Hi! I'm a new user to flyertalk and to the whole frequent flyer mile program - where do I start? It seems a little overwhelming, and any direction would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!!

Hi there and welcome.

Firstly, consider that you may wish to tell us which airlines, if any, you like, and which ones you have a frequent flier program (FFP)membership with.

If you have any elite status on them, points, vouchers, etc, that may help. I imagine that you are hoping to try to find a way to maximize miles you may already have or learn ways to earn the ones needed for free trips or upgrades?

You will find this to be one of the good sources for doing just that.

Surely others will chime in to help you in ways I am not quallified to (because everyone knows a bit of something but no one knows everything) so good luck sifting thru the many posts.

To start, do you have a trip in mind or places you would go?

Thanks, and welcome.


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If speed is not your thing, distance may as well be. Enjoy and embrace it all!

hrhiii -- Welcome to Flyertalk!

Tell us a few things about your particular interests and goals (at least when it comes to travel, frequent flyer and frequent guest programs), and I'm sure you'll be overwhelmed with the wealth of information and help this board and its members will be able to offer.

Welcome to Flyertalk!

You might start by reading the FAQ in order to familiarize yourself with the way things work around here.

You also might start by focusing in on the message boards that best track your interests. Do you fly, say, United alot? If so, you'll want to spend time in the United section before branching out. Similarly, do you stay with Hilton? Then check out the Hilton board.

Most of all, welcome!


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More Room Throughout Coach: the Website of Free Miles and Free Markets

Thanks for the response! I do most of my travelling from LA to NY, and belong to AA and Delta Skymiles. I guess the thing to do is just dive in and start figuring it out! Thanks for the input!

Several Flyertalkers have created resources that serve as companions to their respective bulletin boards. Since you're an AA and DL flyer, you might check out the Delta Flyers' Guide and FewMiles' Unofficial Guide to American Airlines.

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More Room Throughout Coach: the Website of Free Miles and Free Markets

It is good to know you have only 2 carriers to concentrate on. This is better for earning miles on them faster.

The mileage-earning credit card options can earn you miles too. Check relevant threads in the FT.

Now, you will see a recent post in here about getting 1000 miles on either carrier for a promo that is going on right now. These promos and sign ups for various things or even surveys can earn you a few points here and there. They do add up over time for just some clicking online, etc.

If you are trying to see if you can get a free ticket round trip (RT) from the west to the east on one of those carriers, that is 25,000 miles for the free ticket. Though you could gain that many miles and do this option, there may be better ones for your value.

Instead, consider that it may be more worth it to BUY that RT ticket now because the rates are so cheap these days. Then you will earn miles (and more status on the airline by doing actual flights) which you can use for better trips later on. It's all about maximizing the use of your miles, I think.

An example of this might be to save up miles to use for trips to Hawaii which only require 10,000 more points on AA and I think only 5k more on DL. These flight, however, can costs several hundred dollars more if you pay out w/cash. SO you can already see how miles will be better to have avail.

A few Web sites come to mind for BUYING cheap tickets if that's your game. www.smarterliving.com comes to mind. There are many others. Check the threads in these forums and posts to see more. People in here have covered everything indeed!

You have to do a bit more searching in here, or if you like, email me, for example, for a few more tips on all this stuff. The address is in my profile here.

My section "How to Begin" on my web site below was written just for you and others just starting out on this addiction. Then, the rest of the stuff on my site should keep you busy for a few days. After that, you will be ready to ask questions on this forum without risk of being blasted by those annoyed by reading questions asked before.

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Free Frequent Flyer Miles

Welcome to FlyerTalk hrhiii.

Happy travels and may you earn more miles than you know what to do with!

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Never ask a question that you don't want to know the answer.

Welcome Welcome,

I am pretty new my self and found the New User info and the glossary very helpful. I'm hooked now! Thanks Flyertalk for giving me a distraction at work!

Where did you find the Glossary?

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"A day without Points is like a day without SUNSHINE"

[This message has been edited by Superd1 (edited 12-11-2002).]

http://www.flyertalk.com/glossary/

Thanks! I marked that one, looked up a couple of abbreviations and it did the trick. Don't happen to have a good link for airport codes?

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"A day without Points is like a day without SUNSHINE"

Where to find airport codes?

Thanks this is what I was looking for.
http://www.airportcitycodes.com

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"A day without Points is like a day without SUNSHINE"