Airline Loyalty

[Mike_M]

So I probably should've asked this a year ago when I started traveling for work, but I've run through all of my accumulated miles and am essentially starting over. At this point I feel like all of the airline mileage programs are the same, and each of them offers a card with about the same benefits. I stayed loyal to United (mostly at random) all of last year, but found most of their flight schedules to be inconvenient and generally more expensive than others, on top of the fact that it was always a United Express (ugh) mini-jet.

If you had to choose one airline to exclusively fly out of Will Rogers, which would you choose? I'm mostly looking for reliability and flexibility, but cost is also a concern.

[Just the facts]

You should just switch to a credit card that gives you miles on any airline as most airline will be switching over to rewards programs that heavily favor business travelers by basing the miles earned on the price of the ticket and not the miles or segments flown.

[venture]

As what Kerry said, most airlines are switching to revenue/fare-based programs. Southwest has had it for a few years now. I want to say United and Delta have just switched to an earnings model based on air fares. The differences between the three is with Southwest, redemption is also based on air fare cost whereas the others are still a flat rate redemption. FlyerTalk is usually a good reference site to check out the various programs. American/US Airways is still based on the segment mileage for earning.

Branded credit cards are a big thing now so those really help. I had a friend who signed up for a Southwest credit card along with her husband and got a total of 100,000 points which put them with in 10,000 of getting a companion pass on Southwest (designated person flies free with card holder anytime).

Personally I'm torn on which one is the way to go. The Southwest program is probably the most fair since both earning and redemption are based on the fares posted. Whereas on UA and DL you will earn based on the fares but your redemption is still going to be like 25,000-30,000 miles regardless of where the trip is going or the published fare.

[Jeepnokc]

So I probably should've asked this a year ago when I started traveling for work, but I've run through all of my accumulated miles and am essentially starting over. At this point I feel like all of the airline mileage programs are the same, and each of them offers a card with about the same benefits. I stayed loyal to United (mostly at random) all of last year, but found most of their flight schedules to be inconvenient and generally more expensive than others, on top of the fact that it was always a United Express (ugh) mini-jet.

If you had to choose one airline to exclusively fly out of Will Rogers, which would you choose? I'm mostly looking for reliability and flexibility, but cost is also a concern.

Where do you fly to mostly? How many miles a year are you looking to fly approx.?

[s00nr1]

Always have and for the foreseeable future will be an American loyalist. Easy connections through DFW and ORD. Closing in on 400,000 lifetime miles including those earned on my Citi AAdvantage credit cards. Wife and I will be going R/T to FCO next May in Business (outbound) and First (inbound) on miles for fees only.

[gjl]

I don't think I've been on anything but Southwest in the last 25 years other than one charter flight to Vegas. I have never had a problem ever with Southwest and it seems they are always the cheapest anywhere I need to fly. Never pay extra for luggage and have always been on time.

[bluedogok]

I was pretty loyal to Frontier until the Ghost of Spirit Airlines recently purchased them and is taking them in that direction. I liked Frontier because they had good, decently priced flights to OKC and Austin from Denver. I guess it will be Southwest for the most part now although I do like the direct to JFK and Boston JetBlue has from Denver.

[HOT ROD]

United, 1M lifetime. Hate what Continental is doing to United though.

Loved the 'prestige' factor that United used to have about flying being it was the first airline and arguably the United States' flagship. Now, I'm not sure what is going on in Chicago or even if the airline is still run from there vs. Houston.

[Richard at Remax]

I've always used southwest since they seem to fly wherever I need to go. I have a SWA Visa rewards card that I find to be very fair compared to some friends rewards. Only issue (an obvious one) is that I would have to go to another airline for international travel (not Caribbean or Mexico) so my earned points would be moot for that. Even though I would probably get a ton of points purchasing air, hotel, etc. while I was abroad.

[onthestrip]

I have AAdvantage and a Southwest card. For most travel, especially domestically, its a no brainer to get a Southwest rewards card. Cheaper fares and there are not blackouts or restrictions on redeeming your flight. The miles used to redeem a flight is based on the price of the flight, which is simple enough.
For Americans AAdvantage program, you sometimes are forced to use more miles to have a normal flight. Say you want to go to NYC, you might be able to get there with 25k miles but it might take 13 hours and stop 3 times, so you are forced to spend 50k miles to get a 1 stop or direct, normal type of flight. But, it is better for international travel and you can also sometimes redeem for first/business class for a reasonable amount of miles.

But as others have said, there are cards out there that allow you to redeem miles at most airlines and hotels.

[catch22]

United, 1M lifetime. Hate what Continental is doing to United though.

Loved the 'prestige' factor that United used to have about flying being it was the first airline and arguably the United States' flagship. Now, I'm not sure what is going on in Chicago or even if the airline is still run from there vs. Houston.

Please please please don't blame Continental.

We CO'ers do not like Jeff Smisek any more than the next guy. He actually started ruining CO before the merger. CO was a good airline before he came along.

[HangryHippo]

I'm pretty loyal to American Airlines, but I hate that Doug Parker is going to get to sink his claws into my airline of choice.

After my experience this past weekend on Delta, I doubt they'll get any more of my business.

[Mike_M]

Guys I really appreciate the input. I mostly fly east coast, New York being the most often destination. So far the best advice I've received is to get the Chase Sapphire card, which transfers points on a 1-to-1 basis to either Southwest or United. After being on United for nearly a year straight, I loathe their tin can jets and far connections (Houston, Denver, Chicago). I'm mostly trying to decide between United and American, as American generally has way better flights out of OKC. Does anyone know of a card program that allows a 1-to-1 points transfer to any airline?

[catch22]

I fail to see how American has better flights out of OKC?

Aside from mainline to DFW, AA has service to 3 other hubs, all on RJ flights >2 hours.

[Jeepnokc]

Guys I really appreciate the input. I mostly fly east coast, New York being the most often destination. So far the best advice I've received is to get the Chase Sapphire card, which transfers points on a 1-to-1 basis to either Southwest or United. After being on United for nearly a year straight, I loathe their tin can jets and far connections (Houston, Denver, Chicago). I'm mostly trying to decide between United and American, as American generally has way better flights out of OKC. Does anyone know of a card program that allows a 1-to-1 points transfer to any airline?

I have had elite status with Delta since they acquired NWA. Going anywhere from OK pretty much sucks. DL will almost always route you through ATL (sometimes I go through DTW) which I don't mind for east coast flights but was much nicer when I could get routed through Memphis. I do not ever transfer points from my credit card to the loyalty program. I use an Amex platinum card which gets you into the DL skyclub for free and also provides $200 credit per year on your designated airline. (ie...reimburses up to 200 for baggage fees or drinks on board). AMEX also pays for your Global Entry fee. I also use a Bank of America business rewards card. The point of these cards (I am sure others do it also) is that you can redeem the points through them for the ticket. This means no black out days. The price is always the same as I find at the website. If the ticket is $500 then it takes 50000 points. $250 ticket is 25000 points. Also, if you use mileage to get a ticket, you do not get elite miles credit (not sure if you get any ff miles) for that reward ticket whereas if you take the ticket through your credit card...you get all the benefits of purchasing a ticket.

Another tip, look at your purchases for everyday items. Delta has the skymall shopping. I bought 4 new ipads last year for the company. I went to DL skymall shopping and signed in. I clicked on the BestBuy website where I ordered the 4 ipads. I put in my BestBuy rewards number and then paid for it with my AMEX. I got 3500 DL FF miles, 3500 points towards my BB Rewards card, and also got 3500 points on my Amex. I then drove to the store and picked them up. You would be amazed at all the stores that are listed with SkyMall Shopping and you get 1-8 miles per dollar spent. It is the same price as on the website and if the store offers local pickup..you get the same day. I did the same thing last year with a rug doctor we bought from Walmart..picked up same day in store. We do this for all of our school and office supplies, christmas shopping, gifts, etc.

Is DL the best....I'll just say that when NWA, Continental and DL were all skyteam...we avoided DL and flew the other two. I think all the airlines suck now and I just deal with the one that suits my travel best. I won't fly Continental/United now because they fly prop planes out of OKC and other places and I do not like props. Southwest doesn't have first class and doesn't fly to Europe (I don't pay for first class but with elite status...I get bumped often). I flew American last year to Cancun when we went to Cuba because of the times and it was a great flight both ways but I still see way too any cancelled flights with them In 500,000 miles with DL and NWA, I have only been stranded overnight one time and they bought me a steak dinner and a hotel room. This is another BIG reason to get a card that allows you access to the SkyClub or whatever club the airline you choose has because if you are having difficulty enroute or flight is late or cancelled, instead of waiting in the line at the gate, go to the club because the agents there are usually more apt and able to go the extra mile. The one flight that was late into DTW that stranded me, it was because of weather and the airline did not have to provide us the dinner voucher or the hotel rooms. Not only did they do it for me and another colleague from Seattle that was on same flight, they did it for one of our higher up colleagues that didn't have access to the club but we brought him in under our cards as a guest.

[venture]

I won't fly Continental/United now because they fly prop planes out of OKC and other places and I do not like props.

That is a bit of an overreach. UA has one Dash 8-Q400 to DEN per day and I believe that is it. You can't compare it to the props used more frequently before the RJ fad (that helped to bankrupt the industry) in terms of comfort and speed. I would gladly take a Q400 over a CRJ-200 any day.

[catch22]

In fact right now United/OKC is all jet. The props come and go, but the only route they are ever used on is Denver, and it's always a mix of jet/prop. Right now all jet.

[Jeepnokc]

It is just a preference thing with me that I won't fly prop unless absolutely no other alternative. Had a bad experience (really bad flight throwing us around) in a big prop plane flying Harlingen Tx to Houston on Continental. I don't want to have to worry about checking the equipment used on each leg when I book my tickets. My general rule is if it doesn't have two pilots and two jet engines....my butt doesn't get on. May be illogical to some but its my quirk.

[onthestrip]

It is just a preference thing with me that I won't fly prop unless absolutely no other alternative. Had a bad experience (really bad flight throwing us around) in a big prop plane flying Harlingen Tx to Houston on Continental. I don't want to have to worry about checking the equipment used on each leg when I book my tickets. My general rule is if it doesn't have two pilots and two jet engines....my butt doesn't get on. May be illogical to some but its my quirk.

Just because they are prop planes doesnt mean they arent jet engines. Im quite certain these regional prop planes arent piston driven, they are jet engines.

[Jeepnokc]

Just because they are prop planes doesnt mean they arent jet engines. Im quite certain these regional prop planes arent piston driven, they are jet engines.

I am not a mechanical person so I went and looked. What I gather is that they are all turbine engines (leaving out piston engines) of which some drive a propeller and some are jets. ie, the power is sent to the propeller which creates thrust and in a jet, the thrust is derived from the exhaust. Here is a basic breakdown I found on the web.

Aircraft turbine engines generally fall into four common categories: turbojets, turbofans, turboprops and turboshafts. We’ll focus on Turboprops, but it is helpful to understand the differences between these engine types:

Turbojets

Turbojets are jet engines that depend exclusively on Turbojet the thrust of jet exhaust expelled by the engine for propulsion. Turbojet engines are extraordinarily powerful and only efficient at extremely high speeds. As such, they are more likely to be found in a missile, although the now defunct Concorde jet is an example of a turbojet powered commercial aircraft.

Turbofans

Turbofan engines, which power the majority of Turbofan commercial aircraft, are turbine engines that have been fitted with a powerful front-end fan. The fan sends air into the combustor, similar to a turbojet engine. However, the fan also sends a second stream of air through a larger cylinder entirely outside (and around) the engine core. This second stream of air provides additional thrust, cools the engine, and also serves to reduce engine noise. Turbofans are interchangeably referred to as bypass engines, in reference to this airflow that bypasses the combustor.

Turboprops

Like turbojet and turbofan engines, aircraft Turboprop engines rely on a gas turbine for power. However, in the case of a turboprop aircraft, the turbine drives a rotating shaft, which in turn drives a reduction gear, which ultimately drives a propeller. The reduction gear is necessary to convert the high-speed shaft rotation into slower, functional propeller speed. Most of the power generated in a turboprop aircraft is used to drive the propeller and any remaining jet exhaust actually plays virtually no role in propulsion of the plane!

Turboshaft

The Turboshaft engine is similar to the turboprop Turboshaft in that energy produced within the engine is used to drive a shaft rather than to produce jet stream thrust. However, in the case of a turboshaft engine, the shaft is used to drive something other than a propeller - such as a helicopter rotor.
Piston Engine Aircraft vs. Turboprop Engine Aircraft

[Tigerguy]

For me, it's primarily about if they fly where I want to go. A few years ago, most of my flying took me to the west. Frontier got the lion's share (had Ascent or Summit for two or so years, maybe a little more) with United picking up the slack. With Frontier's change in business strategy and my flying shifting to the east, United took the torch (currently silver). Due to a handful of other factors, Delta is currently doing its best to take the lead. Try to look at the big picture if you can and see what'll work best for you.

[rayhurst]

Guys I really appreciate the input. I mostly fly east coast, New York being the most often destination. So far the best advice I've received is to get the Chase Sapphire card, which transfers points on a 1-to-1 basis to either Southwest or United. After being on United for nearly a year straight, I loathe their tin can jets and far connections (Houston, Denver, Chicago). I'm mostly trying to decide between United and American, as American generally has way better flights out of OKC. Does anyone know of a card program that allows a 1-to-1 points transfer to any airline?

I'll add my vote for American. I was a non-elite for years and spread my travel around, never quite reaching status with anyone. Then about 5 years ago I got stranded overnight at ORD because I had no status and vowed to focus on one airline so they will take care of you when it counts. I decided on American, made top tier Executive Platinum the next year and have been ever since and highly recommend AA. I've been upgrade to 1st on about 95% of all mainline legs the last 4 years, always taken care of during weather problems and great EXP help line. Based on my work colleagues that fly United and/or Delta, I'd say American is the best airline for top tier status and possibly low and mid tier as well. I'd say the best advantage for OKC fliers is DFW is a short 55min flight (25-30min in the air) which makes a HUGE difference if you connect a lot vs. UA (ORD, IAH, DEN) or Delta (SLC, ATL). Plus, and this is BIG for me, nearly every flight to DFW is a mainline jet, not a smaller regional jet as is nearly always the case on UA or Delta.

Southwest is a great option for domestic flying, but I chose AA because I earn my miles domestically for work and then redeem for international trips in Bus/1st that I wouldn't otherwise be able to afford. Taking wife to Paris over Labor day in 1st on miles.

As for credit cards that can transfer to a lot of airlines, I'd go for SPG Starwood Amex. It allows you to transfer 1:1 to a bunch of airlines, plus they give you a 5k bonus when you transfer 20k so 20k gets you 25k. That means you are effectively earning 1.25 miles/$ with a lot of flexibility.

[Just the facts]

For me, it's primarily about if they fly where I want to go.

This. I need an airline that goes where I need to go at the time I need it for a price I am willing to pay. Sometimes that airline is USAirways, Delta, or AirTran.

[Richard at Remax]

I've always used southwest since they seem to fly wherever I need to go. I have a SWA Visa rewards card that I find to be very fair compared to some friends rewards. Only issue (an obvious one) is that I would have to go to another airline for international travel (not Caribbean or Mexico) so my earned points would be moot for that. Even though I would probably get a ton of points purchasing air, hotel, etc. while I was abroad.

I have to correct myself. SWA doesn't really hang it out there to find easily but you CAN actually use points for international travel, hotels, ect. For anyone who has SWA card card the link is in the rewards tab to the right below where it shows your points.

[mugofbeer]

I was pretty loyal to Frontier until the Ghost of Spirit Airlines recently purchased them and is taking them in that direction. I liked Frontier because they had good, decently priced flights to OKC and Austin from Denver. I guess it will be Southwest for the most part now although I do like the direct to JFK and Boston JetBlue has from Denver.

I made a last purchase on my Frontier card to earn enough points for a flight from Denver to OKC in a couple of weeks, then the card gets cancelled and cut up. As bludogok said, they are trying to become a new Spirit Airlines and ding you for virtually everything. They used to be a great airline but no longer.