Jan 20, 2016, 10:53 pm
Last edit by: jtet
A number of threads have been started with members asking for guidance on which mileage programme they should join. In order to help users I have started this thread to allow people to post their requests for information here and to allow people to offer assistance.
For members asking for information please help people to assist you, can you provide:
(1) What is your home airport? (SFO, LAX, MCO, etc.)
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ? (C, F, Y, etc.)
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it? (UA Silver, M&M Senator etc)
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? (Frequent upgrades on travel, priority services when flying the airline, good award redemption rates, free lounge access, etc.)
(6) Which routes do you fly most often (US Domestic, Transpacific etc)
(7) Preferred Airlines
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? (Can you chooose your airlines, class of service?)
GENERAL INFORMATION:
If you fly less than 50k miles per year: it is almost guaranteed that your choice will be between Aegean Airlines, Turkish Airlines, and Asiana Airlines. Please look up these airlines' frequent flier programs, and make a decision as to which best suits your needs.
Some considerations to take into account:
Airlines tend to treat members of their own frequent flier program better than members of other frequent flier programs. If you fly one of these airlines, it is recommended that you choose that airline.
Some airlines have better earning/redemption charts for your pattern. For example, if you fly on cheap fares on a certain airline often, Turkish might give you miles for it, while Aegean might not. However, Turkish Airlines might charge much more for the redemption that you want to make than Aegean.
Asiana Airlines offers lifetime Star Alliance Gold for 500k miles over life. The other 2 airlines do not offer this benefit.
Asiana Airlines has a credit card in the USA and some other countries. If you are interested in credit cards, check to make sure that the program that you join has a credit card in your country.
If you still aren't sure which frequent flyer program is for you after looking these up, feel free to ask on this thread.
For members asking for information please help people to assist you, can you provide:
(1) What is your home airport? (SFO, LAX, MCO, etc.)
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ? (C, F, Y, etc.)
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it? (UA Silver, M&M Senator etc)
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? (Frequent upgrades on travel, priority services when flying the airline, good award redemption rates, free lounge access, etc.)
(6) Which routes do you fly most often (US Domestic, Transpacific etc)
(7) Preferred Airlines
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? (Can you chooose your airlines, class of service?)
GENERAL INFORMATION:
If you fly less than 50k miles per year: it is almost guaranteed that your choice will be between Aegean Airlines, Turkish Airlines, and Asiana Airlines. Please look up these airlines' frequent flier programs, and make a decision as to which best suits your needs.
Some considerations to take into account:
Airlines tend to treat members of their own frequent flier program better than members of other frequent flier programs. If you fly one of these airlines, it is recommended that you choose that airline.
Some airlines have better earning/redemption charts for your pattern. For example, if you fly on cheap fares on a certain airline often, Turkish might give you miles for it, while Aegean might not. However, Turkish Airlines might charge much more for the redemption that you want to make than Aegean.
Asiana Airlines offers lifetime Star Alliance Gold for 500k miles over life. The other 2 airlines do not offer this benefit.
Asiana Airlines has a credit card in the USA and some other countries. If you are interested in credit cards, check to make sure that the program that you join has a credit card in your country.
If you still aren't sure which frequent flyer program is for you after looking these up, feel free to ask on this thread.
Need advice on which *A FF scheme to join? - please post here
May 7, 2024 | 10:37 am
#2536
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: LAX
Programs: UA Silver, American, Delta, Hilton Gold
Posts: 6
Mega Asia trip on Star Alliance - should I collect UA miles or do something else
Background - I am currently United Silver Elite. I have a LAX-ICN-BKK-SIN-PVG-CAN-BKK-HYD-BLR-SIN-LAX trip booked on OZ/SQ/CA/TG/SQ. LAX to BKK is Z class and BLR to LAX is J class. Rest are Economy.
Based on the PQP calculator it seems I would get 3256 PQP and 24250 award miles. My question is should I do this or switch to Kris Flyer or Asiana frequent flier account? I have 711 PQP for 2024 on United Airlines. I have a lot of Europe and USA travel pending for 2024.
Thank you all in advance for your help.
Based on the PQP calculator it seems I would get 3256 PQP and 24250 award miles. My question is should I do this or switch to Kris Flyer or Asiana frequent flier account? I have 711 PQP for 2024 on United Airlines. I have a lot of Europe and USA travel pending for 2024.
Thank you all in advance for your help.
May 7, 2024 | 10:43 am
#2537
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: MBS/FNT/LAN
Programs: UA 1K, HH Gold, Mariott Gold
Posts: 9,696
Background - I am currently United Silver Elite. I have a LAX-ICN-BKK-SIN-PVG-CAN-BKK-HYD-BLR-SIN-LAX trip booked on OZ/SQ/CA/TG/SQ. LAX to BKK is Z class and BLR to LAX is J class. Rest are Economy.
Based on the PQP calculator it seems I would get 3256 PQP and 24250 award miles. My question is should I do this or switch to Kris Flyer or Asiana frequent flier account? I have 711 PQP for 2024 on United Airlines. I have a lot of Europe and USA travel pending for 2024.
Thank you all in advance for your help.
Based on the PQP calculator it seems I would get 3256 PQP and 24250 award miles. My question is should I do this or switch to Kris Flyer or Asiana frequent flier account? I have 711 PQP for 2024 on United Airlines. I have a lot of Europe and USA travel pending for 2024.
Thank you all in advance for your help.
May 7, 2024 | 10:52 am
#2539
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 3,699
Need advice on which *A FF scheme to join? - please post here.
Asiana is leaving star alliance at some point (maybe end of year, maybe next year). With these unknowns (when theyll stop allowing accuracy on other * alliance airlines), probably not asiana
Asiana is leaving star alliance at some point (maybe end of year, maybe next year). With these unknowns (when theyll stop allowing accuracy on other * alliance airlines), probably not asiana
May 7, 2024 | 10:54 am
#2540
Join Date: Feb 2022
Location: LAX
Programs: UA
Posts: 2,212
What is important for you in a frequent flyer program?
1. How important is requalifying for UA silver/potentially getting gold or higher?
2. How important is the ability to redeem the miles (at a reasonable cost)?
3. Have you checked how much this would earn with other programs?
1. How important is requalifying for UA silver/potentially getting gold or higher?
2. How important is the ability to redeem the miles (at a reasonable cost)?
3. Have you checked how much this would earn with other programs?
May 7, 2024 | 11:09 am
#2541
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: LAX
Programs: UA Silver, American, Delta, Hilton Gold
Posts: 6
What is important for you in a frequent flyer program?
1. How important is requalifying for UA silver/potentially getting gold or higher?
2. How important is the ability to redeem the miles (at a reasonable cost)?
3. Have you checked how much this would earn with other programs?
1. How important is requalifying for UA silver/potentially getting gold or higher?
2. How important is the ability to redeem the miles (at a reasonable cost)?
3. Have you checked how much this would earn with other programs?
To answer your questions, I would like to get some status preferably Gold because I still have a lot of travel pending. I do redeem miles frequently - typically in Economy to Asia and South Africa. I did check the earning on SQ - award miles were higher but I would only get to Kris Silver not Kris Gold. And all subsequent UA travel in 2024 would need to go towards SQ FF program.
May 7, 2024 | 2:31 pm
#2542
Join Date: May 2018
Location: FRA
Programs: LH SEN
Posts: 1,937
I would start a spreadsheet and compare what sticking with UA looks like vs switching to SQ.
Keep in mind that UA status is usually worth more when flying/redeeming on UA and vice versa.
The one benefit of achieving SQ *G is the use of UA clubs when flying domestically.
Keep in mind that UA status is usually worth more when flying/redeeming on UA and vice versa.
The one benefit of achieving SQ *G is the use of UA clubs when flying domestically.
May 9, 2024 | 8:45 pm
#2543
Join Date: Aug 2006
Programs: IHG Platinum Elite, Marriott Lifetime Gold
Posts: 116
1) Home Airport is SFO
2) Will be buying Business Class roundtrip SFO - SIN on Singapore Airlines. But an infrequent flyer
3) <25K annually
4) No current status.
5) Maximizing usage of miles earned for redemption on US domestic economy flights
6) US Domestic
7) For work international, Singapore Airlines. For domestic work or personal, no preference
8) Travel for both work and pleasure
2) Will be buying Business Class roundtrip SFO - SIN on Singapore Airlines. But an infrequent flyer
3) <25K annually
4) No current status.
5) Maximizing usage of miles earned for redemption on US domestic economy flights
6) US Domestic
7) For work international, Singapore Airlines. For domestic work or personal, no preference
8) Travel for both work and pleasure
May 9, 2024 | 9:45 pm
#2544
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: MEL CHC
Posts: 22,926
1) Home Airport is SFO
2) Will be buying Business Class roundtrip SFO - SIN on Singapore Airlines. But an infrequent flyer
3) <25K annually
4) No current status.
5) Maximizing usage of miles earned for redemption on US domestic economy flights
6) US Domestic
7) For work international, Singapore Airlines. For domestic work or personal, no preference
8) Travel for both work and pleasure
2) Will be buying Business Class roundtrip SFO - SIN on Singapore Airlines. But an infrequent flyer
3) <25K annually
4) No current status.
5) Maximizing usage of miles earned for redemption on US domestic economy flights
6) US Domestic
7) For work international, Singapore Airlines. For domestic work or personal, no preference
8) Travel for both work and pleasure
UA ff miles do not expire
Many people now get many ff miles from non-flying activity.
Miles/Points that Do and Don't Expire Open the wiki
May 16, 2024 | 5:46 pm
#2545
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BOS/EAP
Programs: UA 1K, AS MVP Gold, MR LTT, HH Dia, IHG Dia, Amex Plat
Posts: 37,455
1) Home Airport is SFO
2) Will be buying Business Class roundtrip SFO - SIN on Singapore Airlines. But an infrequent flyer
3) <25K annually
4) No current status.
5) Maximizing usage of miles earned for redemption on US domestic economy flights
6) US Domestic
7) For work international, Singapore Airlines. For domestic work or personal, no preference
8) Travel for both work and pleasure
2) Will be buying Business Class roundtrip SFO - SIN on Singapore Airlines. But an infrequent flyer
3) <25K annually
4) No current status.
5) Maximizing usage of miles earned for redemption on US domestic economy flights
6) US Domestic
7) For work international, Singapore Airlines. For domestic work or personal, no preference
8) Travel for both work and pleasure
May 21, 2024 | 6:18 am
#2546
Join Date: May 2024
Posts: 2
Hi! I'm a UK based university student looking into which FF programme I should redeem my flights into. I will most likely fly from london to HKG at least once a year, along with flights to europe/US for leisure or internships.
(1) What is your home airport? HKG / london
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy? usually the cheapest fares
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? 25k-50k
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it? N/A
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? Points for awards, lounge access
(6) Which routes do you fly most often? London -> HKG -> London
(7) Preferred Airlines – N/A
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? For leisure
(1) What is your home airport? HKG / london
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy? usually the cheapest fares
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? 25k-50k
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it? N/A
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? Points for awards, lounge access
(6) Which routes do you fly most often? London -> HKG -> London
(7) Preferred Airlines – N/A
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? For leisure
May 23, 2024 | 5:20 am
#2547
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: ARN / OSD / TRD
Programs: AC, SK, Scandic, Marriott
Posts: 1,514
Hi! I'm a UK based university student looking into which FF programme I should redeem my flights into. I will most likely fly from london to HKG at least once a year, along with flights to europe/US for leisure or internships.
(1) What is your home airport? HKG / london
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy? usually the cheapest fares
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? 25k-50k
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it? N/A
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? Points for awards, lounge access
(6) Which routes do you fly most often? London -> HKG -> London
(7) Preferred Airlines N/A
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? For leisure
(1) What is your home airport? HKG / london
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy? usually the cheapest fares
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? 25k-50k
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it? N/A
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? Points for awards, lounge access
(6) Which routes do you fly most often? London -> HKG -> London
(7) Preferred Airlines N/A
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? For leisure
May 23, 2024 | 5:34 am
#2548
Join Date: May 2024
Posts: 2
Thinking more about *A since it seems (to me at least) that it would be easier to get status on *A programmes when compared to oneworld, and that most of the time the cheaper flights from HKG to london are connecting? I'm really not sure about it though. If I were to go for oneworld programmes which one should I try? Thanks!
May 23, 2024 | 9:14 pm
#2549
Join Date: Dec 2023
Programs: Cathay Pacific Asia Miles Korean Air Skypass Philippine Airlines Mabuhay Miles
Posts: 626
Advantage of SQ Gold status
1) Home Airport is SFO
2) Will be buying Business Class roundtrip SFO - SIN on Singapore Airlines. But an infrequent flyer
3) <25K annually
4) No current status.
5) Maximizing usage of miles earned for redemption on US domestic economy flights
6) US Domestic
7) For work international, Singapore Airlines. For domestic work or personal, no preference
8) Travel for both work and pleasure
2) Will be buying Business Class roundtrip SFO - SIN on Singapore Airlines. But an infrequent flyer
3) <25K annually
4) No current status.
5) Maximizing usage of miles earned for redemption on US domestic economy flights
6) US Domestic
7) For work international, Singapore Airlines. For domestic work or personal, no preference
8) Travel for both work and pleasure
May 28, 2024 | 3:00 am
#2550
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 250
I have been using Aegean M+B but have yet to make it even to Silver level. 5 of my most recent short haul Star Alliance flights havent credited for various reasons.
I now have two RTW trips booked with LH/LX/SQ/NZ in a mixture of Business and First and was wondering whether Im better off switching to Lufthansa M+M?
The Aegean sectors arent coming organically (but being EU based arent particularly challenging) but the Lufthansa sectors that Im not taking due to most fare classes not crediting to Aegean would, hence the dilemma.
I now have two RTW trips booked with LH/LX/SQ/NZ in a mixture of Business and First and was wondering whether Im better off switching to Lufthansa M+M?
The Aegean sectors arent coming organically (but being EU based arent particularly challenging) but the Lufthansa sectors that Im not taking due to most fare classes not crediting to Aegean would, hence the dilemma.