newbie question on FF miles
 

Hey All,

So I'm slightly confused on what exactly is the point of star alliance.

So I fly on UA, CO and United which are all within the alliance. Does this mean that if I fly 400 miles on a CO trip, I can apply those 400 miles to my UA FF account?

If not, what exactly is it that I can do between these three airlines...basically, what is the advantage of star alliance?

Yes, that is it exactly.
When you fly on an airline within the alliance, as long as you are in an appropriate fare
class, you can earn miles that will be credited to your home airline account.
If you are a status flier, then you will also receive other benefits from other airlines
within the alliance, such as lounge access, priority baggage handling, priority
waitlisting, etc

And you can use miles in your account on award tickets to fly on other airlines in the alliance as well as your own. By the way, Star Alliance now has 26 members, not just the 3 US-based airlines you mention.

okay thanks for the clear-up. so i just recently flew CO....to apply these miles to my UA account I just use my UA frequent flyer #?

also, can I transfer miles from one airline to the other?

No transfer, you should just pick one program and use that number for all alliance flights.