Okay I am a newb so pardon me if I am posting this in the wrong forum. I was wondering if anyone knows of a program that is designed to build up points towards travel to Europe (from the US) and within Europe for those that go there frequently.? Is there such a program? If so, I would be seriously interested in it.....I am most interested in flight discounts but also secondarily interested in discounts on hotel rooms. What I don't care about are dining and rental car discounts. I am most interested in programs that do not require you to be some kind of business exec. Any help would be appreciated and if you have experiences with such programs, I'd love to hear about it....I will keep googling in the meantime but I would love to hear what yall have to say. To the mods, sorry if this is not the right forum....I come in peace. Thanks!

Welcome to FT Goldie84

Well, are you looking for an airline program? If so there are several opportunities for one of those.

You just have to explain to use what your travel patterns are:

-How often per year are you flying to Europe?
-What class of service are you flying (First, Business or Economy)?
-Do you pay for the flights out of your own pocket?
-Where in Europe do you fly most?
-What do you want to redeem your miles for? (Upgrades? Flights in Economy, Business or First)?
-What is your home airport in the US?

All these are things that you have to consider when choosing a program. Also it might be worth to select an American FFP based on the alliance that this program is in (Star Alliance, One World, SkyTeam) that way you can use both the miles that you collect on domestic and intercontinental flights for awards, maybe even earn miles while in the US with an FF CC
Those are the kind of things that all weigh into the decision

Discounts? Only thing that comes to mind is the AMEX Delta card where you earn savings, instead of miles.

Not sure many credit cards like that are out there.. And I think most of the airline based programs where you get discounts instead of miles are for corporate use only.

Unless you're a senior, then there are special programs from United and American for example.

Ask yourself what you want to get...
Miles?
Upgrades?
Lounge Access?
Better seat selection?
Cheap tickets?

Once you know what you want, then you can figure out which program is more likely to match your needs.

"I am most interested in flight discounts but also secondarily interested in discounts on hotel rooms."

Sure doesn't sound like he wants an FFP / miles.

Well, just looked at details on AMEX card, it's worthless. So I do not know anything other than business or senior programs that get you discounts on flights.

AAA gets you hotel discounts.

thanks for your responses....oh, and I am a lady, btw.

Excuse me for not being clear in my original post. I'll try to answer your specific qs so we can maybe narrow down some choices.

Ask yourself what you want to get...
-Miles? Yes
-Upgrades? Yes
-Lounge Access? No
-Better seat selection? As long as I have a window seat, I am fine!
-Cheap tickets? Yes
-How often per year are you flying to Europe? Right now it's less but within the next year or so I would average it out to 3-4 times minimum per year. There is even the possibility of relocation to Europe.
-What class of service are you flying (First, Business or Economy)? I normally fly Economy, which is fine for domestic flights, but when I fly to and from Europe, its almost unbearably uncomfortable. Thus, If I can find the right program, I would be interested in flying first or business class.
-Do you pay for the flights out of your own pocket? I charge my flights with my credit card most of the time.
-Where in Europe do you fly most? France and Italy.
-What do you want to redeem your miles for? (Upgrades? Flights in Economy, Business or First)? Upgrades would be nice...see comments above.
-What is your home airport in the US? My home airport in the US is Hartsfield in Atlanta.

Following is the logics behind my decisions:

Airline: Non-stop fights top the list of my priorities. Elite status is the second on my list. Being out of IAH, I nearly always fly Continental even if I have to pay for a slightly higher fare. Being in Atlanta, Delta should give you a lot of non-stop flights. However, if ticket prices are important and you are willing to make connections, there are several airlines will give you miles and status for the Delta program. Further, if you don�t care about status, then you may want to be in one more FF program with lots of partners.

Hotel: I am very price sensitive in this area. I always stay at the cheapest 3* or better hotels. Since my European travels tend to be leisure trips, I found the Hiltons, the Hyatts, .. etc to be inconveniently located and expensive. My three favorite hotel chains in Europe are the Holiday Inn Express, Best Western and Accord. I found the hotels with these chains are more consistent in quality and value. This summer I was pleasantly surprised by a 4* hotel in the Clarion chain.

The "Clarion chain" is actually Choice and their FF program is Choice Privileges. The chain also includes Comfort Inn, Quality Inn, and Sleep Inn.

They actually have props all over Europe, but the quality/desirability varies, so best to check with tripadvisor or the like before booking.

They also run promos in which it is easy (with some hotel-hopping) to rack up an enormous number of points, which can be spent on free nights or converted to miles.

All in all, for me it is a worthwhile secondary chain to Hilton/Marriott. I've only been a member since March, but I scrounged enough points by June to book a couple of nights in a 5* property in London for next month.

Goldie84,

hi!


You say that you are based in Atlanta and will be traveling to France and Italy.

When I think of Atlanta I think of Delta Airlines and their direct flight from Atlanta to Rome (I think they have one a day) and their direct flights from Atlanta to Paris (three a day? correct me if I'm wrong).

When I think of France I think of Airfrance and when I think of Italy of Alitalia. All three air companies are Sky Team members. This means that all you need is membership with any of the three�s frequent flyer program. No matter which program you choose, you'll earn miles on your long haul flights on delta and your short haul flights within Europe on Air France and Alitalia.

Now you have to pick on of the three programs. You said that you'd like to have upgrades on your long haul flights. Delta flies to both Italy and France nonstop from Atlanta. Airfrance flies only to France and Alitalia has got no direct flies from Atlanta.

As a consequence I suggest that you start earning miles from Delta, Alitalia and Airfrance under the Delta Airlines SkyMiles program. This way you'll be able to upgrade your long haul flights on Delta.

You might as well collect miles under Airfrance's "flying blue" program but then you would only be able to upgrade your direct flights to France and not your direct flights to Italy.

If you pick delta's Skymiles as your program you'll be able to upgrade all eligible Delta airlines flights that you take, get reward tickets on Delta, Alitalia and Airfrance, and most of all earn miles when traveling on Delta, Alitalia and Aifrance.

If you pick Airfrance's flying blue, instead, you'll be able to upgrade AF flights, get reward flights on all three and earn miles on all three.

Picking Alitalia's millemiglia would certainly be your worst option because you wouldn�t be able to get upgrades on any of your long haul flights (unless you choose to never fly direct to Europe from Atlanta).

Last but not least, since you are a US resident (I'm assuming) you will easily find credit cards that will earn you Delta SkyMiles miles. For US residents I don't think that there are cards that will earn Flying Blues of Millemiglia miles.

If you do an Atlanta-Rome round trip four times a year, you will earn
40,232miles just from the flights. To this, you will have to add miles from your short haul flights and miles from your credit card (usually one dollar spent=one miles or more).

On Delta, a round trip reward ticket from the US to Europe will cost you 50,000miles + taxes.

Similarly, upgrading from economy (not full fare) to business class will cost you 25,000 miles per way.

I suggest that you go to www.delta.com and browse around the SkyMiles section.

I really do not know what to say about hotel discounts. Maybe your best bet would be to join a hotel chain loyalty program and use it to get a free night every now and then...just like I suggested you should do with airlines.

I hope you found my post helpful.

I cannot guarantee that everything I wrote/stated is correct. Other Flytalk members, please feel free to correct me!

Good luck in Europe!

In addition, you will get at least silver elite with Delta (assuming they give full mileage for the trips, I don't know for sure that they do) and very well may receive Gold elite if you do some other travel. This will give you unlimited free domestic space available upgrades (I believe 24 hours in advance for silver, 48 for gold).

If you don't care about direct flights, you may instead choose British Airways to fly to London and then on to Rome (they fly ATL-LGW-ROME, however to fly to Paris you would have to change airports in London (ATL-LGW-LHR-CDG) and you could fly Premium Economy which gives you nicer coach seats, and cheap upgrades using miles. You would then be a member of the British Airways Executive Club. You would then become a Silver member of the British Airways Executive Club (based on four trips to Rome a year in Prem. Economy). You would earn just under 50,000 miles, and it requires 30,000 miles to upgrade 1 roundtrip to Business class from Prem. Economy.