Delta is a founding member of SkyTeam, and is not a member of OneWorld. American is part of OneWorld.
There’s are a ton of programs out there. It takes time to analyze which ones are best for you. There isn’t a one-card-fits-all answer. One of my favorite cards is the US Bank FlexPerks Travel Rewards VISA card. With it, 20,000 points will buy a $400 ticket. This equates to getting approximately 2% value for points. But as an ISP, I have a lot of telco expense and a lot of gas expense, and this card gives you double points on telco and gas purchases. So $10,000 of spend in those two categories gets you 20,000 points or $400 on an airline ticket purchase… approximately 4% of value. The Delta Platinum AmEx and Delta Reserve AmEx are good cards if you fly a lot with Delta. They have high fees, but the perks are good if you travel often. You can earn Medallion Qualification Miles for spending on those cards, which can get you Elite Status (free upgrades to first). The Delta Reserve card also gets you into Sky Club lounges. To me, a main perk of the lounges and being seated in the front of the plane is the free booze, and I suspect that isn’t of interest to you, so these cards are probably not of interest. The Delta Gold AmEx card has the lowest annual fee and will get you and everyone traveling on your reservation a free checked bag. If you travel Delta even once per year and check a bag, the annual fee has paid for itself. Delta SkyMiles themselves tend to be of less value (i.e. it costs more miles to get somewhere) compared to American Advantage and United MileagePlus miles. For someone who doesn’t have lots of spend in the telco and gas categories, the Capital One cards with 2% value that others already mentioned are a very good choice. You can redeem for travel on your choice of airlines. There are also people who sign up for a card for just for bonus miles. Some of the sign-on bonuses are enough for a free round-trip ticket. Get the card, get the bonus, take a trip, cancel the card. Repeat in two years when your eligible to sign up and get bonus miles again. Dave > On May 19, 2015, at 1:47 PM, Daniel White <[email protected]> wrote: > > Chuck, > > Since you’re in Salt Lake, Delta is the carrier you want to link up with. > > Their reward program is One World. Any carrier that is part of One World you > should be able to “transfer” miles between. > > I fly United which is Star Alliance. So I can book flights on say Lufthansa > with my miles. > > Which program is the best, to me is really a moot point. What carrier is > prominent in the airport you fly out of and goes to where you want to go is > more important. I know I have seen on the internet Star Alliance is supposed > to be the best “group” but I fly United because they have almost 1/3 of the > gates out of Denver. > > *************************************************************************** > Daniel White - Managing Director > SAF North America LLC > Cell: +1 (303) 746-3590 > [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > Skype: danieldwhite > Social: LinkedIn <http://www.linkedin.com/in/danielwhite84> > > *************************************************************************** > > From: Af [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Chuck McCown > Sent: Tuesday, May 19, 2015 6:36 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [AFMUG] OT Airline Miles > > I have never played the miles game but I want to learn. What kind of miles > are transferrable between air carriers? What does a “mile” actually equate > to in dollars saved? I presume some credit cards are better for this? > > > <http://www.avast.com/> > This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. > www.avast.com <http://www.avast.com/>
