Choosing The Right Card, And the Right Alliance
by Jason SteeleLast week, I was writing about my brother in law’s dilemma with earning miles on United towards an international reward ticket on a Star Alliance partner.
Why MileagePlus?
Some people’s comments got me thinking, why should he be earning miles with MileagePlus? He had already stipulated that he had to fly United to most of his destinations around Denver, as it was really the only international airline that served them from here. As several commenters pointed out, there are other option for earning miles when flying United. While United’s MileagePlus miles can be redeemed for award seats on any Star Alliance carrier, anyone who is forced to fly United can choose to accrue miles with any of the Star Alliance airlines instead of United.
Look At Your Options
There are many Star Alliance carriers, and the list of their frequent flier programs can be found here. As you can see, US Airways is on the list. One option my brother in law could choose, to avoid the dreaded Starnet Filtering, is to accrue miles in US Airways dividend miles whenever he flies United. He could also obtain a US Airways affiliated credit card. Another option would be to consider Continental Airlines, which will be joining the Star Alliance in 2009.
While you could consider one of the many other foreign carriers, the problem is that they do not offer affiliated credit cards in the United States.
This Works For Other Carriers, But Be Careful
Currently, Delta, Northwest, and Continental are part of the SkyTeam Alliance. As we all know, Northwest is being folded into Delta, and Continental is defecting to the Star Alliance. Now, if you had been accumulating miles on Continental for many years towards a SkyTeam reward, you would have to act soon to redeem it before Continental leaves SkyTeam. Therin lies the risk. While it is likely that the major American carriers will retain their alliance affiliations for the foreseable future, all bets are off when it come to many of the foreign airlines. This is just a risk you take when you invest your time over the long term towards accumulating miles.
In Practice
There is no reason one couldn’t fly with United from Denver Colorado to El Paso Texas earning miles on Lufthansa or LOT Polish Airlines. All you have to do is make sure to indicate which frequent flier program you are affiliated with when you purchase your ticket. You could fly United earning US Air Dividend Miles, and use those miles to earn an award on any Star Alliance partner.
I have even read reports of people earning credit with British Carrier BMI as they award elite status more easily than United.
In Conclusion
The world of award travel is never simple. Sometimes the quickest way from point A to point B, is often through an affiliated alliance carrier.
December 17th, 2008 at 19:01
BEWARE OF FRONTIER MASTERCARD
I have had this card for years now and have never been a problem customer, in fact, I just paid my balance in full ($1,425) a few weeks ago.
I went to charge a Christmas gift on my card today and it was declined.
This is how I found out that Barclays had lowered my credit limit. 1 week before Christmas – no notice whatsoever.
I spoke with a colleague and she said her account is always paid in full (monthly) and she was declined at the grocery store yesterday using her Frontier Mastercard. She called Barclays and they said the put a hold on her card because they had charged a camera on it the day before (Christmas Gift). She said they have NEVER done that before.
A lot of us here in my office have a Frontier Mastercard and we are now worried that Barclays is not doing well – maybe going bankrupt, given the current economic situation.