Hi everyone. I was wondering if you could help with advice on frequent flyer programs. I currently have all my miles on Continental (I used to live in New York..and used EWR all the time) Now I live in Los Angeles and am trying to figure out who has the best programs and the most convenient services in the Los Angeles area. I also do a lot of LAX-EWR flights, but if I want to go anywhere else on Continental I have fly to Houston (no fun). Thanks in advance for the help.

Some questions that may help produce an answer for you:

1) What are your most frequent destinations?
2) Do you fly internationally at all?
3) How important are upgrades?
4) What do you use / want to use your miles for?
5) How much do you fly in a year (will you achieve elite status and if so at what level)?

And lots of other specifics that help determine the answer to your question...

Continental is a hard choice for an LA-based flyer. Say you want to fly to San Francisco. It sure won't be on CO metal! (And since they've ended their relationship with HP, it won't be through PHX either.)

Continental is a good program for domestic flying if you're an elite. It's not a good program for award redemption, generally speaking, because award availability has frequently been a problem for many.

Some things to consider:

United is still the biggest carrier at LAX. It's United Express partner gives you pretty good coverage within the state. United has plenty of transcons that will take you to EWR/JFK.

American also does excellent transcons LAX-JFK. American Eagle flies to several California destinations from LAX.

West Coast flying can be done pretty effectively on Alaska and America West - but with America West you'll be connecting through Phoenix to everywhere and with Alaska you're probably going through Seattle.

Delta is another carrier with nonstop LAX-JFK flights -- but a large number of frequent flyers are very unhappy with their elite program right now. They've just made it both harder to qualify for elite and less rewarding once one does qualify.

But which program to tell you to go with? That depends on what's most important to you.

Another thing to consider is service from the alternate airports in Southern California. Is LAX actually the easiest airport for you to use? How do prices compare from LAX to your destinations relative to, say, BUR/ONT/SNA/LGB?

Finally, there's lots of places you can go on Southwest.

Again, it depends on what's important...

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Your question is more complex than you think. Flyertalk has thousands of posts about ff programs.

Goals also vary. For some, it's upgrades and elite status. For others, it's domestic coach tickets.

See which airline's routes fit you first. Is it UA, AA, NW? How about Midwest Express. That's a nice airline where every seat is an upgrade, though you have to connect in Milwaukee. They only fly to many major East Coast cities, not all (e.g. not to PHL).

I like US Airways and Northwest. These might not fit you, though. US for the tad better service and NW for the awards availablity and easier upgrades.

I agree with Skylink on the complexity of your question. Alaska, United, and Southwest are the three big carriers along the west coast. Each one has very different programs and route structures.

Alaska has started some cross-country routes but so far only via Seattle. But they partner with CO, NW, AA, and several intl partners, giving you lots of options to price-shop and compare itineraries. You could continue your LAX-EWR flights and put the miles into an AS account (or your old CO account until you reach a redemption level). I agree with the point that its very hard to redeem via CO.

UA partners with US, DL (for the moment), and the *Alliance. I would check if one of them has a useful LAX-NYC itinerary for you. Southwest keeps to itself and doesn't venture outside US borders. For me, the lack of a international partner is a problem.

Plus, you should look at the various Visa/MC programs. Frankly, it takes some homework. Welcome to Flyer Talk!

I agree with Skylink on the complexity of your question. Alaska, United, and Southwest are the three big carriers along the west coast. Each one has very different programs and route structures.

Alaska has started some cross-country routes but so far only via Seattle. But they partner with CO, NW, AA, and several intl partners, giving you lots of options to price-shop and compare itineraries. You could continue your LAX-EWR flights and put the miles into an AS account (or your old CO account until you reach a redemption level). I agree with the point that its very hard to redeem via CO.

UA partners with US, DL (for the moment), and the *Alliance. I would check if one of them has a useful LAX-NYC itinerary for you. Southwest keeps to itself and doesn't venture outside US borders. For me, the lack of a international partner is a problem.

Plus, you should look at the various Visa/MC programs. Frankly, it takes some homework. Welcome to Flyer Talk!