hello

im completely new here on the forum and completely new to everything about frequent flyers programs too. I ve never been part of any of those programs. But last week i booked an around the world ticket with the one world company with which i will fly 38600 miles in one year. I was thinking maybe it would be a good idea to subscribe to a frequent flyer program now to get some benefits. I went to have a look at american airlines, but there aparently its impossible to get a benefit from my miles as i already booked the round the world ticket last week. Anybody knows what i can do to enyoy some free miles anyway?

thanks a lot for your help

Welcome to Flyertalk Letssee!

When you booked the tickets does not matter for mileage accrual - what matters is that you are a member of the frequent flyer programme when you actually do fly.

If you sign up for AAdvantage, or any other program, you will receive a frequent flyer number. If you then call the airline or travel agent that booked your ticket, they can add the number to your booking file. Also, make sure to show the number at check-in for each flight, so the agent can verify that it is entered correctly in the system.

If you give us some details of your route and which airlines you will be flying most on your trip, we can try to give you some insight into whether American Airlines offers the right programme for your needs or if another oneworld carrier has a better option.

Also, in addition to everything that alex0683de stated, we also need to know what class you're flying in as OneWorld sells three possibilities for RTW trips and how you accrue will varydepending on if you're in sconomy or something higher.

You're right, the choice of program can be radically different depending on whether you're flying Economy, Business or First. My bad for not asking.

So, which is it Letssee?

Hi thanks a lot for your incredibly fast answers...

I will be travelling in economy class...

The flights i booked are the following :

Brussels london British Airways
Londen-NY-LA-Dallas-Houston-Miami-Rio American airlines
Rio-Santiago-Buenos Aires-Santiago-Auckland LAN airlines
Auckland-Sydney -Tokyo Qantas
Tokyo- Shanghai Japan airlines
Hong kong -Bangkok -Mumbay -Dubai Cathay Airlines
Dubai-Bahrein-Tehran Gulf Air
Tehran- Londen British airways.

And is the frequent flyer number you are talking about a seven digit thingy? And do i have to contact the airlines every time to tell them that i want my miles to be counted on the flights i take?

Thanks again!

It depends on the programme, but for American Airlines it is indeed a 7-digit number, though it usually contains some letters as well, like 12FF345 or 123F4F5 or something along those lines.

It is enough if you contact your travel agent once and get them to enter the frequent flyer number into your ticket record. You should also show your number again at check-in for each flight, along with your passport and ticket.

Given what you have told us about your itinerary, I would suggest you join Cathay Pacific's Asiamiles programme at www.asiamiles.com. This should maximise your miles for your flights, plus give you some good options for reward redemption.

thanks again!

why would cathay be a better option? bcz i read on the american airlines site they accept miles flown with participating companies too. So would it make any difference?

especially as probably i would like to use the earned miles one day starting the flight from brussels.

thanks

ps : how did you do all those miles at 23 ??? bcz i am 23 too and really dont get it hehehe??? are you a pilot?

Different programmes have different earning rates for economy class tickets. If you look at the airlines you're flying with, you will earn more miles in total on Cathay Pacific (CX) than you will on American Airlines (AA). This is assuming that the flights with actual oneworld airlines on your ticket are booked in "L"-Class, which they usually are for RTWs. On JAL, the earning levels are pretty much the same for AA or CX, but when flying Gulf Air, you cannot earn AA miles at all, CX works.

Also, it's less about the number of miles you earn, but about the number of miles you will need to get a free ticket. When flying from Europe, CX provides some better options in this case.

My flights so far mostly had to do with my father's work. We've moved around a bit internationally. And I love to travel, it's the only thing I'll really spend money for.