Frequent Flyer Program Recommendations

What frequent flyer program would you recommend?  We're currently not signed up with any and I've just realized that I really should do so before booking our next trip home.  Are there any that are difficult in terms of redeeming miles?  Thanks!

i am part of (1) ff program for each of the three major alliances:

oneworld- BA
star alliance- US Air
skyteam- continental

almost all flights i fly are then creditted to one of these three accounts.  although, i do "try" and fly mostly on star alliance carriers to consolidate my miles in one place.

redemming is completely hit & miss.  i prefer flights rather than upgrades.  if i'm flexible i can usually get sort of what i want- for example- i needed a business class ticket Lon-Vegas.  i could get lon-charlotte-vegas.  but coming home all i could get was chicago-london.  i had to then pay for a cheapie vegas-chicago. 

www.flyertalk.com/forum is a good resource. there's a chart somewhere on there that compares the programs in terms of upgrades, flights, status, etc...

Sign up with the airline you are flying on.  You will find that many of them allow you to gather and use miles from other partner airlines as well.  Like with BA, the only way you can gather miles with them is if you fly/buy business class or 1st class seats and don't buy them on sale.  So when we fly on BA, we can get the miles on our AA (american airlines) account.  When we flew on Emirates, we could get our miles on Emirates as well as Continental - so double miles!  So either sign up on their websites before you fly or you can sign up at the counter of the airline.  Just make sure you get your miles - save your flight stubs and mail them in to prove your miles if not. 

I found the British Air program confusing.   For economy flights the miles you got were deeply discounted.  i.e. for a flight to phoenix from london, I only got like 2000 miles.  It's over 5000 there.  In comparison American would have given you the exact mileage for the flight. BA and American are both in the OneWorld alliance so you only need one.   

HOWEVER - I have found that if you fly BA on a transatlantic flight to america you cannot claim the points on your American Air account.  Basically American Air says...we fly that route so you can't claim miles when you fly on one of the partners.   

This stinks when we fly to San Fran or Phoenix because American doesn't go direct, but BA does.  So....you sacrifice a stop over for keeping miles all on one plan.

I'm a long-time member of the Star Alliance program.  I think it's decent, about as good as any others.  I try to stay on United/Lufthansa when I can, but I'm not a slave to it.  We are likely going to Asia in the fall and sadly Lufthansa's prices are ridiculously high while Virgin's are reasonable, so although I'll be missing out on plenty of miles, I can't justify wasting that much money.  I have ended up earning for a few small flights as well from London to/from Europe which has been nice. 

I second meggles' suggestion of www.flyertalk.com.  I've been reading it for years and think it's very helpful and often an interesting read.

Sign up with the airline you are flying on. 

Hi Debbie, in our case we're flying SAS to the U.S. and Swiss Air coming back to the U.K.. Expedia allows me to enter to just one frequent flyer number, so I'm not sure which program to sign up with?

I've only joined the Star Alliance so far, and after 5 years of flying back and forth between the US and UK (not always with the Star Alliance either), I earned enough miles to buy my mum a ticket to see her friends in another state. It'd take me ages to build up enough for a free flight internationally with them, but at least you can pass the perks on.

Hi Debbie, in our case we're flying SAS to the U.S. and Swiss Air coming back to the U.K.. Expedia allows me to enter to just one frequent flyer number, so I'm not sure which program to sign up with?

Both of these are Star Alliance members, so you have a few choices, which will depend on the type of travel you are likely to do in the future.

1.)  If you are likely to fly to Europe via Switzerland or Scandinavia quite a bit, then I would sign up with either Swiss Air or SAS. 

2.)  If you are based in the Midlands and will be doing short trips to Europe, BMI is a member of the star alliance and it might be better to sign up for their program.

3.)  If you will be making mostly transatlantic flights and your hometown is easily serviced by United Air, then sign up with them.

4.) Same as above, but with US Air. 

5.)  If you fancy flying via Canada, Air Canada is another member of Star Alliance. 

Those are pretty much your options.  It really does depend on what you think you will fly in the future.  All you need to do is join one of the programs above and then any flights on the 13 partner airlines should be included (a few exceptions will exist, but nothing major). 

You don't need to have the number before you book the flight on expedia, you can always give it to the airline when you are checking in. 

Both of these are Star Alliance members, so you have a few choices, which will depend on the type of travel you are likely to do in the future.

1.)  If you are likely to fly to Europe via Switzerland or Scandinavia quite a bit, then I would sign up with either Swiss Air or SAS. 

2.)  If you are based in the Midlands and will be doing short trips to Europe, BMI is a member of the star alliance and it might be better to sign up for their program.

3.)  If you will be making mostly transatlantic flights and your hometown is easily serviced by United Air, then sign up with them.

4.) Same as above, but with US Air. 

5.)  If you fancy flying via Canada, Air Canada is another member of Star Alliance. 

Those are pretty much your options.  It really does depend on what you think you will fly in the future.  All you need to do is join one of the programs above and then any flights on the 13 partner airlines should be included (a few exceptions will exist, but nothing major). 

You don't need to have the number before you book the flight on expedia, you can always give it to the airline when you are checking in. 

Karin, that's very helpful!  Thanks to everyone for your advice.

I'm with Continental One Pass and Virgin Atlantic.  On Continental's website you can link up all your parter company reward programs onto your profile & profiles of anyone else that flies with you...  Quite easy and convenient and I think Continental is linked with most airlines. 

I fly Virgin and use their airmiles.  They have a lot of airline partners (US Air & Continental being the ones I tend to use in the States) as well as hotel partners. Plus I LOVE flying Virgin - I found them the best flight between US/UK so far.

I'm a long-time elite member of United Airlines because I'm from Washington, D.C., where Dulles is a major United hub.  I would recommend you join the airline that most serves where you are traveling.

Several years ago I made the major mistake of signing up for every airline's program, so I now have membership in at least a dozen frequent flier miles. As a result, I have miles spread out across several airlines and that's not helping at all. My No. 1 tip would be to sign up for membership in one airline in each of the three major alliances: Star Alliance, OneWorld and SkyTeam.  I mostly use United (Star Alliance), American Airlines (OneWorld) and Delta (SkyTeam).

The important thing to do is sign up BEFORE you book your flights. I'm amazed at how many frequent fliers I've met who have never joined the plans.  It's like throwing away free money! It's 100% free to join. And also there are often surprise perks. On overbooked flights, I've received priority and occasional bumped up to business and first class a few times just for the simple fact that I was a frequent flier member and the other passenger was not. 

Personally, I find upgrades to be more valuable than free flights. For example, let's assume that a summer roundtrip flight between London and New York is $1,000 in economy, and $3,000 in business class. If you use your miles to book a free flight to New York, you'll use about 60,000 miles and save $1000.  But a typical upgrade usually only requires 15,000 miles.  So if you buy a $1,000 seat out-of-pocket and upgrade to business with your miles, it's like saving $2,000!  Plus you're using less miles to fly in luxury!  Make sense?  It's a lot easier nowadays to use miles for upgrades than for free flights.  And unless you plan WELL in advance, it's nearly impossible to get free transatlantic flights during peak seasons. 

Another tip: Sign up for your favorite airline's credit card. You will usually get 1 mile for ever $1 spent in charges.  I buy practically everything on my credit card from groceries to clothing and hotel rooms, and pay off the balance every month.  Often you will get bonus miles for using that credit card to book your airline flights.

One last note: I agree with previous poster about complaints on British Airways & American Airlines. They are very stingy when it comes to UK-US flights.  Personally I don't care for either airline. United and USAirways are better options for Londoners, both of which are StarAlliance. I prefer USAirways as they fly out of Gatwick, a MUCH nicer and more relaxed airport than Heathrow.   (FYI Karin, United flies nonstop from London to San Fran).

This is a list I maintain of every major U.S. airline's frequent flier program and their partner airlines. Clip and save!

(Note: Most airlines have alliance members and regional partner airlines.  Alliance members will almost always give you 1:1 miles credit for miles flown, and those miles will count towards elite status.  Achieving elite status should be your major goal. Elite status members receive bonuses on miles flown.  Regional partner airlines will also give you miles, but they usually do not count towards elite status, or only reward a fraction of flown miles. Always fly an alliance member airline when you can.)

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UNITED AIRLINES (Star Alliance)
Star Alliance members:
Air Canada
Air New Zealand
ANA
Asiana
Austrian Airlines Group
bmi
LOT Polish Airlines
Lufthansa
SAS
Singapore Airlines
South African Airways
Spanair
Swiss International Air Lines
TAP Portugal
THAI
United
US Airways
(Coming soon: Air China, Shanghai Airlines, Turkish Airlines)

United regional partners:
Adria Airways
Blue1
Croatia Airlines
Air China
Aloha Airlines
Emirates
Qatar Airways
Shanghai Airlines
TACA Airlines


AMERICAN AIRLINES (One World alliance)
Alliance members:
British Airways
Cathaway Pacific
Finnair
Iberia
Japan Airlines
LAN Airlines
Malgev Hungarian Airlines
Qantas
Royal Jordanian Airlines

AA regional partners:
Aer Lingus
Air Pacific
Air Sahara
Air Tahiti Nui
Alaska Airlines
Brussels Airlines
El Al
Gulf Air
Hawaiian Airlines
Mexicana
SN Brussels Airlines
Swiss
Taca
TAM
Turkish Airlines


CONTINENTAL AIRLINES (Skyteam)
SkyTeam members:
Aeroflat
Aeromexico
Air France
Alitalia
CSA Czech Airlines
Delta
KLM
Korean Air
Northwest Airlines

Delta regional Partners:
Aero Republica
Air Europa
Alaska Airlines
American Eagle
Cape Air
Continental Connection
Copa Airlines
Emirates
Eva Air
Hawaiian
Horizon Air
Island Air
Qantas
US Helicopter
Virgin Atlantic


DELTA (SkyTeam)
SkyTeam members:
Aeroflot
Aeromexico
Air France
Alitalia
Continental
CSA Czech Airlines
KLM
Korean Air
Northwest

Delta regional Partners:
Air Jamaica
Alaska
Avianca
China Airlines
China Southern
El Al
Emirates
Malaysia
Singapore
South African Airways
Virgin Atlantic


NORTHWEST AIRLINES (SkyTeam)
SkyTeam members:
Aeroflot
Aeromexico
Air France
Alitalia
Continental
CSA Czech Airlines
Delta
KLM
Korean Air

Northwest regional Partners:
Air Alps Aviation
Air Europa
Air Tahiti Nui
Alaska Airlines
American Eagle
Big Sky Airlines
Cebu Pacific
China Southern
Copa Airlines
Garuda Indonesia
Gulfstream International Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines
Japan Airlines
Jet Airways
Kenya Airways
Kingfisher Airlines
Malaysia Airlines
Malev Hungarian Airlines
Midwest Airlines


US AIRWAYS (Star Alliance)
Star Alliance members:
Air Canada
Air New Zealand
ANA
Asiana
Austrian Airlines Group
bmi
LOT Polish Airlines
Lufthansa
SAS
Singapore Airlines
South African Airways
Spanair
Swiss International Air Lines
TAP Portugal
THAI
United
US Airways
(Future: Air China, Shanghai Airlines, Turkish Airlines)

USAirways regional Partners:
Air One
Bahamas Air
Big Sky
Caribbean Star
Caribbean Sun
Hawaiiian   
Qantas
Qatar Airways
Royal Jordanian
Virgin Atlantic

You could always sign up for a couple of them and then at least no matter who you fly with you're getting something.... I use Virgin and BA and then book tickets according to fare sales. Both of them also offer airmiles for AmEx use so I have a BA AmEx that I put groceries and petrol on diligently and then pay off at the end of the month. It takes longer to save up miles if you use a few different ones, but at the moment we can't afford to ignore fare sales in order to accumulate miles.

My husband is a Brit and uses all 3 of the major alliances. As an American I have 2 (Skyteam and whatever BA is with) The funny thing is that when we fly back to CA this winter I paid $160 to use my miles with NorthwestPerks and he's paying £160 (with FlyingBlue) to fly on the same flight. NW Perks & FlyingBlue are more or less the same program just based on residency, etc. I like KLM and continue to have good experiences with them no matter what part of the world I've traveled in. Definately check out the FlyerTalk forum mentioned earlier in this string. It's been quite useful for us. (My husband loves that forum)