(1) I split my times between LAX/ORD/IAD/JFK/ATL. It's hard to explain.
(2) Economy and Buisness
(3) Can't really say how many miles I fly annually. It varies a lot.
(4) No
(5) No Expiration Dates. Lounge Access is the second most important for me. Little things like Prioirty check-in and seating are little things, but I can deal without them.
(6) International. Rare occasions of domestic, unless I'm on stopover.
(7) Any *A member except United, Continental, SAS, or US Airways
(8) Both. Maybe a little more on the work side.

*My buisness leaves me off the road for many times. Some years though, I travel quite frequently, which is why I would greatly prefer no-expiry programs.

Please don't cross post.

If all you want is quick *G and no expiry, there is nothing better than A3, as I have told you repeatedly.

(1) What is your home airport?
ZQN & MUC, based for 6 months in NZ & 6 months in GER
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ?
Economy
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year?
Varies.
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present?
Silver *A earned on full economy flights.
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP?
Lounge Access - generally long stopovers enroute
(6) Which routes do you fly most often?
ZQN-AKL-LAX-LHR 2x year, ZQN-SYD-SIN-MUC 2x, 6x TransTasman Jul-Oct & 15+ US regional & EU regional per year - Nov-Jun.
(7) Preferred Airlines
Not fussy though NZ, SQ & LH are my main carriers
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure?
90% work

thanks!

discoseal:

If you think you'll make 100k miles (well, that might mean 45k in C, or around 80k in Y if in middle-higher booking classes) once every second year, I would definitely go with LH. Your status will be valid for 2 years+ (If you qualify in 2011, it will be valid till 02/2014), your miles won't expire as long as you hold any status (and FTL@35k miles is quite easily achieved, even though it's not *G) AND if you happen to fly a lot two years in a row, you'll prolonger your status beforehand for +2 years (ie, making SEN/*G on them in 2011 and 2012 will make your status be valid till 02/2016)

Their earning in C (and especially F) are the best in all *A programs I would say, and their availability for redeeming is high. You'll have lounge access when flying in the US domestic as well.

Hi FT! I'm new to the forum (and new to the miles game in general) and so I'm a bit overwhelmed here trying to take in all the info, so I could use a bit of help. I apologize if this is lengthy - I'm not 100% sure yet which info is relevant or not.

I normally fly domestically 6-7 times per year and internationally 1-2 times. All personal trips. As of last night I took a new job with an Australian firm (I live in NYC now) and will be moving to Sydney by the end of this month. I need to purchase a NYC-SYD ticket in the next week or so. My old job required very minimal travel, but the new job will have me flying to NZ, Fiji, and some other areas in the next 6 months. I'll be back in the USA in about 9 months and doing a fair amount of traveling (probably 2-3 trips per month) but I do NOT know where I'll be based upon my return. Most likely candidates are NYC, DC, or ATL.

So, that having been said. I think *A is the best choice for me due to its global reach. Am I right? No idea where to go from here though. I travel quite light on biz trips, but I'm a rock/ice climber and fly with 100+ lbs of ropes/ice axes/etc several times a year so getting increased baggage allowances would be high on my list of importance. Also, something with a good personal credit card that can be used without a fee internationally would be nice if you have any input.

(1) What is your home airport? (SFO, LAX, MCO, etc.)
Currently NYC. Will be SYD for 8-9 months. Then back in the USA, but not sure where
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ? (C, F, Y, etc.)
Usually Economy
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
Not even sure, but it will certainly be going way up starting in 3 weeks
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it? (UA Premier, M&M Senator etc)
No status currently
(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.)
Award redemption rates and increased baggage allowances. Upgrades would be nice too.
(6) Which routes do you fly most often (US Domestic, Transpacific etc)
See above
(7) Preferred Airlines
No preference
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? (Can you chooose your airlines, class of service?)
Both work and pleasure, but I purchase all my own tickets and the company reimburses me

Again, I realize this is a ton of info, so I truly do appreciate anyone who takes the time to wade through it and pass on some insight. Thanks so much!

If you are unsure about keeping this flying up, and you want to be sure to be in a program that will work for you even if you stop traveling, I suggest Aegean Airlines.

However, I can't really suggest anything else unless you give a more specific amount of miles - if you plan to fly 50k miles, the answer is one airline, while if you plan to fly 75k miles, the answer completely changes...

If you could just estimate (and accounting for 50% fare earning classes if you will be buying cheapo tickets will be helpful too ;) )

PVDtoDEL - thanks for the input. To be honest, I really don't have any way to forecast the number of miles. It's safe to assume lower though. Much more likely to be in the 30-50K range. I don't think my travel will be particularly excessive.

Is there a place that lists all the schemes? I'm not even really sure which "schemes" are out there, so I'm not even really sure what I'm looking for.

A few years ago, an FTer made an excel sheet of most of the Star programs. However, most of hte programs have changed .. Currently, there are not any similar comparative files on FT. Perhaps there is one somewhere else.

Since you are unable to predict the number of miles you will fly, go for Aegean as PVDtoDEL suggested.

Here is a page that shows which programs have expiring miles....that maybe of some use:
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/theglo...eage-expiry-2/

(1) Home airport: SIN
(2) Usually buy economy fares.
(3) Usually fly a bit over 50K miles per year with Star Alliance and another 50K or so with other assorted carriers.
(4) I have United Premier Executive status currently (and will requalify for 2012). But I'm concerned about United's apparent enforcement of a minimum 4 United flights rule starting in 2012 for elite qualification for 2013 and beyond. That might be a challenge for me.
(5) Lounge access is important to me. I also like redemption opportunities, particularly to/from the U.S. and Japan. I'm not wild about mileage expiration.
(6) Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, southeast Asia (e.g. Jakarta, Hanoi, Kuala Lumpur), occasionally the U.S.
(7) I tend to fly Singapore Airlines, Air China, and Asiana. Occasionally I end up on the Lufthansa flight to/from Jakarta.
(8) I travel for work and have limited flexibility.

Thanks in advance.

Asiana sounds like a good bet for you - easy to requalify for *G, lounge access everywhere, and they give you extra perks if you fly with them...

Asiana looks pretty decent at first glance. Mileage expiration after 10 (or more) years isn't too bad, and it looks like Star Alliance Gold is attainable after 40K miles within 24 months, with some more favorable EQM calculations on Air China than United offers. I also like that Qatar and Etihad are partners. I might fly those airlines (along with Emirates). On the other hand, redemption rates seem quite steep. A SIN-NRT economy roundtrip ticket is 50,000 miles (versus as little as 30,000 on United), for example. A SIN-JFK economy roundtrip requires nearly double the miles (120,000 v. 65,000). :(

Yes, redemption has always been a pain on Asiana (YQ and high mileage rates), but there are some decent deals, just not in Asia. And Asiana is rather generous with earning, while most other airlines have more 50% fare buckets and lower earning levels. It's a different way of doing things...

My favorite perk of OZ though is the lifetime *G at 500k EQM, because the next lowest lifetime *G (or equivalent) on another alliance is double that...

That 500K EQM lifetime *G offer on Asiana is quite interesting, particularly since all Star Alliance EQM activity counts, right?

Air Canada looks great on paper except for required minimum flying on AC metal to get elite status, just like United is introducing. There's also the 7 year mileage expiration. Too bad, because they've got 20K Singapore-Japan and 75K Singapore-U.S. awards, and that 75K award is particularly interesting with the stopover/open jaw/cross-any-ocean flexibility.

How about U.S. Airways? Or Aegean, perhaps just crediting enough miles to qualify/requalify for status then putting other miles opportunistically in another program with better earning and/or redemption? (Although Aegean seems to have a pretty good 25K Singapore-Japan award. U.S. awards don't look too great, though.)

Yes, all star alliance flights (except for CA to FNJ) count for OZ lifetime *G.

Air Canada has been steadily devaluing their program lately, and I think it will likely continue. If you head out to the AC forum, you will find many an unhappy person.

US is a great FFP for a domestic US flyer, because UDU availability is good. Miles used to be cheap from them as well, which was an advantage to international members. However, they have recently increased the price of miles quite steeply. Also, they don't fly to Asia...

A3 is not a good idea for you because of their policy that to get lounge access and other *G perks, you must credit to them. so once you get *G, you have to keep on crediting to their FFP to get the benifits. If you want to use the benifits but credit to another program, you will need to find a different program...