What domestic airline would you suggest to start a loyalty program with?

[lovevacadays]

Most of my flying has been through my work. All my flights are arranged and paid for through our corporate office. I plan on flying more on a personal basis. I would like to start some kind of loyalty program as I see so many get free upgrades, etc. How would I go about knowing who might be the best airline to book future flights with keeping in mind their loyalty programs.

[CruiserBruce]

What airport (s) would be your home airport? Look who has a large hub or presence there.

 

Look for who has a credit card loyalty program you can associate with the airline that fits the answer to the above question.

[grvdggr71]

It won't hurt to sign up for one program in each of the big 3 airline alliances. Those alliances are Star Alliance (United, US Airways), SkyTeam (Delta), and oneworld (American Airlines). You can accrue miles with a program flying on other airlines within the alliance. For example, I have a United FF# that I can use with US Airways flights and earn more miles for United.

 

As CruiserBruce said, think about what airline you'll most likely be flying on and try to stick with them. It takes a lot of miles to start getting the free goodies (usually about 25,000 miles, or about 11 one-way flights between LA and Washington, in a single calendar year).

 

If you find yourself doing a significant amount of flying either for personal or business reasons, you may want to also consider getting the airline's credit card. The United card I have costs $95/year in annual fees, but when I book a United flight with it it allows me a free checked bag for myself and a companion, my miles never expire as long as my card is active, and I get two free passes a year to the premium lounge. I justify the annual fee by thinking that as long as I fly round trip with my wife at least once a year and we each check a bag, I've saved money.

[6rugrats]

Most of my flying has been through my work. All my flights are arranged and paid for through our corporate office. I plan on flying more on a personal basis. I would like to start some kind of loyalty program as I see so many get free upgrades, etc. How would I go about knowing who might be the best airline to book future flights with keeping in mind their loyalty programs.

Aren't you a member of any FF programs now? Even if your work pays for them, you should be able to earn FF miles, can't you?

[klfrodo]

90% of my flying is booked by work travel. I still acrue miles. It's illegal for your company to take your miles I believe

 

Which airline do you fly most?

Where do you usually fly to?

What airline covers those cities?

Which partners are important to you?

 

I get my miles from Alaska. I earn miles on Delta and American with my AS FF account. My status on AS transfers to DL and AA when boarding. My status is supposed to transfer to DL for free upgrades, but that has never happened. (once in the old Northwest days)

[Bowie MeMe]

I use the credit card issued from my insurance company. I earn points for each dollar spent and I spend alot:p. Those points then pay for my insurance on car or house etc. The money that I get by not having to pay for insurance can then be used to buy the best ticket I can get to fly where I want to go. I have earned over $14000 dollars in insurance dollars in the past 10 years. . I have to have insurance and from the one company. I take many different airlines, hotel rooms, car rentals etc. depending on where I am traveling so the company would vary.

 

Works for me. Many options out there for credit cards -- what works for you. I do not pay for credit card since I seem to be doing well with the ones who do not charge me fees for whatever reason (other business or banking relationship).

[FlyerTalker]

Most of my flying has been through my work. All my flights are arranged and paid for through our corporate office. I plan on flying more on a personal basis. I would like to start some kind of loyalty program as I see so many get free upgrades, etc. How would I go about knowing who might be the best airline to book future flights with keeping in mind their loyalty programs.

Let me get this straight -- You already fly for business and aren't getting any FF benefits.

 

GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL. DO NOT PASS GO. DO NOT COLLECT $200.

 

Immediately sign up for the corporate airline's FF program.

[Jade13]

US Airways. Star Alliance has so many partners that we have used for travel overseas, mostly Lufthansa or SWISS.

 

I already have my FFmile number in my corporate data. Most, if not all, Corporations in the US use software to book flights and should have input all of your information including FFmile numbers. It should not matter if you book the flights or someone at the corporation does but they should have asked you for your number. If you need to fly on American or a partner use a FFmile number for Amercan Airlines so you can fly on Oneworld partners. We just flew to Chile using 20,000 miles each on LAN with miles from American. We then used that booking number to get a great deal on internal flights in South America.

 

Also get a Starwoods Amex for personal use. You can move the miles into almost all FFmile programs at no cost when you are ready to purchase award travel. In most cases if you move 20,000 points Starwoods give you an additional 5,000.

 

As far as I know the corporations cannot take your miles.

[lovevacadays]

It won't hurt to sign up for one program in each of the big 3 airline alliances. Those alliances are Star Alliance (United, US Airways), SkyTeam (Delta), and oneworld (American Airlines). You can accrue miles with a program flying on other airlines within the alliance. For example, I have a United FF# that I can use with US Airways flights and earn more miles for United.

 

As CruiserBruce said, think about what airline you'll most likely be flying on and try to stick with them. It takes a lot of miles to start getting the free goodies (usually about 25,000 miles, or about 11 one-way flights between LA and Washington, in a single calendar year).

 

If you find yourself doing a significant amount of flying either for personal or business reasons, you may want to also consider getting the airline's credit card. The United card I have costs $95/year in annual fees, but when I book a United flight with it it allows me a free checked bag for myself and a companion, my miles never expire as long as my card is active, and I get two free passes a year to the premium lounge. I justify the annual fee by thinking that as long as I fly round trip with my wife at least once a year and we each check a bag, I've saved money.

 

Let me get this straight -- You already fly for business and aren't getting any FF benefits.

 

GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL. DO NOT PASS GO. DO NOT COLLECT $200.

 

Immediately sign up for the corporate airline's FF program.

 

Ok thank you. I didn't know these things and my company (a Fortune 500 didn't tell me). I am really not the best flyer so I take responsibility for not researching these things. When I have to fly, I just want to get it done with. Now, I know that if I want to really see the places I want to see I have to be ok with flying and become more educated. I guess I am really to blame for not getting FF benefits with my business travel. I will know better in the future.

 

I apologize for my uneducated threads recently. But, thank you for your replies.:)

[scottbee]

Two:

 

• AS/Alaska; on which you can accrue AS,DL/Delta & AA/American;and
  
• either UA/United or US/US Air; on which you can accrue UA,US and AC/Air Canada
  

Start collecting on both.

 

 

For international, you can accrue almost every major airline in the world on one or the other.

[Rockfan2]

Alaska Airlines Signature Card - $75 annual fee.

 

25,000 bonus miles at sign up, enough for a return flight.

 

One $99 companion fare

 

Two passes to Alaska lounge

 

1 mile for each dollar spent

 

3 miles for each dollar spent on Alaska Air

 

As of August 1st, the Companion fare can only be used to book coach fare. We used to be able to use the Companion fare to book first class.

 

I believe it has been voted the best loyalty card in the airline industry.

 

Rockfan2

[waterbug123]

Ok thank you. I didn't know these things and my company (a Fortune 500 didn't tell me). I am really not the best flyer so I take responsibility for not researching these things. When I have to fly, I just want to get it done with. Now, I know that if I want to really see the places I want to see I have to be ok with flying and become more educated. I guess I am really to blame for not getting FF benefits with my business travel. I will know better in the future.

 

I apologize for my uneducated threads recently. But, thank you for your replies.:)

 

No need to apologize. You had questions, now you have some answers! Most experienced posters on this board are happy to help people become more informed.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Miles are a great thing....

[Gloria Mundi]

It won't hurt to sign up for one program in each of the big 3 airline alliances. Those alliances are Star Alliance (United, US Airways), SkyTeam (Delta), and oneworld (American Airlines). You can accrue miles with a program flying on other airlines within the alliance. For example, I have a United FF# that I can use with US Airways flights and earn more miles for United.

 

As CruiserBruce said, think about what airline you'll most likely be flying on and try to stick with them.

 

I agree with all of this. I've done most of my flying on AA and have Lifetime Eite with them, but rarely have a flight where I don't accrue miles on some program or other. Southwest is an exception: theirs pays off only if you fly with them pretty often.

 

One caveat: some airlines will delete the miles in your account if it's inactive for a long period, usually 18 months. They'll tell you beforehand and an inexpensive purchase through their shopping portal will start the clock ticking again. I once rescued 100K miles in DH's AA account by buying a $15 iTunes gift card. We later redeemed those miles for a Business Class flight to Spain.

 

And while you're at it, don't forget to sign up for the hotel programs, too! They're much better about reward stays than the airlines are about reward seats.

[flhokie]

Exactly as others have said...1 airline per alliance.

 

I try to fly US Airways exclusively. When that's not possible I try for United (using my US Airways FF #). If I can't do that then I make sure to get miles on either Delta or AA (worst case option is Southwest/AirTran).

 

We just booked business class to Europe on Lufthansa using my US Airways miles. I love the option of using miles on the various STAR Alliance carriers.

[FlyerTalker]

I haven't weighed in on this, partly because it is such a HUGE topic with many, many variables. My biggest advice is that you start from the very beginning -- look in the mirror first. You need to make a realistic assessment of how any FF program would work FOR YOU.

 

First...look at where you would earn the miles. What is your flying pattern, on which airlines and for what reason? Is there an alternative and what are the pros and cons of each carrier?

 

Second....how many miles will you earn from your flying (not from spend)? It is BIS miles that get you status You need to have a realistic estimate of what your will fly in a year to determine just what level of status you might achieve.

 

Third....what are your aspirations from the program? If you want flights to Tahiti, then you need to be with a program that can get you there. If you will get elite status, see who gives you the best benefits FOR YOUR TIER. It doesn't matter if top tier gets free lounge access if you won't make that. Realistically put your earning up against what you want to get and see the best match.

 

Fourth....know that you will have to concentrate all of your earning. That means mileage credit cards, mileage malls for online purchases, and even paying more for air tickets so your miles say with your preferred program. It makes no sense to save $20 on a ticket and lose the miles into an orphan program.

 

Fifth....research. Then research some more. And then some more.

 

Lots of resources online if you choose to use them.

 

Good luck.

[Jade13]

Ok thank you. I didn't know these things and my company (a Fortune 500 didn't tell me). I am really not the best flyer so I take responsibility for not researching these things. When I have to fly, I just want to get it done with. Now, I know that if I want to really see the places I want to see I have to be ok with flying and become more educated. I guess I am really to blame for not getting FF benefits with my business travel. I will know better in the future.

 

I apologize for my uneducated threads recently. But, thank you for your replies.:)

 

You might be able to go back a few months and get some points added depending on the airline if you have the proof such as boarding pass, etc.

[lovevacadays]

You might be able to go back a few months and get some points added depending on the airline if you have the proof such as boarding pass, etc.

 

Oh, good to know. I flew for work just a few months ago. I'll check and see what I have.

 

Thanks everyone for your additional comments.

[frugaltravel]

You might be able to go back a few months and get some points added depending on the airline if you have the proof such as boarding pass, etc.

 

I just read today that United now allows you to go back up to a full year and get miles for prior flights you took.

[Zach1213]

When I was a wee 22 year old starting my job back in 2006, I at first stuck to Southwest because they were biggest out of Kansas City. The next year I started flying internationally and decided to stick to United/Star Alliance, but became unhappy with their product. I decided to try American/OneWorld and really enjoyed them. This is also the time I started making trips to places where OneWorld carriers are popular - Australia (Qantas) and Hong Kong/Mainland China (Cathay Pacific/Dragonair). This pretty much helped me cement ExecPlat status which I've had since about 2008.

 

That being said, there are certain areas where it really lacks. I was going to Bremen, Germany quite often a few years back, and no OneWorld airline flew there. I would either have to fly AA to Frankfurt and take a train, or BA to Hamburg and take a train. One time I just sucked it up and flew United/Lufthansa without status, and didn't like it. You get so spoiled!

 

All this is saying that, unless you know where your travels are going to take you, it's kind of a crap shoot. All of the three alliances have partners all over the world, and most will cover the same airports. Some have holes, but unless you really know you'll be going to somewhere where a hole is, you just have to take a chance.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

We don't us just one any more ..

[Zach1213]

We don't us just one any more ..

 

Do you fly enough that status would make a difference if you stuck to one? Like free bags, possible upgrades, higher on the list if your flight gets cancelled, etc.? If so, I definitely recommend trying to stick to one. If not, doesn't matter.

[lovevacadays]

Do you fly enough that status would make a difference if you stuck to one? Like free bags, possible upgrades, higher on the list if your flight gets cancelled, etc.? If so, I definitely recommend trying to stick to one. If not, doesn't matter.

 

I think the poster you responded to cruises alot but not sure why they don't stick to one airline.

 

I probably don't fly enough to get to the perks you've mentioned. I guess I'm better off looking for the best airfare for whatever category I want to fly than trying to be loyal to one airline.

[FlyerTalker]

I probably don't fly enough to get to the perks you've mentioned. I guess I'm better off looking for the best airfare for whatever category I want to fly than trying to be loyal to one airline.

Even if you don't fly enough to make elite status, there is still the issue of "orphan miles". Miles are, in effect, a rebate from the airline. If they end up in an account where they won't ever get redeemed, then you have wasted that rebate. Better to have it accumulate in one account only - one that stands a reasonable chance of being used.

 

And don't think that doesn't add up. A domestic transcon r/t is good for 5k miles, to Europe at least 8k, and Asia should be a sure 12k+. Yes, it does add up.