Which FF program? Flying United

[Ben170292]

Hi,

I am asking this for a friend.

He isn't sure which program to sign up to and credit his flights to and is hoping someone here could give some advice.

This is his itinerary so far

UA840 MEL-SYD-LAX (K)
UA1078 LAX-DEN (K)
UA1107 DEN-ANC (K)
UA1101 ANC-SEA-IAH (U)
UA657 IAH-SJD (U)
UA678 SJD-IAH (S)
UA841 JFK-LAX (K)
UA839 LAX-SYD-MEL (K)

He will probably have another 5 or so flights with United and possibly a short flight with Air Canada as well.

Thanks, Ben

 

[dajop]

Difficult to answer. Some questions:

- What is the aim to accrue points to use, or accrue gold status on star alliance?
- Use credit cards to earn points, and want to supplement them with flying miles, or this is not a factor?
- What sort of award is of interest (destination, class of travel)?
- Would the traveller be interested in topping up by paying for miles?
- Are these flights plus the extra 5 you mention likely to be a one-off or become routine?

Lastly, any particular linkages or preference the traveller normally has for QF/oneworld, and if so, when will the travel be? (I say that if the person is a commited QF/oneworld person, there will be the opportunity to earn some miles on a future oneworld member if travel is before March 31).

 

[Mwenenzi]

And similar to post 2 above
Best Frequent Flyer Program for you?
The answer to this question depends very much on your personal travel profile and objectives. e.g.
- what is your definition of best ?
- do you value miles/points (or equivalent) for redemption over gaining status ?
- do you fly enough to gain any meaningful status ?
- who and where do you normally fly
- are you primarily a leisure or business traveller ?
- where do you live ?
- do you have other ways of earning points in the various programs, e.g. credit cards, shopping, etc
- etc, etc, etc

When are the flights? If before 31 March could join US Airways, which will become AA miles in the future. The AA milles can be used on OneWorld airlines, including Qantas

 

[TomVexille]

As the others have already posted, answer those questions first, and we can help based on that.

 

[Ben170292]

Thanks for the replies,

I will do my best at answering the questions you have all asked.

- What is the aim to accrue points to use, or accrue gold status on star alliance?
A bit of both but more leaning to getting to gold.

- Use credit cards to earn points, and want to supplement them with flying miles, or this is not a factor?
He doesn't have any credit cards and isn't planing to in the near future.

- What sort of award is of interest (destination, class of travel)?
He doesn't have any particular destinations in mind, And would prefer to use the points for economy class travel

- Would the traveller be interested in topping up by paying for miles?
Not at this stage.

- Are these flights plus the extra 5 you mention likely to be a one-off or become routine?
These flights are more likely to be a one-off.

- what is your definition of best ?
He isn't quite sure,

- do you fly enough to gain any meaningful status ?
He doesn't fly very often, His last flight was in september 2012 to Europe, But he is hoping to go to Europe again in the next year or so.
- who and where do you normally fly
Right now he usually looks for the cheapest fares but is willing to stay with the one airline/alliance, He flies domestic every now and then, and overseas every other year.

- are you primarily a leisure or business traveller ?
Leisure

- where do you live ?
Melbourne

- do you have other ways of earning points in the various programs, e.g. credit cards, shopping, etc
The only program he uses is Everyday rewards which is linked to his QFF.

He holds no status with any airline.

All these flights will be before 20th of March 2014.

I hope these answers are helpful.

Thanks, Ben

 

[serfty]

Given those answers, this (USair Dividend Miles) may be the better option:

...
When are the flights? If before 31 March could join US Airways, which will become AA miles in the future. The AA milles can be used on OneWorld airlines, including Qantas

http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=mel-lax-den-anc-sea-iah-sjd-iah,jfk-lax-mel

Earnings in U, K and S class are all 100% miles, so over 26K DM can be garnered.

http://www.usairways.com/en-US/dividendmiles/earnmiles/staralliance_united.html

 

[aikman]

If he credits to United Mileage Plus, he’ll earn almost 27,000 points which is enough for a one way economy award ticket on Star Alliance from Melbourne to a Pacific Island, North Asia or Southeast Asia. If he flies another 3,000 miles in addition to the flights listed he can get a one way business award ticket to Southeast Asia.

 

[serfty]

...
Earnings in U, K and S class are all 100% miles, so over 26K DM can be garnered.
...

Also, 25K earn is enough for Preferred Silver Status which is likely to become *O ruby through February 2016.