Which Airline Rewards Program?

[dmdj232]

Hey All!
Opinions needed on what airline rewards program you all prefer. I'm sure there are a lot of different opinions here and would love to hear them all!! Typical travel would be with adults and little ones. TIA!!!

 

[bumbershoot]

We have accounts with most of them. Book with the best fare/time combo for any given trip.

 

[Sandi]

It depends on what airline you use the most. Delta is the airline that serves my area and I fly them a lot for work and leisure. I also have the Delta Amex card that allows for free checked bags (there is a fee for the cc -- it pays for itself). I have the United and SW equivalent of Delta's Skymiles program, but I fly them rarely, so I only get miles when I fly.

 

[rwdavis2]

I never pick flights based on rewards. You cannot count on using them when you want to. The rewards are slowly getting worse for all airlines and they are offering fewer seats for rewards flyers. As the PP said join each one when you decide which one you are flying on a particular trip. I choose strictly on price and convenience.

 

[Lynzer4]

I use Southwest but that is the airline I fly regularly for both personal and work. I also have their credit card where I earn miles. I find their program fits me the best and its easy to use (no blackout flights).

I will say that I have accounts at all. I have opened a credit card with delta before so I got 50,000 bonus miles. I used the miles for a trip and then closed the account right before the year mark so I didn't have to pay the fee. What is nice is if you have their card you don't pay fees for luggage.

 

[bjscheel]

Ours is SW. We have gotten the 50,000 bonus points on credit cards three times, and use those cards for lots of things (including business expenses) to earn more. I also earn points through e-Rewards. We have bought flights for 4 on points for 4 consecutive years and should have enough already for next year's trip. This year I have companion status, which we'll only use once but every bit helps. What I love about it is the ability to choose any flight, and to make changes easily. In 2013 I had scheduled to fly into San Diego and out of SNA for our California trip, when I learned of certain events that would make it much better to start our trip at Disneyland and end it at San Diego instead. I was able to just change my flights around. If flights go down, I can just have the points refunded to my account to use any time.

 

[alliecat523]

I would use whatever airline services your area the most. It also doesn't hurt to sign up for all the FF programs (they are free). I've had the easiest time using miles on United but I don't fly them often (have an old United credit card). Now we mostly fly Delta as it's the easiest for us and has the most options. My husband has crazy miles on American from years of business travel. We've used those a lot with mixed results. None of them are perfect!