BJ's don't count, even if you are buying gas, groceries, or drugs. Neither do Walmart, Target, etc.
In addition, some people find that the Starwood points are more valuable used to get hotel rooms at Starwood properties, so they never convert them to miles.
Some FT'ers are single and travel heavily. This cuts down on their CC usage for gas, groceries, and drugs, and they put a lot of charges on their cards for airfare, hotels, car rentals, and restaurants. Your situation may be entirely different, so you will have to evaluate which card is best for you, not for some other poster.