Hello!

I'd like to ask you for an advice. Have been doing some random search for next year's vacation and I saw that SkyTeam has some great offers. There might be also one trip with university coming up using Air France or Alitalia (don't know if longhaul flight or only within Europe). So it might make sense to join a ST-program, however, in any case this would most likely be not more than a secondary "back-up"-program just in order to save the miles, for what purpose ever

My profile is like this:
- mainly flying StarAlliance -> infrequent OW-flyer, if good offers I might also become an infrequent ST-flyer
- therefore a program without any miles expiration would be warmly welcome (extending validity by buying miles etc. is also ok, extending by flying might be a bit difficult)
- I usually fly discounted Economy, so I'd be glad if there were no mileage-reductions for discounted fare-classes, or at least a credit of 50 % upwards
- home-airport: MUC

Of course I've already read a bit through the different programs, and I've found out this (please tell me if I'm wrong):
Flying Blue:
Miles only don't expire if you FLY regularly on AF or KL. No mileage credit (or only 25 %) in discounted fare-classes of AF or KL.

Delta Skymiles:
At least one activity (like buying a bunch of miles) needed within two years. However, most of the discounted fares I have come across so far at Expedia etc. were not applicable for mileage credit

Continental OnePass:
Miles don't have any expiry date, but the account will be deleted if there is no activity for 18 months. However, I didn't find out if it is possible to buy miles to keep your account active and your miles alive. Also made a little Excel-sheet and compared to FB and SkyMiles it looks like CO gives credit for almost all discounted fares.


Which FFP would you recommend in my case? Which program did you have the best experiences with? I'm also open for other ideas, meaning it does not have to be a special program.

Thanks for reading and also for your answers!

Well, on the one hand, with FB, you have much, much better redemption options ex-MUC (to anywhere other than the Americas) and, from what I can see on KVS, better availability than CO does. I'm fairly certain that CO & DL both only get partial availability for reward classes, plus you usually have to wait a while to get them confirmed with an intl ST partner, at least for CO.

There's also the matter of upgrade rewards. If you have FB, you can UG on AF of KL. With CO and DL, you can only upgrade on each respective carrier. There are also severe restrictions or, in the case of CO, ridiculous fees for discounted Y UGs. Also, you can't get AF F rewards through them either (which is definitely the way to get the most bang for your mileage euro).
There are, however, two things that would point me towards either CO or DL. Those are that they both, at least with CO, allow you to keep your acct. active with a purchase from their shopping partners, which are large in number and also that they have better accrual terms. This makes more of a difference if you have to earn your mileage over a long period of time before you can get a reward.

So basically, I would go with FB if you're more interested in redemption and CO/DL if you're more interested in long-term accrual. I would have to say that, on the whole, your best bet is FB. Hope I've helped.

Thanks for your answer! ^
I was also told that OK Plus (CSA Czech Airlines) wouldn't be bad either. Any experinces with that?

I switched to CSA OK Plus from FB and am very happy with the transition. What I like are the system-wide status upgrades, good earning possibilities (few 50% classes and 1000 min for int. segments) and the good customer service. Miles never expire as long as you are an active member, which you are as long as you have some kind of account movement within the last three years.

Another program good for intra-europe travel is AZ Millemiglia. They have a min of 1200 miles for int. segments but on the other hand award you 0% for some lower Skyteam classes.

Is it then so with OK Plus that you get 500 minimum-miles on the 50%-fares or do you get also 1000 then? Ok, the latter one is not really probable
I guess that I'll join OK Plus if I fly Skyteam in future