RTW Frequent Flyer points.

[Lauramunro-bruce]

I currently have over 30,000 miles with Delta SkyMiles and generally fly with Delta as they have direct flights to the US from Aus and they service the South-East of the US which is where I mainly fly to/from when I am there.
The only problem I have with them is that as I'm in Australia I have no other way of earning points other than flying which I only do every 12/18 months.

I am hoping to fly RTW this Xmas/New Year period, home to Scotland then on to the US before coming back to Sydney.

If I book my flights with Delta it is pretty expensive but with the miles from the RTW plus internal flights plus the bonus miles I'd get it could nearly cover another flight to the US so I'm trying to figure out if it's worth the little bit extra.

I was wondering if anyone had any advice on other FF programmes that would cover me for all the flights and hopefully get me some good rewards. I was also considering Virgin as I could apply for their credit card and earn extra points when I wasn't flying and they are pretty much worldwide.

Any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated.
L

 

[samh004]

Welcome to AFF!

I guess your conundrum is that Virgin Blue aren’t in an alliance at this stage, so while they have agreements, with Delta too, they’re just that little bit short of being exactly what you need to get around the world.

The only other major carrier here is Qantas, but that would include switching alliances… do you travel domestically that much?

I was under the impression that Delta members could earn on virgin Blue flights, and with Delta in Skyteam, you could use any of the other carriers in that alliance to get around the world, are they that expensive?

 

[munitalP]

Hello Laura, welcome to the AFF community

Only you can best answer your own questions, and with a little research, you may find the answers you want at oneworld - Home or www.staralliance.com

You will find that ex Australia to the US, one world will probably be you best choice, you have Qantas servicing to LAX and SFO then American servicing most of the US as well as direct flights to the UK. This allows you to accumulate frequent flyer miles on all legs easily as well as make the most of single point booking engines such as one world RTW planner where the hardest thing you need to do is decide where you want to go to!

In my opinion, Virgin is a mixed up airline group at the moment with no clear defined picture as to where they want to be in 5 years and with whom they wish to form alliances with - it's like watching a 3D movie without the glasses on, there's something there, just very hazy, so my personal choice would be OW or *A.

You can also rest assured that most airlines out of AU to the US have non stop flights as well of mixtures via AKL or other island nations :shock:

Whatever you choice is, the above sites will show you which airlines fly in that alliance, and where they fly to.

Virgin are not alone with credit card offers as well, so again, choose wise if looking at that option.

With your delta miles, there's enough there for a couple of US/US destinations, so maybe that is a better option, look at burning them domestic US?

munitalP