How to Pick a Frequent Flyer Program

If you haven't decided on a frequent flyer (or flier) program to concentrate your miles in yet, you should definitely decide before your next flight. While not everyone is going to buy tickets on a particular airline just to get miles, the frequent flyer program you have the most miles in should be part of your decision-making process when choosing a flight. How to Pick a Frequent Flyer Program will help you choose a program, and will also give you advice as to how to maintain your membership in the program you choose.

If you haven't decided on a frequent flyer (or flier) program to concentrate your miles in yet, you should definitely decide before your next flight. While not everyone is going to buy tickets on a particular airline just to get miles, the frequent flyer program you have the most miles in should be part of your decision-making process when choosing a flight. How to Pick a Frequent Flyer Program will help you choose a program, and will also give you advice as to how to maintain your membership in the program you choose.
Introduction
- If you travel, and you are not earning miles or points for your travel, you are denying yourself an important perk that millions of people enjoy. If you are confused by the dizzying array of programs out there, you are not alone. Choosing a frequent flyer program to concentrate your miles in can be confusing at first, but in the end, you must choose. Don't let these valuable perks disappear through inaction. Here, we will give you some tips as to how to choose the frequent flyer program most appropriate for you, and then we will also give you advice as to how you can maintain those miles and keep track of your account.
Step 1: Figure out where you travel the most
- The first factor to consider when choosing a frequent flyer mile program is obvious: where do you live and where do you fly?
  1. Find what airlines operate the most flights out of your city. If you live in Nashville and never fly internationally, there is little point in making Virgin Atlantic's Flying Club your primary program. However, if you live in Salt Lake City, you may want to consider amassing your miles in Delta's Skymiles program. Why? Delta has a major hub in Salt Lake City, and dominates air traffic into and out of the city.
    REMEMBER: Residents of New York or Los Angeles will typically have more program options than residents of smaller urban areas.
  2. You should figure out where you fly most often. If you have relatives in Minneapolis that you visit twice a year, you may want to choose Northwest's Worldperks program, because Northwest dominates traffic into and out of the Twin Cities.
  3. As they say in real estate, picking a frequent flyer program is location, location, location.
Step 2: Consolidate your miles in one program
- Nearly every frequent flier expert will tell you one thing: consolidate your miles. Don't spread yourself out among different programs, because if you don't travel enough on any one airline, your miles could be worthless, and in the worst case, expire when you are not paying attention.
Tips on Consolidating Your Miles
- 1. If you can't always fly the same airline, fly airlines that share mileage.
  2. If the airline associated with your program has a sharing agreement with other airlines—for instance, miles earned on Northwest, Delta, or Continental can currently all be combined into any one of those airline's programs—amass the miles in one program.
    Having 30,000 miles in the Continental program will get you a free ticket. Having 10,000 miles each on Northwest, Continental, and Delta will get you zip. Zilch. Nada.
  3. Know the alliances. The three largest, global alliances of frequent flyer mile programs are Star Alliance, SkyTeam, and OneWorld. Miles earned on partner airlines can be amassed in a single program; at the same time, miles earned can then be used on any partner airline.
    Pay attention to these alliances, because even if you don't belong to a particular airline's program, you can still amass miles on partner airlines.
    For instance, if you take a flight on the Russian airline Aeroflot, you should provide Aeroflot with the membership number of your chosen primary program. As a SkyTeam member, miles earned while flying Aeroflot can usually be deposited into any SkyTeam airline frequent flyer program (such as Delta.) Don't bother joining Aeroflot's Bonus program if you fly Aeroflot only infrequently.
Step 3: Understand how miles are earned in your particular program
- Every frequent flyer program is different. But nearly all programs earn miles in one of three fundamental ways: mile for mile, per trip, or per dollar. Transferring miles between programs with different earnings logic is difficult if not impossible.
Mile for Mile
- 1. The vast majority of programs, such as those offered by large domestic airlines Delta, United, Continental, Northwest, and American Airlines, are based on this system.
  2. You can occasionally get a roundtrip domestic ticket for 15,000 miles, but 25,000 is the typical coach-class ticket.
  3. Most mile for mile programs allow you to earn miles in many different ways, as they have large partnership networks.
Per Trip
- 1. The airline most closely associated with this system is Southwest. Instead of counting miles, Southwest counts roundtrips through their Rapid Rewards program. After four roundtrips on Southwest, you may be able to get a free ticket.
  2. JetBlue's TrueBlue Program is similar, although they award points based on the distance flown. With 100 points, you can receive a free round-trip ticket. A roundtrip flight from New York to Long Beach, California, for instance, will net you 12 points.
Per Dollar
- 1. An upcoming program from Virgin America, EleVAte will dispense with the mileage or trip count altogether. Travelers receive five points for every dollar spent.
  2. Virgin America's website calculates that after four round trips, you will be able to get a free roundtrip ticket anywhere Virgin America flies.
  3. The more money a ticket costs, the more points you will receive.
  4. Virgin America claims that there are NO restrictions on redemption, a unique feature among lower-cost carrier's programs.
  5. Keep an eye on this program. Richard Branson's companies are known for revolutionizing industries and for big ideas.
Step 4: Earn elite status if possible
- Once you've consolidated your miles into a single program, the holy grail of the frequent flyer mile kingdom is to become elite. The occasional traveler may accrue miles over the years and every once in a while redeem a free ticket. But business travelers, such as those who travel several times a month or even several times a week, can earn elite benefits that other flyers cannot. Elite status can provide you with untold flying powers.
[http://www.smartertravel.com/frequent-flyer/Elite-status-ultimate-frequent.html?id=14123 Benefits of Elite Status]
- 1. Bonus mileage on every flight. (in some cases you can earn more than double miles on every flight flown.)
  2. Admittance to special lounges and clubs at airports.
  3. Complimentary upgrades to first or business class.
  4. Priority boarding.
  5. Priority security screening (this can potentially save you a great deal of time.)
  6. Better availability of reward seats.
  7. Free companion upgrades or companion tickets.
  8. Right to ridicule "regular" frequent flyers and be elitist.
Step 5: Keep close track of your miles
- Most frequent flyer programs have adopted a paperless, online tracking system, so that you can follow your status online. However, most will still send you a monthly statement in the mail if you desire.
Mileage Tracking Services
- Perhaps the best way to keep track of your miles, especially if you belong to several different programs, is to have a program or service specifically designed to collate all of this information in one place.
  1. Mileport Mileage Manager: A free program downloadable at FrequentFlier.com.
  2. MaxMiles Mileage Miner: Quick: say it ten times fast. Now wipe the spit off the screen. A $29.95 a year web-based service (first three months free) that does most of the legwork for you.
  3. Points.com: Allows you to organize all of your miles in a central location and also allows you to swap miles between different programs (although fees, sometimes hefty, may apply) or participate in a Global Points Exchange (GPX) where program participants can trade miles between different airlines. Again, however, fees apply, so small trades will probably not be financially advisable.
Step 6: Don't let your miles expire
- Historically, the large airlines have had lax expiration policies, so that most travelers were able to keep their miles indefinitely. But now the good times seem to be coming to an end. Over the last two years, several large U.S. carriers – Delta, American Airlines, and US Airways, among them -- have recently changed the terms of their mileage programs.
Expiration Prevention Techniques
- Some programs which used to have miles that rarely expired now have a two year, 18-month, or even one year expiration. If you don't use or earn miles within this window, your miles will now disappear. In 2007, due to these new policies, the airlines expired 39 billion miles from dormant accounts! Fortunately, the airlines have made it relatively easy to keep your account alive. Some of the ways you can easily prevent your miles from expiring, even if you have not flown the airline in years, are:
- 1. Order a magazine subscription: Many programs, such as American Airlines AAdvantage program, allow members to buy a host of goods, including magazine subscriptions, or items from an online mall. For a couple hundred miles, you can keep your account alive, and kill trees at the same time.
  2. Donate miles to your favorite charity: An increasingly popular option that will keep your account—and perhaps a child somewhere across the planet—alive.
  3. Make a purchase on an affiliated credit card: Apply for a credit card tied to your frequent flyer program. Thousands of consumers are racking up frequent flyer miles, merely by swiping a little plastic thingy every time they go to the shop. It works, and it's fun! No more messy cash, or cognizance of the value of money!
  4. Fly: You could always just buy a ticket on that airline and go somewhere. Any activity in your account will reset the clock.
Step 7: Seek advice
- 1. WebFlyer's Head2Head feature allows you to compare the benefits and drawbacks of various frequent flyer programs.
  2. Each year, the frequent flyer program equivalent of the Oscars, the Freddie Awards, honors the best programs in the industry, in a variety of categories, such as Best Award, Best Bonus Promotion, and Best Elite Level.
You Can Pick Your Nose and You Can Pick a Frequent Flyer Program But...
- You can't assume that your friend's frequent flyer program is going to be the best one for you. Because there are so many programs out there, identifying the one that will not only give you the best opportunity to earn miles, but also the best opportunity to redeem them, can take some time. However, getting your frequent flyer house in order can result in a free vacation to an exotic location, or a free trip to a vital family event when your bank account is low. As The Economist noted, as of 2005, there were more than $700 billion in frequent flyer miles in circulation. That's more than all the US dollar bills in circulation, and all British pounds. Not keeping close track of your miles is, literally, like throwing money away.
Resources for How to Pick a Frequent Flyer Program
Frequent Flyer Program Alliances
North American Carriers
Asia-Pacific Carriers
African and Middle Eastern Carriers
European Carriers
Donating Miles
Caribbean Carriers
Latin American Carriers
- Aerolineas: Argentinas Plus Program
- AeroMexico: Club Premier
- Avianca: Avianca Plus
- Copa Airlines: OnePass Frequent Flyer
- Mexicana: Frequenta
- TACA: Distancia
- Varig: Smiles

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How to Pick a Frequent Flyer Program

Introduction

Step 1: Figure out where you travel the most

Step 2: Consolidate your miles in one program

Tips on Consolidating Your Miles

Step 3: Understand how miles are earned in your particular program

Mile for Mile

Per Trip

Per Dollar

Step 4: Earn elite status if possible

[http://www.smartertravel.com/frequent-flyer/Elite-status-ultimate-frequent.html?id=14123 Benefits of Elite Status]

Step 5: Keep close track of your miles

Mileage Tracking Services

Step 6: Don't let your miles expire

Expiration Prevention Techniques

Step 7: Seek advice

You Can Pick Your Nose and You Can Pick a Frequent Flyer Program But...

Resources for How to Pick a Frequent Flyer Program

Frequent Flyer Program Alliances

North American Carriers

Asia-Pacific Carriers

African and Middle Eastern Carriers

European Carriers

Donating Miles

Caribbean Carriers

Latin American Carriers

References

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