Whether you're
flying for business or pleasure, the bottom line is getting from point A to point B while
accumulating as many frequent flyer (FF) miles as possible. Travellers taking advantage of
reciprocal international mileage partnerships such as United Star Alliance will find their
globe-trotting habits growing increasingly less expensive. Some FF programs make this
easier to accomplish than others. Tina Henderson takes a closer look
Remember S & H Greenstamps? Save up ten
books for redemption on a brand new toaster? This was known as loyalty marketing and is
the predecessor of the FF programs as we know them. In the late 1970s, with the advent of
deregulation in the airline industry, airlines found themselves fiercely competing for
market share. American Airlines started the FF craze through their loyalty marketing
efforts when they introduced American Advantage in 1981. Other major carriers followed
suit including United, TWA, Continental, Delta, and later Northwest in 1983. Over the
years, these programs have expanded to include global alliances with other
internationally-based carriers as well as with hotels, credit card companies, rental car
agencies, and long distance services.
Veteran business traveller Tim Winship, consulting travel editor for SmarterLiving
and the editor of Frequent Flyer Crier has spent more than 20 years in the travel
industry, mostly managing frequent flyer programs. Tim says, "The best program is one
that maximizes the opportunities to earn and redeem miles, given an individual's travel
patterns." He says that side-by-side comparisons of individual airlines tend to be
moot because it is important to consider one's home airport, typical travel destinations,
and corporate travel policies, among other things. Tim also stresses that although most FF
programs partner with other business services, that it's really more important to focus on
the airline programs themselves since they ultimately offer more options for mileage
earning. Furthermore, he says that, "In general, you are likely to be better served
by a program hosted by an airline in your country of residence, especially if you live in
the US where programs tend to be more generous."
High flying
So what's the best FF strategy? If you were starting from scratch today, what's the best
plan of action for accumulating miles? Is it a good idea to track FF developments every
day and "trade up" accordingly? For example, when investing in the stock market,
there are two investment philosophies: day trading or buy-and-hold for long-term growth.
Can the same philosophies apply to FF programs? According to Tim, "If you choose the
right program from the beginning, trading up shouldn't be necessary, unless of course, you
move to another city or otherwise change your usual travel patterns. I guess I'd compare
it to a buy-and-hold strategy if you want to use investing analogies."
Pam Lewis, managing editor of Inside Flyer Magazine agrees with the buy-and-hold
philosophy stating that, "Actually, it's better to choose a program wisely and stay
in for the long term. In terms of choosing between a domestic or international
program," she says, "it really depends on where the individual flies and what
his or her ultimate goals from the program are. Some of the major airlines fly all over
the world and where they don't fly, their partners do. If someone does a lot of worldwide
travel, they would be best served belonging to one of the global alliances."
Pam's advice to the beginning FF is to "Pick a program and focus on earning as many
miles as possible. Beginners may also want to get a credit card enabling them to earn
double miles as well as to switch to long distance carriers offering miles." One good
card is through Merrill Lynch, their Visa Signature Card. It offers double mileage credit,
no blackouts, and no airline restrictions. The Citibank Visa card, available in Japan,
offers WorldPerks bonus miles on Northwest Airlines, while both Nihon Telecom and KDD
offer opportunities to earn miles on US FF programs in Japan. Continental's OnePass
program, also valid in Japan, was voted FF Program of the year by InsideFlyer
magazine.
Air apparents
Tim says, "It's not a question of ebest'. . . it's a question of what's best
for me, at this point in my life," with regard to FF programs. "Example: I had
to travel to Bombay, Singapore and Japan on business earlier this year. The choice of
airlines was up to me. In order to maximize my frequent flyer miles, I constructed an
all-AAdvantage itinerary - American to London, BA to Bombay, Qantas to Singapore,
Singapore Airlines to Tokyo, and Singapore again back to Los Angeles."
And perhaps what's "best" in terms of FF programs may become apparent through a
family emergency. Tim explains, "I received an urgent late-night call from my sister:
my father had taken seriously ill, and the prognosis wasn't good. How soon could I get
from Los Angeles to New York? In a panic, I called American (which has the most frequent
service between LAX and JFK) to check on fares. Because it would be a walk-up fare (i.e.,
no advance purchase), the ticket would cost $1900. Ouch! Would it be possible to use my
AAdvantage miles for a flight the next morning? Yes, there were award seats available, but
I would be assessed a $75 rush charge. So for 25,000 miles plus a $75 co-payment, I got a
ticket which would otherwise have cost $1900." And essentially, isn't that what's
it's really all about?
Remember S & H Greenstamps? Save up ten
books for redemption on a brand new toaster? This was known as loyalty marketing and is
the predecessor of the FF programs as we know them. In the late 1970s, with the advent of
deregulation in the airline industry, airlines found themselves fiercely competing for
market share. American Airlines started the FF craze through their loyalty marketing
efforts when they introduced American Advantage in 1981. Other major carriers followed
suit including United, TWA, Continental, Delta, and later Northwest in 1983. Over the
years, these programs have expanded to include global alliances with other
internationally-based carriers as well as with hotels, credit card companies, rental car
agencies, and long distance services. 
High flying 
Air apparents 