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Best Frequent Flyer Program for Business Travellers
Question:
According to several surveys I’ve seen, Continental often comes out on top on FF programs. Once you pick one and do a lot of traveling (e.g. >35,000/year) on one airline, the benefits multiply with higher "status" in their system and you’ll want to stay with one. If your company doesn’t have specific discounts with select airlines, pick one program and stick with it for maximum payoff to you. Jeff
Response:
Now that I have graduated from school and have entered the "real world", my travel priorities have changed slightly as well. As a student, the best fare was usually the determining factor in what airline I flew, followed by the airline’s frequent flyer program and perhaps if I could get an upgrade to first class (which rarely fit into the picture as I couldn’t usually afford fares that would make me eligible for free or purchased upgrades. Well, I’m now working for a company (Andersen Consulting) which will probably result in my doing a good deal of travelling on business (working out of town during the week and flying back home on weekends), and my priorities are changing slightly. While fare will still matter, I will not be paying for the ticket — so I will care more about frequent flyer programs and upgrade potential. So, I am wondering what the net-wisdom was as to the best FF program for business travellers — in terms of maximizing mileage, free (or cheap) upgrades, and any other perks that are available. I will probably fly enough (when I am out of town to qualify for elite, preferred, or whatever else status), so benfits as to those programs should be included as well. Thanks… Greg — Greg Lyon Student Union Attorney General Member – Washington University College Bowl Team — 1993 Region 11 Champions !!
Response:
> So, I am wondering what the net-wisdom was as to the best FF program > for business travellers — in terms of maximizing mileage, free (or cheap) > upgrades, and any other perks that are available. I will probably fly > enough (when I am out of town to qualify for elite, preferred, or whatever > else status), so benfits as to those programs should be included as well.
Undoubtedly you’ll get lots of advice on this, but it depends very, very heavily on a lot of factors: – Will you be flying to the same place a lot, and if so, do you care if you go nonstop? This may reduce the number of airlines you’d consider. – Will you be taking many short flights or mostly long flights? Some airlines award 750 miles for short flights, while others award only 500. – Do you plan to use your awards for international or domestic travel? Make sure that you can use your awards to fly to where you want to fly. USAir, for example, has no Asia flights and few Europe flights, and there are many restrictions on their partner awards. – What time of year do you plan to use your awards? If you want to use your awards around holidays, pick a program that lets you fly on black out dates in exchange for more mileage. If you want to fly overseas during the summer, pick a program that doesn’t black out free summer travel to Europe. – Do you plan to use your awards for yourself only or take a companion? Northwest seems to have the most generous award structure for "companion" awards, while other airlines have better structures for some types of individual tickets. – Are first class upgrades more important than regular awards? Northwest tends to be much less generous in first class upgrades, yet I’ve been able to use mine every time I’ve tried; other programs give you a lot more upgrades, but you are competing with more people to get the first class seats. | The opinions expressed above are my own and do not necessarily | | represent those of The Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, CA. | | |