The world's top air miles programs for frequent fliers. If I were to tell someone living in Paris that they should consider earning frequent flier miles with Alaska Airlines, they’d likely give me a puzzled look. Similarly, if I suggested to a Los Angeles resident who flies only occasionally that they ought to look at a Colombian/Salvadorean air miles program, they’d probably think I was trying to be funny. But in these days of international airline alliances and globalized frequent flier programs, some of the best deals lay hidden in programs from distant lands, run by airlines you may never fly. It pays to do a bit of research. A number of years ago, a growing interest in frequent flier miles approached obsession as I figured out ways to amass more and more of them and turn them into free round- the- world first class tickets. This mileage calculator is meant to aid in air mileage estimation and may not reflect the actual frequent flyer miles awarded by each airline. ^top. Frequent flyer program guru Randy Petersen provides news and advice on airline and hotel chain frequent traveler programs. Airlines & Mileage Programs. FlyerTalk Columns 'It's Art': This Week's. Airline Debuts New A330 Business Class. March 24. A frequent-flyer program (FFP) is a loyalty program offered by an airline. Many airlines have frequent-flyer programs designed to encourage airline customers enrolled. Airlines and Mileage Programs. ANA Mileage Club. ANA. American Airlines AAdvantage and US Airways Dividend Miles Merged Airline and Programs. Why can't AA. Best Airline Rewards Programs. What makes a frequent flier program standout? No loyalty program is ideal for everyone, but choosing one that best matches your. Frequent flyer mileage programs are a big aspect of air travel. Earning miles to redeem for tickets, benefits for members, and partner airlines are just a few aspects. Frequent-flyer programs are customer loyalty programs used by many passenger airlines. This is a list of current airlines with frequent-flyer programs, and the names. But in these days of international airline alliances and globalized frequent flier programs. here are seven of the better air mileage programs. Find the best frequent flyer programs and start earning rewards. Compare travel awards, expiration policies, elite status benefits and more. As the list of friends and family who relied upon me for mileage advice grew, I made a short documentary about people much more advanced at the frequent flier game than me, which opened my eyes to even more possibilities. After several years of pursuing miles and points, I've earned roughly three and a half million of them and spent almost as many. More on CNN: The best ways to earn and burn frequent flier miles Important things to keep in mind. Most airlines within a global alliance (oneworld, Star Alliance, Skyteam) have their own distinct mileage program rules, sometimes with very different rates for earning and burning miles on the same set of airlines. This means that getting the maximum value for your miles depends on where you bank them. Many people overlook this. Even if you’re flying one particular airline often enough to get elite status (and the upgrades and priority treatment that come with it), it’s a good idea to pick a couple of secondary programs. Which program is best for you will depend on a number of factors, so it’s difficult to give broad recommendations. For travelers who don’t know where to start, here are seven of the better air mileage programs. More on CNN: Frequent flier miles: The cult of the obsessed. Aegean Miles & Bonus: For quick elite status Regardless of where you live or where you're traveling, Greece's Aegean airline may give you the best value for frequent flier miles. Aegean is a Greek airline, that's part of the Star Alliance. The beauty of its program is that passengers get Star Alliance Silver status (the first elite tier) after only 4,0. Star Gold status (the highest elite tier) after 2. Most airlines require 2. If you’re looking for a fast track to special treatment on Star Alliance airlines, a Miles & Bonus membership may be just the thing. Alaska Airlines mileage plan: Flexibility for non- loyal fliers. In addition to the cool logo, Alaska Airlines has an awesome frequent flier program. Alaska Airlines might seem a poor option at first - - it’s relatively small, serving mostly the western United States, and it’s not even a member of a global airline alliance. But that last fact is actually its great strength, because Alaska has instead hooked up with a diverse group of partners. This means it can be great for travelers who don’t do most of their flying on one airline. Its partners include American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Delta Airlines and Emirates. So, for example, if in a given year you fly a smattering of flights on Delta, a few flights on American and a couple of long- hauls on Emirates, none of which partner with each other, rather than earn a handful of miles in each of those programs, you can pool them all with Alaska, and be able to redeem those miles faster. And when it comes time to use the miles, there are some great deals, such as Cathay Pacific from the United States to South Africa via Hong Kong for 1. American Airlines AAdvantage: Overall quality. As I’ve noted before, I can’t recommend American’s program highly enough. It’s straightforward, earning lots of miles is easy and redemption rates are generally good - - a solid choice for banking miles from oneworld alliance flights. If you fly 1. 00,0. American’s top level Executive Platinum status, it’s quite possibly the best top- tier level in the United States. More on CNN: Future of air fares: More 'special' charges on the way. Avianca TACA Lifemiles: For travelers who don’t earn many miles but still want to play the game. Life. Miles is the frequent flier program for Latin American airlines Avianca and TACA. When Colombian/Salvadorean Avianca TACA joined the Star Alliance recently, I wasn't particularly anxious to rush and check out the frequent flier program. But Gary Leff’s blog View from the Wing tipped me off to an exciting opportunity to purchase miles for discounted business or first- class tickets - - no flying required. Avianca TACA Lifemiles has been offering a 1. US1. 5 cents. Better is that if you've banked at least 4. For a sense of how the math works out, let’s say you want a North America to Europe ticket in business class, which costs 1. Assuming you find award seats available and the airline's 1. US$6. 00. Then, armed with your 4. That’s a grand total of US$1,3. San Francisco to Paris. You might easily pay more for economy if you simply bought the ticket. Avianca also offers one- way tickets at half the cost of a round- trip, and most partner flights can be booked online. Note that the 1. 00- percent bonus is usually available only to those who own an account before the promotion is announced, so I’d advise that you get yourself a Lifemiles account now, and wait for the next promotion to be announced. British Airways Executive Club: Cheap short- haul redemptions When British Airways changed its redemption chart and made longer flights and those requiring connections more expensive to redeem miles for, shorter flights became much cheaper. When I want to use miles on routes under 2,5. BA's Executive Club is where I look first. Highlights include Tokyo- Hong Kong for 2. Los Angeles- Phoenix, run 4,5. BA imposes heavy fuel surcharges on its own aircraft and on most partners, but if you stick to flights within the Americas (on partners such as American and South America’s LAN), you can generally avoid these charges. United Airlines Mileage. Plus: Easy booking of award flights. United Airlines' Mileage. Plus is a good all- purpose Star Alliance program. Lack of fuel surcharges on partner flights is one great aspect, as is the possibility of routing via Europe, with a stop, on a North America to Asia trip (or vice versa). But my favorite thing about United is the excellent website that shows most Star Alliance partner flights when I'm searching for award tickets online. Many airlines have a hard time showing partner flights, so a phone call is required to book most awards. With United, unpredictable phone interactions can mostly be avoided. More on CNN: Why fly Delta? Singapore Airlines Kris. Flyer: Access to Singapore first and business class. This seat map showing Singapore Airlines' Suites class may not mean much to you, but frequent fliers salivate over it. Singapore Airlines' service is legendary, and for many (including myself) the carrier's premium cabins are the holy grail of mileage redemption. Unfortunately, SIA doesn't offer many of those seats to its Star Alliance partners. That’s where Singapore Airlines' Kris. Flyer program comes in - - recently the airline has started opening up a reasonable number of first- and business- class award seats to its own members. Rates for redemption are about on par with major U. S. programs. Either way, if your goal is to fly Singapore Airlines at the pointy end of the aircraft, it’s worth it. Singapore is a points transfer partner with American Express in a number of countries, which makes topping up your account easy. You don’t even have to fly to Singapore. The airline flies a number of routes outside its home airport, such as San Francisco- Hong Kong, Los Angeles- Tokyo, Houston- Moscow, New York- Frankfurt and Barcelona- São Paulo. More on CNN: And the world's best airline for 2.
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