"Generally" I would agree. However, in the case of United I opted to keep the mailing address in Germany. The complimentary RCC membership is worth missing out on a few targeted promos, IMO... others may disagree.

Thanks for the information, I wasn’t aware of the card... but this has to be the worst Customer Service department ever.

Called, spoke to some bloke who seem pretty tired, told him I wanted some information on the United card (not to enrol)... he took my details then said...”we can’t send any details, you can only apply on the phone”... asked him why he had spent time taking my details... became quite agitated and said I had to call Beneficial bank customer services... called (0121 214 580XX) – this is in fact HSC.

Immediate response was... “you need to call a special line to get an information pack on our Affinity cards: 0845 7 60 90 XX”... called, “hello, this is Goldfish credit card”...it turns out that the number is a call centre, used by Goldfish (a UK credit card company) and others... “sorry Sir, you need to call 0800 16 11 XX”.

I haven’t tried this one, as I think I’ll give it a miss altogether. I'd stay well away.

Laughable!

Scut,

I would advise against the move. The people over there lack knowledge of the great works of western civilization and will be unaware of the cultural significance of your name. But you could use their ignorance to your advantage, if you keep Mariah in good condition.

I will be making a similar US to UK move in about 6 months, and was also seeking some suggestions for FF programs, specifically US vs UK program membership and AA vs BA.

Considerations:
a) Preferred corporate travel relationship with AA for US and transatlantic travel
b) Most intra-Europe travel on BA
c) Seeking charge card, etc. partnerships--aware of UK Citibank AA card, also BA Amex. Also will be UK Corporate Amex, which I presume will be eligible for MR. I have also seen some discussion of the UK Amex Platinum, which while expensive appears bring a key benefit of Priority Pass membership. Further thoughts are welcome.

I'm currently Gold on AA. All BA flights to-date have been intra-Europe, and miles have thus gone into my AA account. Most redemptions will likely be transatlantic and long-haul (to Asia/Pacific); BA also does not directly serve at least one key US destination (PIT) for me. Should I go with:

a) AA - presumably retaining US address
b) BA - and if so, UK or US membership
c) Split mileage - AA for transatlantic, BA for intra-Europe
d) Other

Thanks!

[This message has been edited by chalf (edited 06-16-2002).]

It's a bit hard to advise without knowing how many miles you want. However, I would suggest:

a) AA - presumably retaining US address

You can redeem miles from AA on Cathay Pacific ex-LHR to most Asia destinations and use AA to get in the BA lounges if you fly enough miles.

There is a UK based AA credit card so you can earn miles like that.

Hope this helps.

If you're going to collect BA points in the UK, the BA Amex card is quite a good deal. Also, if you're flying business/first a lot, then BA (at least the UK version) is more generous than UA in the multiple of a simple fare it will credit you with, both for miles and status.

------------------
BA Gold; Starwood Gold

When moving to Europe from the US NW/KL will make you join the Flying Dutchman Program and leave WorldPerks. Depending on flying patterns this can be a very good thing or a very very bad thing.

I suggest researching this and determining if you want to let NW/KL know you are moving out of the US.

FYI- the FD program will become similar to WorldPerks in the near future according to Russ Hinckely from the FT chat.

Although if you keep your US card to use for your UK purchases, you earn 1 point per dollar which is significantly better...

What's the earning rate on this? Is it better than the BAA Worldpoints Card? (1 pound per mile)

If you travel on cheap fares with a mix of Trans Atlantic and European I find that:

- For Tran Atlantic United offers best mileage/upgrade propsect
- Within Europe there is often not much saivng for coach (expect using cheaper airlines such as Go). Here you may be better off using a European airline instead of using MP on Star. This is because accruing Star on United means using miles flown, which tend to be less in Europe.
- Use BA Amex card to pay for all fares (including United).

This works for me