Airline/Hotel Loyalty Programs

[Katy Lied]

How about Lucky Airlines? With a name like that, you gotta be begging peasants to chuck pennies into the motor.

[CJF]

I’ve flown 6 different airlines internationally in the last 12 months or so. United business class is solid. I do like Delta the best of domestic carriers. Cathay is probably my favorite and China Southern my least favorite.

[Bo Diddley]

So Delta is the only international carrier worth accumulating points toward?

Those are just my impressions of them in general. It's been a few years since I've flown internationally with them.

[Pelado]

United sucks. American Airlines too. They've been going downhill fast.

So Delta is the only international carrier worth accumulating points toward?

[Bo Diddley]

For reasons I won't bore everyone with, I have been travelling on other airlines a bit more than in the past and I still find UAL to be one of my least favorite flying experiences. As before, however, the UAL on-line experience is pretty good and makes it easy to book awards travel.

United sucks. American Airlines too. They've been going downhill fast.

[creekster]

Any updates for this thread in the last 3+ years? Any airline loyalty rewards programs get appreciably better or worse?

creekster - does United still suck?

old_gregg - did you get your track day at the nurburgring?

For reasons I won't bore everyone with, I have been travelling on other airlines a bit more than in the past and I still find UAL to be one of my least favorite flying experiences. As before, however, the UAL on-line experience is pretty good and makes it easy to book awards travel.

[LiveCoug]

Southwest cards are still enough bonus points to fly my family free to California with some left over for my wife and I to do a weekend.

I think it's harder to get companion status now though

[Jeff Lebowski]

Dont the airlines have to carry those loyalty miles on their books as a liability?

I think so, but apparently they can devalue them by changing the rules without any consequence.

[Katy Lied]

Dont the airlines have to carry those loyalty miles on their books as a liability?

[Jeff Lebowski]

Any updates for this thread in the last 3+ years? Any airline loyalty rewards programs get appreciably better or worse?

creekster - does United still suck?

old_gregg - did you get your track day at the nurburgring?

I can't find it, but I read an article yesterday about how airline loyalty programs are oversaturated so they are making it much more difficult to get reward status so that those with reward status will actually be able to get upgrades, etc. It is almost all about dollars spent now vs miles traveled and the dollars requirements keep going up. Getting to where only the busy business travelers will get status.

[Pelado]

Any updates for this thread in the last 3+ years? Any airline loyalty rewards programs get appreciably better or worse?

creekster - does United still suck?

old_gregg - did you get your track day at the nurburgring?

[thesaint258]

For me, having the premium seats on the trip over is more important. The more sleep you can get on the trip over, the easier your transition to the new time zone it will me.

I wish I could sleep on planes. I usually get some work done or catch up on movies. It's really helpful for me to spread out and relax a bit, even if I can't fall asleep.

[Bo Diddley]

I agree with your wife. On trans-Atlantic flights, premium seats are a great bonus, but generally, I can deal with economy if necessary. Going to Asia is another story, and premium seats are a necessity.

For me, having the premium seats on the trip over is more important. The more sleep you can get on the trip over, the easier your transition to the new time zone it will me.

[thesaint258]

Mrs. Diddley is not happy with flying coach over the pond, so I'm buying premium seats from now on. Next year we're headed back to London, and I used my SPG points to top of my Delta account to spring for a couple of business class seats.

If you're headed to Amsterdam, you need to look into Norwegian Air. Look at the pricing for both coach and premium. Not bad. That's probably what we'll take on our return trip from London. They have regular flights out of LAX, and biweekly flights out of LAS.

I agree with your wife. On trans-Atlantic flights, premium seats are a great bonus, but generally, I can deal with economy if necessary. Going to Asia is another story, and premium seats are a necessity.

[Bo Diddley]

Wow. High maintenance wife.

She'd probably tell you that I'm the high maintenance one.