I am adjusting the content of my original message slightly as the moderator thought I was asking for help deciding where to go. The thread went dead when it got moved to travel, because I really don't need help with destinations, What I need is help deciding which FF program is the best for my needs.

Thank you to all who responded to my previous message before it got moved.

Which program is the best for International travel from SAN / LAX?

I plan on travelling quite a bit next year and I that what I need to do to maximize my miles and rewards is to fly all of my flights on a single carrier and / or it's partners. Thus my dilemma. I have scoured the web and researched the various Frequent Flyer programs but still can't determine which one I should use.

I know that CO won the Freddies for both Best Program and best Elite Program, but I have had issues with CO flights in the past.

Moreover, I don't really live near any Hub cities for any of the airlines. When I lived in Detroit is was simple, Northwest. When living in Seattle, Alaska... But now I live in San Diego... We have flights from everybody. Also, I wouldn't mind driving or hopping to LAX to catch my flights out of the country, but I can't seem to tell if they are a hub for anybody.

Trust me, I have done more FT program research than is probably necessary. But I still can't figure this out.

I stumbled upon FlyerTalk about a week ago and saw a golden opportunity to ask the experts... From reading the existing threads, I can tell that you all know alot more than I do about travel and FT programs... So I ask you, please help me figure this out. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I figure that I will be flying between 90k and 150k miles in 2001 and don't want to waste a single mile or dollar. I am pretty good at finding cheap flights online, but this whole FT thing has me stumped.


Thanks,

-Scott

I think this is the right forum for FF Program help, not Travel, which is where my other thread wound up. Moderator, if I am mistaken, I apologize in advance.

i did'nt see the previous thread, but would like to respond. where do you think you will be going? do you have a territory? europe or asia? more info would help.

Yesterday, I ran across an interesting thread in (if memory serves) the CO forum, but for the life of me cannot get into the forum @ this time, otherwise I would do a search & include the URL to the relevant thread.

The discussion was re: the pros & cons of UA vs CO re: travel for a given member (one who was considering switching from UA, & would be doing quite a bit of international travel [if memory serves]). The thread included discussions of aircraft, as well as differences re: international vs. domestic routes, & strengths/weaknesses re: various international markets.

In the end of the thread, the member who started the thread posted a very nice summary of the pros & cons of going w/ either carrier. He decided to stay w/ UA, given his travel profile, & I believe he was going to be moving to CA.

To what international destinations do you anticipate travelling?

[This message has been edited by ILTE_Miles (edited 09-10-2001).]

I plan on travelling 1 weekend a month to a host of different destinations (London, Glasgow, Tokyo, Madrid, Hong Kong, Bejing, Lisbon, etc...) I only get to go on weekend (Fri - Mon) trips because I don't really want to take too much time off from work. But I plan on doing at least 1 weekend trip / month. This way I figure I get a sample of a bunch of places and can decide where to take an extended vacation.

I left that out because I didn't want the moderators thinking I was trying to get destination advice again.

In the other thread, hindukid, suggested AA or UAL because they have great partners... so I have been focusing my research on those two.

I should have included this in my 1st post:


Old Thread that wasn't supposed to be about destinations

-S


[This message has been edited by scottstravel (edited 09-10-2001).]

You might want to consider flying AA and taking the Platinum Challenge (10,000 points in 90 days) so that you can get status on AA. Then you'll get 100% bonus miles and since your travel will be international, you'll also have lounge access. Check out http://fewmiles.tripod.com/AA/index.html for info on the AA program and their partners. You could possibly sign up for the Gold and the Platinum challenge at the same time, so that you'll get 25% bonus miles between the time you hit 5000 points but before you get 10000 points.

FWIW, I don't recall these rumors ever been substantiated. The "official line" from AA is that you must choose one or the other.

going to Europe I think that AA is the best program for you. Great route system and you can upgrade from any fare.

I Asia is your most likely travel then UA might be best as there route system is better to Asia for upgrading, but they do limit you to H fare or better for upgrade, except for SWU use.

CO might be it for domestic only travel with great mile earning capability and free upgrades. No one seems happy with their International upgrade rules though. i.e. HoKeY Fares.

If upgrading is your thing then AA might be the ticket for you. I live in DFW so it is a slam dunk for me. Good luck on your choice.

dallasflyer

The AA gold and Platinum suggestion was very astute. For those challenges does anything else besides flying count?
You may also wish to think about hotel ff programs. The Hilton HH has been very much discussed recently.

Just wanted to let you all know, that I appreciate all the help so far.

In the wake of today's events, I am still planning on my trips and every little pice of info helps.

-S

New pseudo problem -

Based on what you have all tole me, I am pretty much narrowed down to UA and AA.

Can anyone tell me which of these two is best for upgrades on international travel?

Also, would joining one of the Lounge Programs be a good idea? It looks like time at arports has increased dramatically, so I would assume that it might not be a bad plan. But, I have no idea what they are like, I have never been in them.

Thanks,

-S