Frequent Flier Miles 101?

[calie_j]

Hi, can someone give me a quick/easy course in frequent flier mile basics? How do you get on the FF program, can you get FF miles if you book thru expedia, how long til they expire, how to redeem them?

We're booking 5 flights to Montana and 4 to FL this year from the midwest and I'd like to take advantage of a program for future flights (East Coast in 07?) but I'm clueless about how this works. Thank you for any info you can give.

Calie

 

[Kimberlyfamilyfv]

what airline were you going to choose?

 

[calie_j]

Yikes, this is why I've never messed with FF miles. For FL depending which city we fly out of Northwest or American are the cheapest. For Montana Delta is but Northwest is only $4 more. Is it worth extra $$ to get the FF miles and stay with the same airline or do people usually use 2 or 3 different programs? Told ya I was clueless

 

[safetymom]

I would suggest visiting www.flyertalk.com for all the information on the different airline programs. Go to miles and points, then to the airline you are interested in.

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

It's easier to try and stick with one airline if possible.

In some cases, airlines have a partnership, which allows you to fly on a flight operated by one airline, but earn frequent flier miles on another.

There are 3 big "super alliances" that have many domestic and foreign carriers as part of the alliance:

Skyteam: Aeroméxico, Air France, Alitalia, Continental Airlines, CSA Czech, Delta Air Lines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Korean Air, Northwest Airlines
OneWorld: Aer Lingus, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, FinnAir, Iberia, Lan, Quantas
Star Alliance: Air Canada, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, BMI, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandanavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Spanair, Thai, United, US Airways, Varig

I'd second Safetymom's recommendation of heading over to FlyerTalk for more information than you'll ever need about airline frequent flier programs.

I'd recommend trying to stick with one airline if possible. That way, you'll earn reward flights faster (takes about 25,000 miles earned for a free domestic round trip ticket). If you're doing a LOT of travelling (more than 25,000 miles in a year), you would want to look into the benefits of being a high-mileage traveller, as different airlines would offer different perks (more frequent upgrades to first class, etc), and you may want to either try to focus your flights on one carrier, or try to spread out enough to maintain "elite level" status on multiple carriers.

 

[rsschneck]

Yikes, this is why I've never messed with FF miles. For FL depending which city we fly out of Northwest or American are the cheapest. For Montana Delta is but Northwest is only $4 more. Is it worth extra $$ to get the FF miles and stay with the same airline or do people usually use 2 or 3 different programs? Told ya I was clueless

Stick with 1. We chose Delta FF mile program because we have family in Billings, Montana. We fly to Orlando and Savannah (Hilton Head Resort). Figure where you are flying and which is your best option. Sounds like NW might be your best choice.

 

[only1mouse]

It is easiest to stick with one airline, but as most have mentioned the airlines typcially have agreements with other airlines so flying with multiple is ok. I use Alaska Airlines most often but they happen to partner with all three that you have mentioned - American, Northwest, and Delta. So you can possibly earn airline miles and accumulate with one company and still fly those other airlines.

 

[rsschneck]

It is easiest to stick with one airline, but as most have mentioned the airlines typcially have agreements with other airlines so flying with multiple is ok. I use Alaska Airlines most often but they happen to partner with all three that you have mentioned - American, Northwest, and Delta. So you can possibly earn airline miles and accumulate with one company and still fly those other airlines.

We use Alaska CC to earn free trips. If you were to pay out of pocket all the time with Alaska their tickets are usually more expensive.