Pick a Frequent Flyer Program That's Right for YOU!
Oct 26 '99
Trying to pick a frequent flyer program? It can be tough, what with all the opinions flying around like so many gnats in a cloud. Fortunately, you can cut through the B.S. and find some good, hard facts and some objective advice as to how the programs stack up. You can see exactly which airlines offer the best features, which airlines let you earn miles fastest, and which airlines offer the best rewards.
The best place to look for critical comparison info on the different programs is Web Flyer (www.webflyer.com), the sister web site for Inside Flyer magazine. Inside Flyer has, for several years, compared and ranked frequent flyer programs. Each year they issue awards, called "Freddies," to the best frequent flyer programs. On the Web Flyer site you can view numerical rankings showing how the programs stack up against each other based on features, flexibility of rules, bonus programs, ease of earning, awards, quality of newsletter, etc. For the past few years, the top airline frequent flyer program has been Continental OnePass. Continental's Elite program has also stood out as the best in the industry. In my view, the rankings are very well done and very fair, except that I really feel that Inside Flyer does not put enough negative weight on expiring miles. Frankly, programs that expire miles suck. They just do.
One of the nice features of the Web Flyer site is their FAQ list. They list all sorts of issues that travelers might raise, such as whether or not you can give your free tickets to someone else, whether the IRS is taxing miles as income, and similar sorts of issues. Quite interesting for anyone using or considering frequent flyer programs.
Earning Miles without Flying:
Most airlines offer several ways to earn miles on the ground, including partnership agreements with car rental companies and hotel chains, credit cards, or other little gimmicks like ordering flowers. Some of these are good deals, others not very good. Many of the car rental companies have gotten really stingey with the miles, so the rule of thumb is to shop around based on price first, then in the case of a tie, go with the company that gives you the most miles. Almost of all of the airline credit cards are pretty crappy deals: most have high annual fees coupled with high interest rates. The one credit card that seems to stand out as better than the others is Delta's Optima American Express Card -- it's the only one with no annual fee.
Rules of thumb for picking a frequent flyer program:
1. Pick the program for the airline that flies most often out of your home airport -- even if their program blows, you'll probably be on their flights often enough to rack up the miles. (This rule of thumb explains why some people enroll in -- and even do well with -- programs that really stink in comparison to those of other airlines.) But remember, when one airline dominates a hub airport, their prices are often higher than competing airlines, therefore...
2. If you're picking two or more programs, pick a low fare carrier, or at least one that competes aggressively, and that flies out of your home airport (or another airport within reasonable driving distance). Dollars saved count for more than an occasional free ticket on an overpriced airline.
3. All other things being equal, avoid programs that expire miles. What's the sense of accumulating miles in a program only to lose them at the whim of the airline? Northwest, USAirways, and Continental seem to have fairly good track records on this. Delta is okay if you fly them at least once every couple years. United has historically been among the worst airlines for expiring miles, but I understand that they've recently started shaping up (about friggin' time).
4. Look at the rewards and the mileage level required for each. Choose the program that gives you the most rewards at the lowest reward levels.
5. Even if you only fly an airline once every year or two, it can pay to enroll in their frequent flyer program, especially if you pick one that does not expire miles. It may take 10 years to earn that free flight, but what the heck, you'll eventually get there.
If you're thinking of signing up for a frequent flyer program, then check out the comparison info at www.webflyer.com. Check it out if you're already in a program and you just want to see how yours stacks up against the competition...who knows, you just might find your own free upgrade....to a better frequent flyer program!
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