Best Frequent Flyer program?

[Apos]

I am going to be flying yo DR 3 or 4 times per year. What is the best frequent flyer program. I plan on flying Continental. Can I combine their onepass with credit card (Canadian) miles or what?

[JDR]

I am going to be flying yo DR 3 or 4 times per year. What is the best frequent flyer program. I plan on flying Continental. Can I combine their onepass with credit card (Canadian) miles or what?

I combine AA with a credit card and Delta with a credit card. I have over 400,000 miles built up to date.

[the_Jayman]

I convert my American Express miles to Continental.

I have about 180,000 but never seem to use them cause I keep finding cheep fare.

I like Continental because of the the non-stop service from Newark NJ to POP and STI.

[JDR]

I convert my American Express miles to Continental.

I have about 180,000 but never seem to use them cause I keep finding cheep fare.

I like Continental because of the the non-stop service from Newark NJ to POP and STI.

Get the Delta card, double miles and its good on Continental as well.

[guttaman]

JDR, how many miles does it take on AA to get to POP or STI.

[JDR]

JDR, how many miles does it take on AA to get to POP or STI.

High season 30,000, low season 25,000 and when they run specials, only 22,500.

[Apos]

I convert my American Express miles to Continental.

I have about 180,000 but never seem to use them cause I keep finding cheep fare.

I like Continental because of the the non-stop service from Newark NJ to POP and STI.

Get the Delta card, double miles and its good on Continental as well.



What Delta card?

Amex only? I'm Canadian and have to deal with Canadian banks for other cards.

[JDR]

American Express for Delta, 10,000 miles and no fee first year. I can't find the number in my shack at the moment. :(

[Apos]

American Express for Delta, 10,000 miles and no fee first year. I can't find the number in my shack at the moment. :(

Continental is a Delta affiliate so If I get the Delta card it will accumulate for Continental also but also gives me more options than the Continental card with Chase Mastercard or does Continental also work with Delta?

[milone]

Citibank has an AA card that accrues miles. You get miles just for getting the card, then 1 mile per $1 spent. Of course, with the Amarican Airlines program, you get the miles for flying. Purchase your tickets with the citi AA card. Miles add up.

[BrooklynBeas]

Citibank has an AA card that accrues miles. You get miles just for getting the card, then 1 mile per $1 spent. Of course, with the Amarican Airlines program, you get the miles for flying. Purchase your tickets with the citi AA card. Miles add up.

This is what i have... Its $50 per year to be a member though..... you get a mile for each dollar spent... $12,500 miles for signing up... I put everything on this card... and my year isnt up yet and i have about 26,000 miles on it... its about 1500 miles to fly from NY to DR plus you get however much you spent on the flight as miles... say 300... means you got 1800 miles on your account... trying to save up enough and use it towards my Colombia trip in March

[Jimmydr]

Citibank has an AA card that accrues miles. You get miles just for getting the card, then 1 mile per $1 spent. Of course, with the Amarican Airlines program, you get the miles for flying. Purchase your tickets with the citi AA card. Miles add up.

This is what i have... Its $50 per year to be a member though..... you get a mile for each dollar spent... $12,500 miles for signing up... I put everything on this card... and my year isnt up yet and i have about 26,000 miles on it... its about 1500 miles to fly from NY to DR plus you get however much you spent on the flight as miles... say 300... means you got 1800 miles on your account... trying to save up enough and use it towards my Colombia trip in March

I have some that give you no fee for a year, then I cancel and move on. I haven't paid a fee in 12 years. :D

[El Drunko]

I use AA citibank. Just cashed in 30,000 to get my fat ass to the DR in March. 80,000 left and still growing.

Tips for AA miles.
www.rewardsnetwork.com 10 miles for every $$$ spent at resturants
www.opinionplace.com (don`t need to give them your e-mail addy) 300 miles every 14 days for taking a survey

Lets not forget on-line shopping and don`t forget to sign up for every promotion the airlines have going. I have gotton thousands of miles by mistake :wink:

[BrooklynBeas]

I use AA citibank. Just cashed in 30,000 to get my fat ass to the DR in March. 80,000 left and still growing.

Tips for AA miles.
www.rewardsnetwork.com 10 miles for every $$$ spent at resturants
www.opinionplace.com (don`t need to give them your e-mail addy) 300 miles every 14 days for taking a survey

Lets not forget on-line shopping and don`t forget to sign up for every promotion the airlines have going. I have gotton thousands of miles by mistake :wink:

Thanks DrunkO... I will be giving my opinion every couple of weeks... :D

[Apos]

Thanks for the help! I still have some checking to do as being Canadian I may have a more local, option but the AMEX card sounds good.

[ROVER]

O.K. I had the Delta Skymiles gold card and recieved the Bonus Miles.
I terminated it and they have solicited me again. I took it but
recieved no bonus miles since its for first time card holders only.

Now they solicited me again...And now it says that the only bonus miles
I'm entitled to are the difference between the bonus miles I recieved
originally and what this offer is now 17,500.

When I called to see how many I recieved the first time the guy said it
looked like none, but he could only go back 1 year. I think he's
seeing my second card.

Question is is it possibble to score the Bonus Miles
twice???????????????????????

[psriches]

I just got that new AA card with 25k bonus miles for signing up.

Also, if you have more than one ONEPASS accounts with continental, they can be combined.

[prtyr2]

Jet Blue uses points rather than miles. 100 points per freebie. I have 2 saved up. If you book online they often give double points. I have about 50,000 aa miles saved and just went gold on their FF for the year. I get continental miles with my chase card and have 150,0000 plus I have about 30k on continental itself.

I don't really like flying out of EWR so I rarely fly continental. I just wish jet blue flew to SDQ again. May take the novia to aruba with jet blue freebies . . . . . .we'll seee. . . .

[psriches]

I try to use my miles for the longer more expensive trips. Not DR....

[Kevy]

Another thread resurrection. I looked at the Continental World card and found it was not available to Canadians.

PS, thanks for the spell check DT.

[Apos]

UPDATE:

i just got a TDCanadaTrust Gold "Travel" VISA.
http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/tdvisa/travel.jsp
there is a $120 CAD yearly fee but they start you off with 15,000 points (worth $225 CAD) so it's not too bad.

you get 1 points per dollar spent and if you are short on points you can put the difference on you VISA and of course earn more points.

i compared their booking prices against the airline websites and there is a $36.34 CAD difference on each of the 3 flights i checked. not bad if you're redeeming points, otherwise just book thru the airline direct and earn VISA and airline points :)

FYI Convert your TD Points for American Airlines AAdvantage® Miles, 1 TD Point = .75 AAdvantage® Mile.

i'll also be looking at the other major banks to see if there is a better plan available.

[Cuba Libre]

Continental is a Delta affiliate so If I get the Delta card it will accumulate for Continental also but also gives me more options than the Continental card with Chase Mastercard or does Continental also work with Delta?Although Continental and Delta are partners, I have my doubts if a Delta branded card will credit miles to a OnePass account. (Also once the miles are put into a Delta account they can not be transferred into a Continental account).

[Apos]

i've looked at CIBC and RBC and prefer TD so far.

CIBC:

http://www.cibc.com/ca/visa/aerogold-visa-card.html

you get aeroplan points, 1.5/$

seems to work with air canada and partners http://www.aeroplan.com/earn_miles/our_partners.do?Category=Airline only, very limiting and still a $120 fee.

RBC:

http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/cards/personal/avion_p.html

no fee but only 1 point/ 2$

OR

$110 fee and 1 point /$

you can book with http://www.cwtvacations.com/index.cfm
for extra/double points but i find them pricey


UPDATE:

i just got a TDCanadaTrust Gold "Travel" VISA.
http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/tdvisa/travel.jsp
there is a $120 CAD yearly fee but they start you off with 15,000 points (worth $225 CAD) so it's not too bad.

you get 1 points per dollar spent and if you are short on points you can put the difference on you VISA and of course earn more points.

i compared their booking prices against the airline websites and there is a $36.34 CAD difference on each of the 3 flights i checked. not bad if you're redeeming points, otherwise just book thru the airline direct and earn VISA and airline points :)

FYI Convert your TD Points for American Airlines AAdvantage® Miles, 1 TD Point = .75 AAdvantage® Mile.

i'll also be looking at the other major banks to see if there is a better plan available.

[Cuba Libre]

you get 5 points per dollar spentWhere did you see that? The only reference I saw to earning points was:


How do you earn TD Points?

Earn 1 TD Point for every dollar charged to the Card3 for all eligible purchases.
Earn Bonus TD Points for every dollar charged to the Card for all eligible travel purchases made at the TD Visa Travel Rewards Centre

[Apos]

you are correct. my mistake.

the amount of points is the same for TD and RBC.

TD is my main bank. i like their program but the RBC has no fee but only half the points/$ OR $110 fee and 1 point/$....but i may be wrong.

more investigation required.:)
Where did you see that? The only reference I saw to earning points was:

[Kevy]

UPDATE:

ii compared their booking prices against the airline websites and there is a $36.34 CAD difference on each of the 3 flights i checked. not bad if you're redeeming points, otherwise just book thru the airline direct and earn VISA and airline points :)


I guess you got your card, I can't see examples of their flight costs.

[Cuba Libre]

you are correct. my mistake.

the amount of points is the same for TD and RBC.

TD is my main bank. i like their program but the RBC has no fee but "feels" more limiting....but i may be wrong.

more investigation required.:)The problem is that the points get watered down when you convert them to AA miles. Why not go with Chase Continental Visa or MC. At the start of the thread (albeit that was 2 years ago and things may have changed), you said that was you airline of choice.

[Apos]

mostly because i am canadian and they want an american billing address and not a post office box or the like either.

how does a canadian living and working in canada get a credit card from an american bank?

thats really what we need to find out.:)
The problem is that the points get watered down when you convert them to AA miles. Why not go with Chase Continental Visa or MC. At the start of the thread (albeit that was 2 years ago and things may have changed), you said that was you airline of choice.

[Apos]

here http://www.rewardscanada.ca/cccompare.html is a comparison chart of canadian travel credit cards

and another more detailed chart in excel
http://members.shaw.ca/deercroft/creditcardcompare.xls

[Apos]

here is the main site
http://www.rewardscanada.ca/index.html

looks like canadian's have more options than i thought...although not as good as it seems for our american brothers
here http://www.rewardscanada.ca/cccompare.html is a comparison chart of canadian travel credit cards

and another more detailed chart in excel
http://members.shaw.ca/deercroft/creditcardcompare.xls

[Apos]

I guess you got your card, I can't see examples of their flight costs.

ok

continental YOW to SDQ:

thru the TD rewards site $706.04 CAD
direct with continental $669.70 CAD

difference = $36.34 CAD

but i have a 15,000 point or $225 CAD credit thru TD

[Elvis]

I think the best program is AA but most importantly is to make elite in their (or any) ff program - that way you can accumulate more miles easily.

This year I've made Platinum and normally fly 50K a year.

I have 2 AA credit cards, do Idine (get miles for dining), sign up for promotions (double miles), purchase thru their rewards program, and get miles for buying online but the best way to build up is too fly and get elite miles.

If you plan on flying with Continental, stick with Onepass. I also belong with Onepass and for me I didn't think it's the greatest program, considering that I wasn't be able to find much availability for international segments especially if you want to fly Business Class. However it's the easiest program to build up your miles fast, even if you don't plan on flying much with them..

How ? If you have the Amex card, you can transfer points to Onepass. It's even better when Amex has their anual promos (transfer to Onepass and get 25% more miles).

The only benefit in their program (elite) is being Gold and above, where you can get unlimited upgrades to first on domestic and some international destinations, especially if you're flying with Copa. Just last month, I was upgraded on all my Copa segments to/from Ecuador and liked the treatment.

[psriches]

I also agree with Elvis. I think AA has the best program. Recently, i received my new card with 25,000 bonus miles. It put me over the top for my Brazil trip.

[MisterPink]

Although Continental and Delta are partners, I have my doubts if a Delta branded card will credit miles to a OnePass account. (Also once the miles are put into a Delta account they can not be transferred into a Continental account).

I used Delta Skymiles to buy a OnePass Continental ticket last year to Rio.
I had to book it through a Delta Rep and just paid the tax and a small fee for using the phone.

An AMEX rewards Plus card gives you the most flexibility of FF programs.

mp

[BCell]

I used Delta Skymiles to buy a OnePass Continental ticket last year to Rio.
I had to book it through a Delta Rep and just paid the tax and a small fee for using the phone.

An AMEX rewards Plus card gives you the most flexibility of FF programs.

mp

is "rewards Plus" the same as "Membership Rewards"? and is this the one with choice of a bunch of airlines? I have an Amex Blue card

[Elvis]

is "rewards Plus" the same as "Membership Rewards"? and is this the one with choice of a bunch of airlines? I have an Amex Blue card

For some stupid reason Amex started to seperate some members redeemed their points. All standard cards, whether its Gold or Green, earn 1 point per dollar and when redeeming you need to convert 2 MR points for 1 mile/points for airline/hotel programs.

Then there are Gold and Green Rewards (as well as Preferred Rewards) can be converted on a 1:1 basis.

There's a card called The Rewards Plus Gold Card (not available in Green) where you can earn 2 points for every dollar on the first year and 1.5 points after that. Plus you can have 5 additional cards for free ! This card is great, especially when you can earn 2 points per dollar initially, and when they're offering certain bonuses during the year you earn more points.

[Apos]

i'm looking at flights for late may and found the best deal, by far,
from syracuse to santo domingo thru my TD gold travel visa on Delta.

TD on Delta $566.83CAD
DELTA website, same flights $648.87CAD
Continental, shittier connections and an extra leg home, $820.70 CAD

interesting that TD has the Delta flights cheaper then Delta does:rolleyes:

[TropicBob]

Apos

Found a flight on Detla Syarcuse to SDQ (May 23 to May 30) for just $476 USD on TropicBobTravel.com ....what is the conversion to CAD?

[Apos]

http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/currency/convert?from=USD&to=CAD&amt=1&t=1y
$476USD X 1.1714 = $557.59CAD (cheaper price as my best alternative BUT different flights :()

TROPIC BOB WINS!

http://www.ytbtravel.com/TropicBob
Tropic Bob Travel

i want to book this puppy soon but i need to check the connections and times :D
Apos

Found a flight on Detla Syarcuse to SDQ (May 23 to May 30) for just $476 USD on TropicBobTravel.com ....what is the conversion to CAD?

[TropicBob]

I always like to win!!!!!!!!!!! :-) Hey, you didn't share your novia!!!

[Apos]

we're not at the "sharing" phase yet:rolleyes: she only wants my little pinga:lol::rofl:

she did admire your dancing :D
I always like to win!!!!!!!!!!! :-) Hey, you didn't share your novia!!!i found a great deal on a flight on your travel site http://www.ytbtravel.com/TropicBob
syracuse to santo domingo with only very brief layovers,
50 minutes out and 1 hour 25 minutes on the return,
thru philly for $456.60 USD ($537 CAD).

AND you DO get you travel points/miles on the major airlines credited to your account!!!:corky:

...and the best part is i can charge it on my travel VISA card and earn more points...it's like "double-dipping":mrgreen::biggrin::corky:

[TropicBob]

The best way to fly is via Tropic Bob Travel....watch for TropicBob Air later this year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BigDave]

OK This FF milage stuff confuses the hell out of me, Tho I really hav'nt actually done the math or looked into it much, Just reading all these posts is getting me dizzy. Now That I'm freshly single and plan to be traveling to DR 2-4 times a year I'm starting to think about the FF thing. I charge an average ogf $5000 a month (business) mostly on my business discover card. I get mostly 1% & I think 5% on gas and auto type things. So I'm getting about $60 a month in cash value, up to double if I want to use one of thier vendors coupons. (probrably would'nt?) But I figure About $700 a year based on about $60,000. worth of charging. (this is mostly business purchases, and some auto expenses) (not resurants/hotels) Will any of the FF type cards give me better value for flights? I usually would fly Continental, I normally wait till low season and pay under $450 RT.
Thanks!