Lance richards

Interested in who thinks they have the best frequent flyer credit card program and why

CJ

We think that US Air has the best. We flew from home to Boston then Swiss Air to Zurich. Swiss Air and US Air have argreement with each other. We use our card for everything. Then when the bill comes in you just rack up those miles. Even college tuitions were put on our card. US Air has no time span for using up your miles. The only problem with frequent flyer miles is you must work around their schedules which kept us in Spain an extra two days. Ohhhhhhhhhh! what a shame. US Air has my vote. <BR>

Marcie

I belong to all of the programs and some are certainly better than others. I personally would probably opt for either American or Delta just because they go so many more cities than some of the not so large airlines and it makes it easier to try to fly them consistenly. Delta and Continental are both nice because their miles don't expire.

Jeanwell

Beware of Delta. My husband and I just made a trip to Ireland using Delta. When we received our statements, Delta had no previously recorded miles for me. My husband and I have always travelled on Delta together. They apparently "lost" my previous miles and would not accept the fact that I had travelled on the same flights as my husband. They said I would have to produce baording passes from flights in 1994 and 1995. If you choose Delta make sure you keep every bit of documentation. Their system is flawed.

Michael Murphy

If most of your travel is to Europe, Delta and their codeshare partners (Aer Lingus, Air France, Austrian, Finnair, Swiss Air, Sabena and TAP Portugal) certainly cover the European bases and their mileage has no expiration - although they're hinting at it. <BR>Mike Murphy <BR> <BR>

Frank

Message: I don't think you're all talking about the same thing. The message about U.S.Air is talking about a credit card on which he earns miles for every dollar charged to the card. I think other messages are talking about sky mile accounts which are not credit cards. It's an interesting subject. Please pursue it. I have an Amex Optima credit card which earns me miles with Delta. I'm very happy with it but it does have an expiration for the miles. <BR>

frank

To bring subject to the top.

Jan M

For Australians and SE Asians, I would suggest the United is not much use at all. Even though they are linked to our domestic carrier, Ansett. I have had nothing but trouble even being credited with the points, and redeeming them is a nightmare. They have far too many restrictions. <BR> <BR>The best one for Australians has to be Ansett, which has great links with about ten other airlines, so they cover the world for you. They also send you monthly statements, give you five years to redeem the points, and allow one way flights, which you can't have with United.

jenny

does anyone know of a way to get out of paying the annual fee? i've heard with some non-airline cards, you can talk your way out of paying the annual fee and still get the perks. i used continental's card for a year when they were having their introductory first year annual fee waived. continental is good in that your miles don't expire. but unfortunately, i don't rack up enough miles a year to justify the annual fee...student budget. anyway, will appreciate any info you may have!

MIWinnie

My daughter is traveling from Boston to Helsinki via Heathrow in mid-July. The first leg of her trip is on American; the second on Finnair. She has paper tickets ( only way she could purchase them), but they say that seats will be assigned on check-in.

My daughter was able to get assigned seating on the Boston-Heathrow segment by calling American, but not on the Heathrow-Helsinki part. She was told by Finnair that they will not assign seats for European travel from the US; that she will have to wait until she gets to Heathrow and checks in for the flight.

Should we be concerned that she will be bumped from the Finnair flight because she doesn't have a seat assignment? We are concerned because a check on Finnair's web site shows that few economy seats are available on the leg to Helsinki and none are available on the return leg of her trip (Helsinki to Heathrow), though there are business class seats. She was told that Finnair does not overbook like US airlines do and will have a seat for both flights.

Fabio

All depends on the routes you mostly fly, if mainly domestic or also intercontinental.
I think the best frequent flyer program is the Miles &amp; More by Star Alliance which includes:

United Airlines
US Airways
Air Canada
Lufthansa
Varig
SAS
Thai Airways
ANA All Nippon Airlines
Asiana Airlines
Air New Zealand
Austrian
Spanair
Lot Polish
Tap Air Portugal

so a lot of chances to earn miles &amp; more.. !!

mike_b12

I have had very good sucess with American airlines. Make sure you book 330 days in advance. That is the earliest you can book using your miles.