need advice what airmiles program to pick
 

Hello,

My mate suggested to have a look at this website, but for me it is alot gibberish and there are just way too many options available...

I am flying at the moment twice or 3 times a year from Gibraltar/Spain to Australia and in the future I would fly probably mostly in Australia, the Pacific and south east asia...

Can anyone suggest me what airmiles program to pick and with what airliner to register, and pls tell me why...

I would really appreciate the help.

Thanks
Johannes

Welcome to FT, Johannes, and make a mental note that posting the same question on multiple threads is a big no-no.

I would suggest the moderators move your request to the "Miles Buzz" forum, where "beginners" are welcomed and your question can be addressed.

Meantime, it will be important for you to think about your detailed flying patterns, whether you fly on paid business fares or cheapest economy, etc. - the devil is always in the details.

Good luck!

thanks alot gardyloo... to answer your question it would be usually holiday flights.

Do i understand from your reply that I should ask my question at the "Miles Buzz" forum? If that is a better place to post my question there, I am more than happy to do so.

Thanks for answering so quickly as well...

I am going to move this request to MilesBuzz, and will suggest that the moderators of the STAR alliance and SkyTeam forums close your threads that you have posted there. We welcome your participation on FT; we do ask that you post questions in one forum only as many of us read multiple forums.

Off to MilesBuzz this goes, in hopes that helpful posters there can give you some pointers.

SanDiego1K
OneWorld Moderator

Welcome to Flyer Talk moomin_1975 :)

I would first choose an alliance with which you'll mainly fly, and then narrow down a frequent flyer program (FFP) within that alliance. Also do not forget about Virgin Blue, the (mainly) domestic airline which is not part of any alliance. While the FFP is new (no status levels yet), it is has a couple of international partners (Emirates and Malaysian) and expected to add more - thus increasing its value over time. Virgin Blue is often cheaper than Qantas for domestic flights.

Both one world and star alliance serve well Australia, Pacific and Asia region - albeit each with some gaps. Sky team is not helpful in this part of the world.

Star alliance has no airline within Australia, and to get between Australia and northern asia you need to transit through Singapore (SIN), Bangkok (BKK) or Auckland (AKL). There are plenty of options to europe (Singapore Thai United and Air New Zealand) and good coverage in the south pacific.

One world has Qantas in Australia, and Cathay Pacific in Asia. But limited coverage within southern asia (okay if you want to fly somewhere Qantas flies to but otherwise not so good) and pacific islands. Qantas and American both partner with Air Pacific and Air Tahiti Nui so some miles can be earned or burned visiting some of the pacific islands.

In narrowing down a FFP consider what you want out of it. Do you mainly want status benefits (eg lounge access), award flights or upgrades? Will you be able to earn much from credit card earn (only some programs have linked cards for someone based in Australia)? Once you've identified some of these factors, we can help you with suggestions and ideas.

As previous poster stated, all alliances have gaps in their destinations. Since he did not explain about Skyteam Alliance, I will do my part to serve it up.

Skyteam does indeed covers Europe and Australia. Korean Airline usually covers the Australian market via Seoul (ICN)
Europe market is well represented by KLM, Alitalia, Aeroflot, Air France, and CSA. With your Skymiles, other awards partners includes Singapore Airlines and Emirates.
Northwest currently covers the Philipine and Continental covers the Guam region. Delta Airlines currently has a direct flight from Atlanta to Seoul.

With Skyteam, you can experience ICN and SIN, both has been voted best airports many years running.

welcome to FT mate... I hope the gibberish makes sense soon enough--ie your mates will think you are nuts in due time ;)

(he told us we speak gibberish! Look honey, you were right! :D)

anyway,
previous postings have done a good job in explaining things but basically you might want to consider a few things when starting up in the mileage game:

1) keep it simple...
in terms of how many airlines there are, maybe only join the programs of one or two of them to start. Maybe three, but that's if you feel up to it.

There are three major alliances, and if you have been reading thus far, they are One World, Sky Team and Star Aliance. For me, I happen to concentrate my flying efforts on American Airlines from the One World, Northwest from the Sky Team and United from the Star Aliance, but I have reasons for that which may be different than yours. It gives me the flexibility I need and keeps it down to only a few. If you go joining say, United AND US Airways, AND Singapore's programs, well, you are spreading too thin.

2) Where is this leading?
Do consider where you fly now, what you will fly later in life/business/liesure, and what all these miles you will earn will result in. If you hope to one day do a first class trip for 4 to say, Hawaii or something, then look in this very forum to find out who seems to be best for REDEEMING miles to get to that destination. For me, I find American is best for this, but I live in the States so maybe it's different for others. For ski trips in Canada and the states, I have had luck with United. For my flights from East Coast USA to Europe, I find NWA does pretty well for my needs too.

3) KEEP COPIES OF EVERYTHING
Keep all related records that you do involving a flight or any mileage deal, promotion or transaction until you see your miles post. Maybe this is a pain in the neck but trust me, there's nothing worse than trying to chase miles when you do not have the stuff needed to do it. Example: You fly on an airline that happens to be a partner with United, and you want United miles. You told them your FF number on the phone, you entered it online and you told them at check in, but your miles never posted and you neg;ected to look at your account for two months (gasp!). Well, if you saved all your boarding card stubs, you could mail in copies and they will give you credit in due time. Without these, you are mostly out of luck. SAVE IT ALL! Just save it all. PS: It is possible, although it may be up to luck, that you can submit copies of information from some of your recent flights to newly joined FFPs and they MAY give you credit for them. generally you'd have to have flown within a certain time period and most retroactive posts only take place if one was already a member, but hey, it's worth a shot! You may run into a nice CSR when you call in to inquire about it. Be proactive and assertive, mate!


4) hotels.
Dont forget about hotels. I dunno what's what where you are going but I think many will agree Starwood is among the better programs for both earning and redeeming. For me, the American Express SPG card takes the cake. Sift thru some of the gibberish-ridden threads in the AMEX forum or the Starwood forum to learn more. Other hotel chains can be decent but that's up to you. I personally seem to either stay in a Westin when I travel or I end up doing something not involving a hotel. I'm not a regular business traveler though.

Good luck and yes, soon enough, if this doesnt become an addiction first, you will start using acronyms and airline talk that makes your trouble think you lost your marbles! :D

:)MM

Thanks alot for getting back to me. I am only looking for a frequent flyer program that does offer me free flights and i wouldnt mind using a CC in the future if that gives me a chance to get . For the next 18 months I will be flying three times to Australia and back from Spain and after that time period I am only flying for holidays. Mostly Asia and middle-south america. Any idea what would be good flight programs to choose? I wouldnt mind to join 1 or 2 frequent flyer programs. I dont know what other info you need in order to make it easier for you to help me out. Just tell me what you need and I will be more than happy to answer :)

well, all FFPs offer free flights--over time. You need to earn enough miles.

we are trying to assess what your longer term needs are because, well, that's how you earn miles over time.

If you join any one of them, there is probably a credit card offer to get more on that same program. Be sure to check this site to find out the best offer, because often times, the ones you see on TV or in the back on in flight magazines are not as good as the hidden ones.

You are going to be based in Spain from now, but where are you from or where will you live later?

Maybe if it's the States, go ahead and start out with joining AAdvantage and Northwest's WorldPerks. Maybe try those two to start. later, join United.

When you fly to and witihin Australia, put everything on AAdvantage. If you fly to Asia, this will help you too but you may find the NWA is better for that area. But remember, in the end, it is best to try to keep it on one. The reason why I mention up to 3 different ones in my posts is because you kinda maybe sorta need ONE from each alliance, as mentioned throughout.

And yes, please do join the hotel program too. trust me, it is worth it. Remember, these cost nothing but a bit of your "administrative time" as in a bit of time online remebering some passwords, etc.

after the 18 months in spain I am planning to immigrate to Australia... Should I still stick with the american airlines you are suggesting or do you have any other suggestions? I already started looking at the individual frequent flying programs offered by the different companies...

well I would consider re-reading kiwi flyers post #5 above and plan accordingly for your future asd well as the soon to be 3 big flights. You see, while it's not necessarily about how MANY miles you have, it certainly is easier to travel when you have many in one program, because when it comes time to one day redeem them, you need options and depth. For example, for me to fly to Australia I could get there using the miles from a program with 80+k in it right now rather than having say 3 programs with like 30k in them that I have to wait and keep adding to over time.

Consider what you think you want and go from there. I think the AA option is fine but hey, that's just me.