Rachel

We have just booked a flight with United to Australia via America, and want to join the Frequent flyer program. Does anyone know which other airlines can be used in the program to gain airmiles (mostly will be flying Australia - Asia - Britian in future). Also, how do I go about joining? <BR> <BR>Thanks, and any other comments on Untied or Frequest flyer programs most welcome! <BR> <BR>

dennis

hi rachel. <BR> <BR>there are a whole load of airlines and other companies (car hire/hotels etc...) that can earn you miles with united since it is part of the star alliance group. <BR> <BR>visit www.staralliance.com to find out more. <BR> <BR>to earn miles on your trip you don't have to be a member of united ff, but you do have to be a member of a partner ff company. choose carefully, different airlines may have better ff programs than others. <BR> <BR>i think you can join over the internet - i did for lufthansa miles and more. be sure to write down all the info they give you online, though. then they just send you a temporary card, until you make your flight, and then they send you a more permanent one. always quote the number when making reservations etc... as it can help get you better treatment and service, and perhaps an upgrade... <BR> <BR>when we travelled to the us, via europe once with swissair, and later with sabena (swissair is by far better, by the way) and we picked up a ff leaflet and joined straight away. we earnt miles on this trip and one we later made to switzerland. all were in economy class. since then, we have been able to visit switzerland again with two free economy tickets for the kids, and two business class return upgrades on our fully paid economy class tickets. plus, in the newsletter there was a special offer and our car which we rented from sixt was upgraded from a merc c class to an s class!!! however, getting some of the miles, especially when there has been an offer, has been v difficult. don't even get me started... <BR> <BR>we're also hoping to go to geneva for the weekend for free (again) if an offer comes up before the end of the year for discount mileage flights/hotels... <BR> <BR>ok?? <BR> <BR>have a good trip <BR> <BR>bye

Rachel

Thanks for your info Dennis, sorry for all the spelling errors in my original message - I rushed it off before lunch and just reread it now! <BR> <BR>I'm off to look at that website now.

betsy

If you do decide to join United Mileage Plus, you can do so directly from United's web page: www.ual.com <BR>

Rachel

Hi, Me again! <BR> <BR>Just found that Singapore Airlines is an Alliance member, does anyone have any comments on Singapore Air's frequent flyer program - KrisFlyer? <BR> <BR>Thanks

dennis

hi rachel <BR> <BR>i just thought - you can try different airline alliances if you want. try www.qualiflyer.net (swissair, sabena et al), www.skyteam.com (air france, delta ...), www.oneworldalliance.com (aa, ba, qantas, etc). or www.virgin.com. <BR> <BR>all the websites have links to their airlines' websites. handy. <BR> <BR>also, i find that www.airwise.com is invaluable, as it has info on lots of airlines, and airports, and news, and links to almost anything to do with air travel. such a good idea! <BR> <BR>as for kris flyer, i tried to join over the internet several times, but it took sooooooo long to get the form that i sent them an e-mail requesting that that they snail-mail me one. never got it. so joined lufthansa/austrian/lauda/tyrolean miles and more. it was v.easy. <BR> <BR>bye for now <BR> <BR>dennis

dennis

i'm not trying to diss singapore airlines, as i think they're brill. its just that sometimes people try to make their websites just a bit too fancy...