OK. So, I'm not a huge FF... I have some miles in all different places and am wondering what the best way of utilizing them to get from LAX to Germany (preferably in biz class) this summer (World Cup - yay!) would be.

I have 45K or so on UAL and NWA each, ~20K on AA, ~55K Amex, and 30K Diners. Maybe a few more here and there... Tickets right now look to be ~$1500 for coach. Any suggestions for putting these to use?

TIA

Have you checked to see how many miles it would take to fly where you want, when you want?

You can convert some of those miles/points into one airline as shown at mileage converter.
http://www.webflyer.com/programs/mileage_converter/
That can give you an idea. As you'll learn from FT, having lots of accounts with a relative few miles in each is not where you want to be.

On UA, a saver award could be had for 50k miles, or business for 80k.

That rises to 80k/150k for Standard awards - it will depend on dates and availability.

Any mileage converter will usually offer you a very poor conversion ratio.

I am unfamiliar with the AmEx and Diners Club programs, but you should check those to see about transferring to the airline programs - the ratios should be better than the other methods.

Also, you can look at getting a UA credit card for a bonus - I recently got the UA card for 20k miles and no fee first year. When they kept sending me new card offers, I did it again!

You might want to get the UA Mileage Plus credit card. With the current bonuses (do a search in that forum) at about 20k, this will put you in close range for a BC ticket to Germany. You would just need to spend the 5k more or less to get to your goal.

Speaking of credit cards, I would get the AA and NWA cards for the free bonuses if you don't mind your credit score taking a small dip.

With the free ticket on UA, you could use the other airlines (NW, AA) on their partners to jet around Europe to other venues to get away from the football madness :-)

In a word, "consolidate."

Pick a carrier and stick with them, and you could also get a CC with your airline of choice as well.

Mark

Well, first of all, 80k J awards to Europe for the World Cup might be hard to come by. Before shuffling miles/points around, first check availability and see if you can get something booked and put on hold.

Different airlines are more or less lenient on award holds. Signing up for all of the credit cards for the airline signup bonuses is a great idea in general, but sometimes they take their sweet time posting. Amex and Diner's could be your aces in the hole as you can expedite the movement of points to miles. If Airline X says "We've got your ticket, but you have 2 weeks to find the miles", Diner's might be able to help, but a new MC/Visa account would not.

I believe that Amex transfers 1:1 to almost any airline & I know that Diners' does with payment of a small fee.
RU going alone or with a friend & how important is it that you & your friend fly together on the same planes?

First check availability on several possible airlines incl. their partners.
If U empty Amex & Diners' ($28.50 fee) into either UA or NW, U will have 130K NW or 139K UA due to a bonus, but Diners' to UA must be done before Dec. 31/2005 for the 30% bonus (= 9K) & after April 27/2006 can't be done at all .

Of your airlines, only AA can be converted to Hilton points--enough 4A free night at a Hilton in Paris or 4 free nights in Scandic HOtels.

Don't convert more Amex or DC than U need for your ticket, as they can also be converted to any major hotel program.