Hello all. Found this site a short while ago. FlyerTalk is awesome!

This is my first post. I hope I am leaving it in the correct forum.

I recently started in a new position travelling 2 weeks a month that has me covering WI, IL, IN and all states west of Missippippi river. I fly out of Madison WI. I have been flying NWA and am currently about 1/2 way to Silver Elite after 2 months. I am trying to compare all the FF programs to see which will work best for me and am looking for some guidance from all the experienced travellers that are here.

I have been viewing messages on all the airline forums to get better educated. Seems like each airline has it's share of complainers and defenders so I am not able to determine a clear consensus.

Goal: ability to use FA upgrades and redeem award points.

Challange: The company preferred airlines are NW, CO and DL. I can choose any airline as long as the cost is no more than what these 3 quote.

I was also looking at available fast track programs. The only only I found info on is AA. But I have been comparing cost of AA tickets versus the company preferred airlines and consistantly see higher cost of AA quotes for same routes that I take. So it looks like AA isn't a consistant option.

Thanks to all for reading this and to anyone who can respond.

Happy flying!

By specifying WI, IL and IN and then "all states west of the Mississippi" I get the sense that the western states will be less a factor than the local ones? If a lot of your travel will be short hops around the upper midwest, then probably NW or another airline with good regional coverage will be the logical choice.

However, if your west-of-the-Rockies travel is going to be extensive, then I would look hard at Alaska Airlines, since (a) they are partners with all of the above, and EQM/P partners with DL and NW (i.e. if your midwest travels involve NW or DL metal you can get AS EQMs while you fly,) (b) AS has fairly liberal thresholds for their 2 elite levels, and (c) generally good redemption levels for award travel. Obviously, though, upgrades on non-AS metal will be an issue.

Good luck with your research.

Thanks for your comments. I may be going all over Western U.S. Recently been to CA three times, Nashville, St. Louis and MSP. So, destinations will vary.

If I am on DL, can those points be applied directly to NWA?

According to the NW website, you can credit DL EQM to your NW account in certain fare classes.