Where to start? What program to register with??

[aussiewizard]

Hi, I'm only just getting into FF.

Can anyone recommend where to get started.

I heard I should register with the 3 big alliances (one world, etc)

But within each registration, it asks to register under an airline.
Does it matter which one? Is it better to be under one specifically, or do they all share the points, etc?

If it matters, I need to travel between Australia and Argentina a lot, but also want to travel all over the world ;-)

Any clarity would be good, or steps to take, etc.
Or links to posts where this has been covered.


Thanks

 

[samh004]

Welcome!

It really depends where you travel and what you want out of a membership.

For example, if your goal is just getting the best deals each time you travel, there's no need to join any alliance. If you're after creature comforts and protection when issues happen, lounge access, and all that, then you need to choose an airline and maybe one in an alliance.

Off the top of my head, you have Aerolineas Argentinas in Sky Team (though their service to SYD ends in April 2014) and LATAM Airlines in OneWorld to consider (as airlines that would get you to Argentina, but their partners might also be of use).

 

[aikman]

My suggestion would be to join the Qantas FF program to begin with, familiarise yourself with that program and then go from there. If you fly to Argentina, chances are you will fly with Qantas and LAN, both of which are oneworld members. Qantas points are also the easiest to earn for those based in Australia.

I see FF programs as an art. There is no single strategy that works for everybody. Read through the frequent flyer pages of the Qantas website to see how many points are needed to get award flights and then read through the ways you can earn those points. In reality it takes a heck of a lot of flying and/or a lot of credit card spending in order to see the world using frequent flyer points.

Getting the most out of the various FF programs to suit your needs does take a bit of time and effort. You really should also have the interest in doing the research and keeping up to date as FF programs change all the time.

Otherwise just getting the cheapest fare when you need to travel is not always a bad strategy. While a lot of people get good value out of FF programs I am sure there are just as many who have become so reliant on their FF program they would’ve spent heaps more money on it than they would otherwise have.

 

[dalereardon]

Hi,

If you are even remotely considering purchasing miles in the future to get business or first class travel then you should join yourself, your partner, any children etc up to American Airlines Aadvantage program and also the LifeMiles program. You don't have to purchase any miles right now but it is best to be joined up as you need to have been a member when they announce a sale of miles to be eligible to purchase them.

If you are into booking hotels then I highly recommend the PointsHound website:

PointsHound.com: Book hotels. Earn miles and points.

It lets you earn a lot of frequent flyer miles and will price match on any hotels. I personally use it to earn American Aadvantage miles as they are the most valuable to me.

Dale.

 

[deejo77]

As I am Australia based 95% of my ff earn is from Cc spend this restricts your choices a bit. Also join the ff programs that sell points Aa and Alaskan are good for one world. As always have your fingers in more then one pie helps.

 

[Mwenenzi]

Welcome to AFF

From another forum

Originally Posted by xx_xt
< snip>
To get your feet wet, start by reading the sticky threads in this and other forums. What you need to do is look at your flying (and credit card, if applicable) patterns and preferences, then pick a program that works best for you. While miles/points aren't interchangeable, you can usually use one airline's miles/points for redemptions on that airline's partners - either in the same alliance or in some cases unaligned partners - or for non-flying activities. Each airline has different "earning and burning" characteristics - how miles/points are earned and used, and you'll need to investigate these carefully, as the differences can be significant and expensive (or beneficial) to you depending on your choices.

One important thing to note is that miles/points earning and redemption are only a part of the whole FF business. A big factor in choosing your plan preferences is whether you'd fly enough with your chosen airline(s) in order to reach elite frequent flyer status. With elite status comes various perks - access to lounges, expedited passage through airports, seat selections, upgrades, baggage allowances, etc. - that can be as important if not more important to frequent travelers. So those factors also need to be understood as you make your choices.

It involves homework and research, but the rewards can be very significant, well worth the effort. (Or so many of us think. Of course we can be both delusional and exhibit OCD symptoms in this regard. Welcome to the madhouse.)

 

[RooFlyer]

To get the advantages of a particular airline / airline alliance, you have to credit quite a lot of flights / miles to them, so you need a strategy up front and not spray your travel around different alliances, if you can help it. Caveat: If you are flying business on your long haul, you will get most of the advantages of good status on the FF clubs anyway (ie priority boarding, lounge access).

Oz-Argentina-Oz sounds like you most certain route; quite a few miles there. If you or your employer is going to insist on the most direct routing, you are on Aerolineas Argentinas and you should join their FF scheme and that puts you on Skyteam, which is the weakest of the global alliances. Not the end of the world, but you can do better.

If you are able to book on less direct routing, for instance via Santiago and Lan Chile / Qantas, then certainly join QFF and that gets you into One World, which has a much more extensive network than Skyteam. Qantas also allows you to hook into the Emirates network, separate from One World.

Having Qantas FF status is handy for domestic travel at home as well. Irrespective of status you can get points for other Oz based activities such as credit card spend, Woolworths shopping etc.

Watch out for Qantas 'double status credit' and other promotions which help accelerate your achieving higher status. Status Credits get you higher status ( = perks), points gets you Award flights etc.

Star Alliance is the other global network - no need to rush in and join nay of their airlines FF clubs until you know which of them you are actually flying / flying most.

 

[eastwest101]

Agree with a lot of the other posts but one other thing that may be applicable to you - is that if you are flying for work - your employer may be booking you on certain airlines and alliances - as you may be flying these a lot - this will essentially give you a head start in unpaid points and status levels in whatever airline and alliance you are likely to be booked on, so that is a head start there - but not the be all and end all so other airlines and alliances should be considered as backup/secondary.

Earning points through various credit card schemes is often a sizeable proportion of peoples points balances (amd hence potential to burn points) so there is the exercise of which bank/credit card type and scheme you should be collecting your points for.

 

[aussiewizard]

Just wanted to say thanks for all the replies and advice to my question!!