Airmiles?

nicsonian

Hi,

In the last 5 weeks my wife and I have flown over 25,000 miles each. Some with Emirates, BA, United and Thai Airlines. I've picked up a new job and will be continuing to fly much more over the coming year.

We were irregular travellers previously and therefore had no kind of airmiles account.

A) Who should we open an airmiles account with, we travel with different airlines?

and..

Can we add our previously accrued air mileage (Over 50,000) if we provide proof of purchase and travel.

Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks
Ian

richardw

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles-points-1/

isplumm

nicsonian wrote: »

Hi,

In the last 5 weeks my wife and I have flown over 25,000 miles each. Some with Emirates, BA, United and Thai Airlines. I've picked up a new job and will be continuing to fly much more over the coming year.

We were irregular travellers previously and therefore had no kind of airmiles account.

A) Who should we open an airmiles account with, we travel with different airlines?

and..

Can we add our previously accrued air mileage (Over 50,000) if we provide proof of purchase and travel.

Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks
Ian

Ian .....

You need to realise that these companies belong to different frequent flyer schemes - so for example BA do Avois points & Emirates do something different. Cathy Pacific belong to the same scheme as BA - ONEWorld

There is Star Alliance - includes United / Thai - look @ http://www.staralliance.com/en/benefits/frequent-flyer/

You need to try & focus on one scheme & collect miles that way.

Remember that you don't get the mileage flown - so for example BA will give you just under 6000 avois points for LHR to HKG (assuming lowest class & membership level)

Look @ flyertalk.com - they are quite good.

Mark

thebigbosh

A. My strategy is to consolidate with one airline within each of the major groups (Skyteam, Oneworld, Star Alliance), and then some outliers who don't belong to groups, e.g. Emirates.

Saying that, try to focus your collecting on the airlines/groups you will 1. fly the most, and 2. actually want to use miles on. If you're going to be flying a lot with work, find out who the preferred airline partner is and consider them as a target (or at least airlines within the same organisation).

In addition, consider utilising your credit card spend (and reclaimable expenses if you're allowed) and supermarket spend to maximise points in your scheme of choice. However, do bear in mind the money mantra - do not go into debt on these cards! Always repay in full.

If you do end up with a number of airline accounts, there's a handy tool at awardwallet.com to consolidate them.

B. Most airline clubs I've seen allow retrospective accrual from the past 3 months, and I've seen some go up to 6. However, it's better to be safe and get it done as soon as possible. In all of the cases I've seen basic membership in the airline clubs is free, so first decide on your strategy and then sign up to the clubs and claim your FF miles. Don't let any of your flights go unrewarded - you may find a use for random pockets of miles at some point!

Lastly, there is a heap of Frequent Flyer information out there on the net. Flyertalk is a great repository of information but it can be a bit daunting as a newbie. Have a hunt around and see what feels most comfortable for you.

thebigbosh

Also, bear in mind that airmiles (with every agency) aren't actually that valuable unless you have loads. If you're more focused on money saving, the airline offering the cheapest fare is probably better for you than sticking with the airline that offers the points you're collecting.

That strategy may only change if you get to a higher-than-basic membership tier, where you might get lounge access and preferential treatment. For example, I'm going to Australia and paid £150 more than the cheapest ticket to fly with an airline that I'm a gold member with so that I could get into the lounges and stand a better chance of getting upgraded :-)

nicsonian

Superb responses - thank you very much!

I will check out flyertalk now.

callum9999

thebigbosh wrote: »

Also, bear in mind that airmiles (with every agency) aren't actually that valuable unless you have loads. If you're more focused on money saving, the airline offering the cheapest fare is probably better for you than sticking with the airline that offers the points you're collecting.

That strategy may only change if you get to a higher-than-basic membership tier, where you might get lounge access and preferential treatment. For example, I'm going to Australia and paid £150 more than the cheapest ticket to fly with an airline that I'm a gold member with so that I could get into the lounges and stand a better chance of getting upgraded :-)

Not necessarily. I flew to Australia with Etihad who I will most likely never use again (not because I don't like them, they are just rarely the cheapest option!). The airmiles I got from that 1 trip were converted into almost £100 I could spend on anything/anywhere.

Roger1

isplumm wrote: »

Remember that you don't get the mileage flown - so for example BA will give you just under 6000 avois points for LHR to HKG (assuming lowest class & membership level)

With BA, you do get at least the mileage flown on BA flights, though possibly not with other airlines' flights. ba.com shows a blue member earning 5,979 Avios each way between London and Hong Kong in World Traveller (economy). Travel in Premium Economy, Club World or First produces multiples of that.

The 11, 958 Avios earned on a London-Hong Kong return trip in economy are more than enough for a Reward Flight Saver award from the UK to many places in Europe (including UK domestic flights on BA if necessary) - 9,000 Avios + £30 towards fees and charges, a great deal. Sign up to BA's Executive Club now!

Even easyJet flights can be obtained as award flights. Those with some Etihad Skywards points may use them for easyJet redemptions. http://www.businesstraveller.com/middle-east/news/skywards-ties-up-with-easyjet