EARNING MILES BY FLYING IN THE AGE OF REVENUE-BASED …files.meetup.com/18310944/Earning Miles by Flying.pdf · EARNING MILES BY FLYING: INTRODUCTION WHAT ARE DISTANCE-BASED AND REVENUE-BASED

EARNING MILES BY FLYING IN THE AGE OF REVENUE-BASED PROGRAMSTONEI GLAVINIC

EARNING MILES BY FLYING: INTRODUCTION

WHAT ARE DISTANCE-BASED AND REVENUE-BASED PROGRAMS?

▸ Distance-based programs give you miles based on how far you fly.

▸ e.g. an Alaska member buys a ticket to fly from LAX to DC. The flight is 2,311 miles, so she earns 2311 Alaska miles.

▸ Revenue-based programs give you frequent flier miles based on the amount of money you spend.

▸ A United member buys a $250 ticket to fly from LAX to DC. The base fare (before taxes) is $200, so he earns 1000 miles.

EARNING MILES BY FLYING: INTRODUCTION

HOW DO REVENUE-BASED PROGRAMS AWARD MILES?

▸ American, Delta, and United all have nearly identical earning structures.

chart from thepointsguy.com

EARNING MILES BY FLYING: INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS A FARE CLASS?

▸ Within each class of service (e.g. First, Business, Economy) there are multiple fare classes (aka “buckets”)

▸ You can find fare classes on your e-ticket receipt, on the ITA Matrix search tool, or sometimes in the booking flow.

EARNING MILES BY FLYING: INTRODUCTION

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS?

▸ Optimizing for mileage earning vs. elite status

▸ Partner status varies - may give you more/fewer/no benefits on your selected airline

▸ What do you want to redeem for?

▸ Look at both earning & redemption options

▸ Watch out for expiration policies!

EARNING MILES BY FLYING: HIGHLIGHTED PROGRAMS

PROGRAMS HIGHLIGHTED

▸ Alaska Mileage Plan

▸ Etihad Guest

▸ Singapore Krisflyer

EARNING MILES BY FLYING: HIGHLIGHTED PROGRAMS

ALASKA AIRLINES MILEAGE PLAN

▸ Non-alliance airline; partners with various Oneworld, Skyteam, and unaffiliated carriers

▸ Allows one-way awards (except DL/KE) and stopovers; cannot combine multiple partners in one direction

▸ Elite benefits on American & Delta

▸ Miles expire after 18 months of no activity

▸ Transfer points from Starwood

EARNING MILES BY FLYING: HIGHLIGHTED PROGRAMS

ETIHAD AIRWAYS GUEST

▸ Maintains “Etihad Airways Partners”, a collection of airlines Etihad has invested in, and has partnerships with various other airlines

▸ Allows one-way awards

▸ Elite benefits across its Partners network

▸ Transfer points from Citi or Starwood

EARNING MILES BY FLYING: HIGHLIGHTED PROGRAMS

SINGAPORE AIRLINES KRIS FLYER

▸ Star Alliance member with various non-alliance partners

▸ Elite benefits on Star Alliance carriers

▸ Miles expire 3 years after earning regardless of account activity

▸ Transfer points from Citi, Chase, Amex, or Starwood

EARNING MILES BY FLYING: WHERE TO CREDIT

AMERICAN AIRLINES

▸ Etihad Airways

▸ Earn 100% on all paid economy tickets

▸ Redeem on AA at rates similar to AA’s old award chart

EARNING MILES BY FLYING: WHERE TO CREDIT

AMERICAN AIRLINES

▸ Alaska Airlines

▸ Earns 25-100% on economy tickets

EARNING MILES BY FLYING: WHERE TO CREDIT

AMERICAN AIRLINES

▸ American Airlines

▸ If you book through a credit card rewards website (e.g. Citi/Chase), you may earn AA miles based on distance

EARNING MILES BY FLYING: WHERE TO CREDIT

DELTA AIR LINES

▸ Alaska Airlines

▸ Earn 25% on Basic Economy, 50%-125% on other economy fares

EARNING MILES BY FLYING: WHERE TO CREDIT

DELTA AIR LINES

▸ Other airline options (from milevalue.com): Alitalia, Air France/KLM, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia

EARNING MILES BY FLYING: WHERE TO CREDIT

UNITED AIRLINES

▸ Singapore

▸ Earn 100% on all revenue tickets

▸ Bonuses for paid Business and First

▸ Also consider other Star Alliance programs, depending on your travel goals.

▸ Singapore Airlines Krisflyer

▸ Earn 100% on all economy fares and 150% on First

▸ Other options: Emirates, Hawaiian, Virgin Australia

EARNING MILES BY FLYING: WHERE TO CREDIT

VIRGIN AMERICA

EARNING MILES BY FLYING: WHERE TO CREDIT

JETBLUE

▸ Singapore Airlines

▸ Earn 50%-100% on economy fares and 150% on Mint

▸ Other options: Emirates, Hawaiian

EARNING MILES BY FLYING: WRAPPING UP

KEY TAKEAWAYS

▸ Think about your travel goals and where you want to consolidate points

▸ Do your research – and the math! – before entering your frequent flier number

▸ Monitor your accounts to make sure your miles post

EARNING MILES BY FLYING: WRAPPING UP

LEARN MORE

▸ wheretocredit.com – enter your airline and fare class, and it will tell you all of the programs you can credit to & what percentage of distance you’ll earn

▸ milevalue.com – search for “Where to Credit Butt in Seat Miles”

▸ awardwallet.com - keep track of your mileage balances and avoid expiring points