can you use points with different airlines?

[azwarian]

hey all,

im pretty new to this frequent flyer thing and dont really know how it works.... basically from what i gather you need to pay for some sort of credit card and use it to accumulate points?

im flying to thailand next week with strategic airlines and was wondering if theres any sort of way to get any points and put it on some sort of free card that i can keep building points on over time?

ive flown with heaps of different companies and not all of them go to the same places etc so is it possible to get some sort of universal points card or something?

sorry if these questions seem dumb but i dont really know anything about this stuff hence why im asking you guys

many thanks in advance!

 

[casanovawa]

Short answer is no...

There are different airlines alliances such as One World and Star Alliance (and others) and when you fly on one of the airlines in the group you can earn points/miles into whatever airlines (in that group) frequent flyer program you sign up to... So Qantas and American Airlines are both in One World, if you are in the Qantas FFP you can earn points flying on AA flights and you can use those points to book AA award flights...

You can also take out say a Woolworths or Amex card linked to Qantas's FFP and when ever you buy groceries at supermarkets, or fuel at service stations or even tickets on Strategic, those dollars earn you Qantas FF points... In that way any spend on anything can earn you QFF points... But these can only be redeemed on awards within the One World alliance...

You can also join Amex and have your Members Rewards points converted into points/miles across a range of different airlines, I'm not sure if they all have to be int he one alliance, others would know more about this than I as I don't use American Express like that, mine is linked direct to my QFF account...

 

[azwarian]

thanks for the quick reply casanovawa!!

there are so many options available.... those one world and star alliance definitely seem worth checking out thanks heaps

im pretty sure ive heard of the woolies cards before, might be an idea looking into that considering how much we spend for groceries these days lol

thanks again for the info, much appreciated mate

 

[niemann]

hey all,
im flying to thailand next week with strategic airlines and was wondering if theres any sort of way to get any points and put it on some sort of free card that i can keep building points on over time?

Short answer: no. Points agreements are set up between airlines in alliances, and/or between airlines and 'partners' eg. credit card companies. In this case, they change hands for real money as part of a contractual agreement, so you only get what your credit card company has signed up and paid for, although having said that, some of the cards have signed up with a large number of airlines/alliances. Shop around for the best card, although bear in mind it can ultimately be an expensive way to pay for travel.