Well, I'm moving from the US to the UK... which is very exciting, but among the many, many details of my move, comes my affection for FF miles!

I fear that I am about to lose many of the earning opportunities I've had in the US, such as long distance plans, 10 for 1 dining, bonus miles for all sorts of stores and random promotions, etc...

I'll keep my United Credit card, but I'm wondering: Is there a culture of promotions in the UK like there is in the US? For BA or Virgin, or whoever? Perhaps there are some resources that exisit to describe what's available? I've found plenty that concern the US, but not much for the UK.

THanks! - Milo

To be quite honest, on this side of the pond we tend to miss out on quite a few of the promo's that the US get. Mind you, that doesn�t mean that there are none, just not quite so many.

Perhaps in would be useful if you could post your preferred FF programs, or what type of rewards you tend to go for, as I'm sure this will influent the advice that can be offered.

From experience, the UK based programs ie. Virgin, BA, etc tend to offer more non-airline earning opportunities than the traditional US programs. We also have Airmiles, which are supported by a number of retailers and can be used for several airlines and other offers.

Ah yes... Well my principal acounts are United and Northwest, which will obviously not be helped much in the UK (though travel to Europe on KLM and Lufthansa will help). But I have a few miles on BA and Virgin too, slated for orphan status, that perhaps I'll start using again!

Hi scutfarcus - may I be the first to welcome you to the UK!

You may wish to consider maintaining whichever FF programme you go for (depending on what your travel pattern will be - if you're just going to be going back and forth between the UK and the US you may as well just stay with United) from a US address. UK FFPs are fairly tight on things like qualifying flights, upgrades and things like that, but the US versions of the same UK FFPs are much more generous as they are competing in the US marketplace...

What kind of flying pattern do you anticipate once you move?

Remember that you can earn United Miles on all *A carriers, which for travel within the UK and Europe would mean British Midland (IMHO far better than BA on these routes) along with Lufthansa, SAS etc etc...

Welcome!

You can earn BA points from shopping at Tesco, and there are occasional offers on products for BA miles. I seem to remember a brand of coffee with certs, not unlike the kelloggs certs in the US. These are few and far between though.

Good luck in your search.

I lived in the UK about a year ago. I maintained my status in United MP, and they actually had a few promotions targeted at us in the UK (10K minimum for a roundtrip between US and Europe, Free RCC membership).

If you are going to be travelling back and forth to the US quite a bit I would recommend you stay with UA. Another upside is that you can fly on SAS, Lufthansa and British Midland and get MP miles/status and use their lounges. The down side is you don't get bonus miles for these flights.

If you will be doing purely European travel, I recommend you pick a british airline so you will get status, bonuses and upgrades through them. Upgrades in Europe though aren't as good as the US. A business class flight is the same seat as coach (maybe slightly bigger) with a better meal. You get a meal and free drinks on ALL flights in Europe though. I once took a 28 miles flight on CrossAir and got chocolates and a drink!!

As posted previosly, BA and BMI will have more promotions targeted at UK residents. I don't remember as many ties-ins though to phones and groceries, etc. BA also has some great specials and flies everywhere in the world. Its not worth much though if you return to the US (except a trip to the UK). British Midland offers good fares to Europe, and now a few flights to the US, but you need to go through Manchester. There are also a plethora of discount airlines that you can use for a weekend jaunt. Check out RyanAir or EasyJet.

Have fun in the UK. Feel free to email if you want any other tips.

Chris

G'day Scutfarcus,
So you're moving to the UK, "isn't that lovely".
I'm not sure if the BA program in the UK gives you any mileage credit for discounted airfares. You may want to check that out first. I believe the USA program offers more, including the household account. It may be better to keep to the American program and if and when you have accrued enough miles, transfer to the UK program to claim an award.

IF you do BA flying, definately stay in the BA US EC program. It is far superior (the only people that disagree will be Brits that have never been a member from anywhere else).

Generally I would advise that you leave all your programs with a US mailing address, after all you can check your points online. As long as someone will send on your membership mailings you should be able to get all the US targetted mailings.
Truthfully, in the UK, we have always got second best helpings in terms of promotions. In the '80's we had lots of double mile offers as carriers and routes were changed following the collapse of PanAm, but those days have long gone I'm afraid.

I concur with others on here -- stick with the US programs.

I do a great deal of trans-atlantic travel, and United suits my needs very well. UK-based UA flyers tend to get preferential treatment -- from LHR lounge access on a silver card to free RCC access on a gold card.

Excellent, thanks for all the advice! Unfortunately for my miles part of the reason I'm moving is to cut way back on travel expenses (company is based in London)! But I think I'll stick with United/NW for the most part. Thanks!

One additional reminder that if you are thinking of getting serious about you BA mileage program and you happend to own a Diners Club card: Transfers from Diner's to BA are currently 1:1 instead of the usual 2:1. This means for a limited time you could move UA miles at 1:1 into Diner's Club Rewards points, and then on to BA at 1:1.

If you are thinking of sticking with Mileage Plus, there is a UK issued United Visa Card which lets you earn MP miles on purchases in the same way the US card does (1 mile per pound spent). The card is issued by Beneficial Bank, whose number is +44(0)845 745 6777.

I've had one for a few months and no complaints so far!

Well a solid UA fan here, but if you really long for Pucci's hairbrush and can't afford the Club airfares, then several folks tell me Qantas is a good deal. Miles on nearly all fares, and you can buy the Qantas club membership, which will get you into the BA lounges. Might be a consideration if you find yourself travelling again and BA is your only option.