As we begin a new year one of the most common questions I’m getting from people is how to choose a frequent flyer program. Given all the changes happening with the US-based programs I thought now might be a good time to go over the decision-making process in choosing the best program for you.
In general, I tend to think choosing an airline should be based off a combination of factors, and as different people prioritize things differently there really isn’t an easy answer. Among other things, I think it’s worth considering three main factors:
- How many miles will you fly?
- Where will you be flying?
- What features do you most value?
How many miles will you fly?
In general, I tend to think the first factor to consider in choosing an airline is determining how many miles you’re going to fly in a given year. If you are an occasional traveler or fly less than 25,000 miles in a year it probably doesn’t make sense to be loyal to a particular airline.
At least in the US, many airlines’ co-branded credit cards offer similar benefits in terms of baggage allowances and priority boarding as their entry-tier elite status:
- Earn Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™
- Priority Boarding Benefit
- Free Checked Bag Benefit
- 3x miles per dollar spent on eligible Alaska purchases
- Annual Fee: $95
Alaska Airlines requires you to earn 20,000 miles on Alaska, or 25,000 miles on partners to earn MVP Status.
MVP status benefits include:
- 50% Elite Bonus miles
- Complimentary domestic upgrades
- First two bags free for member and companions
- Priority Check-in
- Preferred Seating
- Priority Boarding
- Priority Boarding
- First Checked Bag Free
- Earn 2x SkyMiles on purchases directly with Delta
- Annual Fee: $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150
Delta Air Lines requires you to earn 25,000 miles or points plus spend $2500 on Delta flights to earn Silver Medallion.
Delta Silver Medallion status benefits include:
- 25% Elite Bonus miles
- Complimentary Domestic upgrades
- Companion upgrades
- Priority Check-In
- Priority boarding
- First bag free for member and companions
- Earn Southwest Companion Pass
- Earn 1x points on everyday purchases
- Earn 2x points on Southwest Airlines purchases
- Annual Fee: $69
Southwest requires you to fly 25 qualifying one-way flights or earn 35,000 tier qualifying points in a calendar year to earn Rapid Rewards A-List.
Southwest Rapid Rewards A-List status benefits include:
- 25% earning bonus
- Priority boarding
- Priority check-in and security lane access
- Same-day standby
- Priority Boarding
- Free Checked Bag
- Earn 2x miles on United purchases
- Annual Fee: $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95
United Airlines requires you to either have 12 Premier Qualifying Flights (PQF) and 4,000 Premier Qualifying Points (PQP), or 5,-00 Premier Qualifying Points to earn MileagePlus Premier Silver.
MileagePlus Premier Silver status benefits include:
- 25% Elite Bonus miles on United and some partners
- Complimentary Domestic upgrades – Companion upgrades
- Priority Check-In
- Priority boarding
- First bag free for member and companions
- Complimentary access to Economy Plus at check-in
- Reduced Award fees
So if you’re not flying all that often, you’re probably better off purchasing the cheapest fare available and using an airline credit card to supplement the experience.
If you are flying enough to achieve mid-tier status, at least, then loyalty makes more sense. Once you’re flying 50,000 miles or so per year you’re not only going to have the opportunity to use the benefits of elite status, but you’ll also potentially be accumulating more miles in a given program, so it makes more sense to focus your earnings.
Mid-Tier Elite Status | How to Earn | Additional Status Benefits |
|---|---|---|
Alaska Airlines MVP Gold | 40,000 miles on Alaska or 60 segments on partners AND at least 4 total flights marketed and operated by Alaska | – 100% Mileage Bonus – Oneworld Sapphire Status – Free Same Day Standby – Fee Waivers – Free Premium Beverage in Main Cabin – Four First Class Guest Upgrades per Year – Unlimited First-Class Upgrades When Available – Unlimited Free Upgrades to Seats with More Legroom When Available |
American Airlines AAdvantage Platinum | 50,000 EQMs or 60 EQSs plus $6,000 EQDs | – 60% Mileage Bonus – Oneworld Sapphire Status – Complimentary Main Cabin Extra and Preferred Seats upon Booking – Free Same-Day Standby – First-Class Upgrades 48 Hours before Departure when using 500-mile upgrades on flights over 500 miles |
Delta Air Lines Gold Medallion | 50,000 MQMs or 60 Segments plus $6,000 spent on Delta flights | – Complimentary First-Class Upgrades on Domestic & Short-Haul International Flights – Complimentary Comfort+ Upgrades 3 days before travel – Access to Preferred Seats – Earn an extra 3 miles per dollar – Waived Same-Day Standby Fees |
Delta Air Lines Platinum Medallion | 75,000 MQMs or 100 Segments plus $9,000 spent on Delta flights | – Complimentary First-Class Upgrades on Domestic & Short-Haul International Flights – Complimentary Comfort+ Upgrades 5 days before travel – Access to Preferred Seats – Earn an extra 4 miles per dollar – Waived Same-Day Standby Fees – Choice Benefits (1) |
United Airlines Premier Gold | 24 PQFs and 8,000 PQPs or 10,000 PQPs | – Complimentary Access to Economy Plus and preferred seats at booking – Complimentary Premier upgrades on domestic and short-haul international flights 48 hours before departure – Earn an extra 3 miles per dollar – Waived Same Day Flight Change and Baggage Fees – Expanded Award Availability – Star Alliance Gold status – Marriott Gold status |
United Airlines Premier Platinum | 36 PQFs and 12,000 PQPs or 15,000 PQPs | – Complimentary Access to Economy Plus and preferred seats at booking – Complimentary Premier upgrades on domestic and short-haul international flights 72 hours before departure – Earn an extra 4 miles per dollar – Waived Same Day Flight Change and Baggage Fees – Expanded Award Availability – Star Alliance Gold status – Marriott Gold status – 40 PlusPoints |
In my opinion, elite status makes the most sense at the top-tier of each airline.
When you’re flying 100,000 miles or more per year it absolutely makes sense to be loyal to an airline, especially if you can maximize the benefits offered by the elite status. You’re also accumulating redeemable miles at a meaningful rate, as most programs offer substantial bonuses to their top-tier elites.
Top-Tier Elite Status | How to Earn | Additional Status Benefits |
|---|---|---|
Alaska Airlines MVP Gold 75k | 75,000 miles on Alaska or 90 segments on partners AND at least 6 total flights marketed and operated by Alaska | – 125% Mileage Bonus – 50,000 Bonus miles when you attain status – Oneworld Emerald Status – Nominate someone else to MVP status – Free Same Day Standby – Fee Waivers – Free Premium Beverage in Main Cabin – Four First Class Guest Upgrades per Year – Unlimited First-Class Upgrades When Available – Unlimited Free Upgrades to Seats with More Legroom When Available – Four Complimentary Alaska Lounge day passes |
American Airlines AAdvantage Platinum Pro | 75,000 EQMs or 90 EQSs plus $9,000 EQDs | – 80% Mileage Bonus – Oneworld Sapphire Status – Complimentary Main Cabin Extra and Preferred Seats upon Booking – Free Same-Day Standby – Free Same-Day Flight Changes – First-Class Upgrades 72 Hours before Departure on all Domestic Flights – Elite Choice Benefits (1) |
American Airlines AAdvantage Executive Platinum | 100,000 EQMs or 120 EQSs plus $15,000 EQDs | – 120% Mileage Bonus – Oneworld Emerald Status – Complimentary Main Cabin Extra and Preferred Seats upon Booking – Free Same-Day Standby – Free Same-Day Flight Changes – First-Class Upgrades 100 Hours before Departure when using 500-mile upgrades on all Domestic Flights – Elite Choice Benefits (2) – Expanded Award Availability – Upgrades on Award Tickets – Complimentary food and drink in the Main Cabin |
Delta Air Lines Diamond Medallion | 125,000 MQMs or 140 Segments plus $15,000 spent on Delta flights | – Complimentary First-Class Upgrades on Domestic & Short-Haul International Flights – Complimentary Comfort+ Upgrades 5 days before travel – Access to Preferred Seats – Earn an extra 6 miles per dollar – Waived Same-Day Standby Fees – Complimentary CLEAR membership – Choice Benefits (3) |
United Airlines Premier 1K | 54 PQFs and 18,000 PQPs or 24,000 PQPs | – Complimentary Access to Economy Plus and preferred seats at booking – Complimentary Premier upgrades on domestic and short-haul international flights 96 hours before departure – Earn an extra 6 miles per dollar – Waived Same Day Flight Change and Baggage Fees – Expanded Award Availability – Star Alliance Gold status – Marriott Gold status – Complimentary snack and drink in economy – Complimentary CLEAR membership – 280 PlusPoints |
Furthermore, keep in mind airline partnerships if your travel is spread across multiple airlines. For example, Alaska partners with both American and Delta, so if you don’t fly enough with either carrier to earn status with them, it could make sense to credit travel from both airlines to Alaska, where you could have enough activity to qualify for status.
Where will you be flying?
This seems like a basic question, but it’s one that seems to be overlooked. If you live in a city served by all the major carriers you likely have lots of choices, and pretty competitive fares. However, if you live someplace like Atlanta, Minneapolis, Houston, Dallas, or Charlotte you might be what we call “hub-captive,” meaning you likely have one airline that dominates the market. This can sometimes make choosing an airline a moot point, as your options are limited by geography.
Similarly, route networks make a difference! I personally enjoy making multiple connections, but for most people (and especially business travelers) that’s not an efficient use of time. So you’ll want to think about where you’ll be flying, which airlines can take you there, and what makes the most sense for your travel patterns. For example, American has an extremely strong route network for travel to South America, while United doesn’t. Conversely, United has an extremely strong route network to Asia, while American doesn’t.
What features do you most value?
This is where the discussion becomes a matter of trade-offs, in my opinion. Once you’ve determined where and how often you’ll be flying, the incremental perks and benefits will likely be what set an airline apart. This is obviously a highly personalized decision, so rather than making a specific recommendation I thought I’d summarize what I consider to be the pros and cons of each airline:
Alaska
Alaska has some of the most valuable redeemable miles around, and is a genuinely well-run airline. They also have Wi-Fi across their network, and for people on the west coast they’re a solid option for domestic travel. However, the hard product itself isn’t fantastic (I lovingly refer to Alaska as “the bus”), and the route network is impractical for all but west coast flyers. The lack of power ports on transcon flights is incredibly limiting, and it’s worth keeping in mind that there isn’t an option for international upgrades.
That being said, their mid-tier elite members and above can cancel both revenue and award tickets for free (for revenue tickets the cost of the fare is simply transferred to your “Alaska Wallet”), and Alaska has a very generous same day change policy, which is useful given the frequency with which they fly in many markets.
American
At present, I think American is the best all-around domestic airline, though there are a lot of unknowns with the pending merger with US Airways. Currently top-tier elites receive eight systemwide upgrades, valid on even the lowest economy fares, and the award chart is quite lucrative. They have Wi-Fi and power ports across most of their domestic fleet, and even on some international flights as well.
The major limitation is the international route network, which is pretty weak to places other than South America compared to Delta and United.
Delta
Delta is tough to quantify. While they run a great airline with a relatively modern fleet, solid hard product, great crews, and domestic Wi-Fi, their frequent flyer program is a joke aside from domestic upgrades. The implementation of Medallion Qualifying Dollars isn’t too bad, as this can be easily waived with the co-branded credit card. Upgrades are difficult, even for top-tier elites using upgrade instruments, and the program often changes without notice.
If you’re more concerned about your domestic experience than the value of the redeemable miles they could still be a good option though.
United
Even with the slaughtering of their partner award chart, United miles are still valuable, especially with US Airways leaving Star Alliance in March. Their route network is vast, and top-tier elites receive six systemwide upgrades and four regional confirmed upgrades, though there is a minimum fare class requirement. The Premier Qualifying Dollars can’t be waived via credit card spend for the 1K level, so that’s a consideration as well.
They are behind the other domestic carriers in terms of rolling out Wi-Fi, and I don’t think their soft product compares well to American, nor their hard product to Delta, but they are one of the more stable options at this point.
So which airline frequent flyer program should you go with?
I’d say it depends on your individual priorities, and which factors impact you the most. I’ll be sticking with American as my primary airline, and Alaska as my secondary – at least as long as I live on the west coast.
What about you? Have you chosen a frequent flyer program for this year? How did you decide?
@ Anthony -- It can definitely make sense in some cases, though the thing to keep in mind is that ultimately you'll be treated better by an airline if you're an elite with them vs. an elite with one of their partners. So for example even if you fly 100K miles on Delta and credit it all to Alaska, you'd only have the upgrade priority of a Silver Medallion members, which is where in the queue Alaska elites fall.
If you live in a Delta hub (NYC, ATL, MSP, etc) or otherwise like flying Delta domestically, why not generally fly Delta but always credit miles to Alaska? I am thinking about switching to Alaska's program as an NYC based Delta flier that has never flown Alaska metal.
I think a lot of it depends on what you want, so I'm glad Lucky didn't conclude with anyone being "the best" or anything like that. Just what he'd pick for himself.
For me, I'm a bottom tier if I'm loyal to an airline. At that level, it's about the experience. I want to be upgraded as often as possible, I don't want to wait in lines, I want to talk to a person if...
I think a lot of it depends on what you want, so I'm glad Lucky didn't conclude with anyone being "the best" or anything like that. Just what he'd pick for himself.
For me, I'm a bottom tier if I'm loyal to an airline. At that level, it's about the experience. I want to be upgraded as often as possible, I don't want to wait in lines, I want to talk to a person if there's a problem, and I generally want to get somewhere on time. US Airways has done well for me because they serve most of my frequent destinations nonstop.
That said, I rarely use US miles for anything other than upgrades on competitive routes. I don't accrue enough to do much else. My "real" bank of miles comes through Amex MR and lately Chase UR - so when I redeem, it's often not with an airline with whom I've ever flown a revenue ticket.
Living in the Northeast, US treats its bottom tier the best. If I were out west, I'd probably choose AS and stretch for 40k to hit MVP Gold (I flew 35k last year on US).
Nice writeup, Ben.
Oh Ben we need something like this for Australia! Le sigh.
Keep up the good woork
I think the ability for AS MVP and Delta Silver to reserve exit row seats for free at booking is a significant differentiator from both the credit card holders and from other airline elite programs. After all the exit row is the original poor man's first class!
Hey Lucky. Since we're on the topic of frequent flyer programs, can we enjoy A3 Gold privileges (extra checked bags/lounge access) on an award ticket booking made through another Star Alliance program (ie. extra bags when redeeming mileageplus miles)?
Thanks!
@ Omar -- Thanks for the idea, I'll work on a post about that as well!
Lucky,
Could you possibly do how to choose a frequent program, but for hotels? I think a post about it would be very helpful for which hotel portfolio would be best for different people! Thanks!
I can pick any of the airports in the Los Angeles area and previously flew from SFO. I should hit 2M with UA this year but doubt I will reach the 1K again due to $ spent since taxes and fees aren't added to your amounts. I will finish with UA and deal with angry agents and attendants, to make the lifetime Platinum. After that I figure I will try and status match with AA...
I can pick any of the airports in the Los Angeles area and previously flew from SFO. I should hit 2M with UA this year but doubt I will reach the 1K again due to $ spent since taxes and fees aren't added to your amounts. I will finish with UA and deal with angry agents and attendants, to make the lifetime Platinum. After that I figure I will try and status match with AA and begin building with them. Love the bonuses as a 1K with United but losing the systemwide upgrades will hurt. I fly domestic at lowest possible rates for work. Use miles to get family on a nice annual vacation but not only has the devaluation made that tougher, the availability is being held back on saver awards. But let's face it, you have to have some status as a business flyer on low rate tickets to get decent seats and reduce baggage fees.
I only have two choices from the small airport I fly from. US airways or Delta. My decision was originally based on the fact that the majority of flights by US airways are on prop planes while Delta has crj200 and Airbus A319 thus a better experience to the hub. Now it would take something to get me to change as Delta has for the most part gotten me where I need to go. If they had a good reward program it would be a no brainer.
Thanks for putting this together, it really puts in perspective the benefits of different airlines. I have been very loyal to UA for many years out of ORD (other than 2 years flying DL out of DTW). I fly weekly only domestic and am finally sick of UA. They cut their benefits, I'm sick of tiny ERJs and RJs and limited WiFi when you do get a big plane. Also, I find myself consistently encountering...
Thanks for putting this together, it really puts in perspective the benefits of different airlines. I have been very loyal to UA for many years out of ORD (other than 2 years flying DL out of DTW). I fly weekly only domestic and am finally sick of UA. They cut their benefits, I'm sick of tiny ERJs and RJs and limited WiFi when you do get a big plane. Also, I find myself consistently encountering unhelpful, angry employees. The only think keeping me close to UA is that I am about 2 years from Million Milers. However, if things don't get better through Q1, I should still have enough time to hit 100K on AA and will make the switch.
Oh, and there's another benefit to elite status w/ Delta. Skyteam Elite/Elite Plus can get you pretty far. KLM treats you like a king even at Silver. Once you get to Gold and Platinum (never been Diamond, so can't say), they really start helping you out. For Elite Plus, it's complementary lounge access regardless of class flown (I think with a guest or two as well), priority security and customs lines, even separate seating areas...
Oh, and there's another benefit to elite status w/ Delta. Skyteam Elite/Elite Plus can get you pretty far. KLM treats you like a king even at Silver. Once you get to Gold and Platinum (never been Diamond, so can't say), they really start helping you out. For Elite Plus, it's complementary lounge access regardless of class flown (I think with a guest or two as well), priority security and customs lines, even separate seating areas in certain airports. I actually value Skyteam Elite Plus status almost as much as I do Platinum Medallion.
Thanks for this although I still am left with a feeling of: I have a few options all of them bad. After nearly a million miles flown on Continental/United I now loath them and refer to them as the easy jet of legacy carriers. Yet Star Alliance is my favorite alliance so what do you do? Lately I have been booking the best fare on the most comfortable plane and saying the hell with allegiance....
Thanks for this although I still am left with a feeling of: I have a few options all of them bad. After nearly a million miles flown on Continental/United I now loath them and refer to them as the easy jet of legacy carriers. Yet Star Alliance is my favorite alliance so what do you do? Lately I have been booking the best fare on the most comfortable plane and saying the hell with allegiance. This year my hubby is flying to Brisbane, Sao Paolo, Israel, Europe and Bangkok....the first two are best served by One World/AA but AA doesn't have a direct flight to Israel and still flies shitty biz class to Europe, unless you want to fly to London all the time (not!). For us it's all about Upgrade so Delta is out. If you have taught be anything Ben it's the power of the right credit cards and that we are now living is a world where miles are easy to get and harder to use besides the airlines just want revenue passengers ergo all the devaluation of mileage charts.
100% leisure traveler. I will stick with DL for domestic, perhaps try JetBlue for my flights to LAX bc of their new Mint product, and earn/burn UR via transfer to UA for my foreign travel. No more chasing status on DL for me.
@ EMR -- As long as you're "spouses" you should be fine.
My fiancee recently got a CSP and we'll probably transfer her 40k bonus into my United account. Do I need to wait until we're actually married to make the transfer?
I am based in the Bay Area and just became Premier Platinum with United. However, I'm moving to Atlanta for a job next month and I just emptied my Mileage Plus account for my honeymoon (including a leg on MUC-YYZ LH F, thanks @Lucky). I status-matched with Delta earlier this year but didn't re-qualify for next year, so I'm just a general member. Given the terrible value of SkyPesos and my desire to travel internationally...
I am based in the Bay Area and just became Premier Platinum with United. However, I'm moving to Atlanta for a job next month and I just emptied my Mileage Plus account for my honeymoon (including a leg on MUC-YYZ LH F, thanks @Lucky). I status-matched with Delta earlier this year but didn't re-qualify for next year, so I'm just a general member. Given the terrible value of SkyPesos and my desire to travel internationally on award tickets, my plan is to status match to Alaska MVP Gold and fly Delta. That way I'll get double miles that are actually useful, as well as some of the perks on Delta.
If I'm not mistaken, Delta Silver only gives you one checked bag free (not two as you list in the chart)
I agree with Garrett. Delta goes where I need to go for work, it's rarely a hassle, the crews are usually happy. Yes, it's a pain to use the miles, but they earn my loyalty by not annoying me every time I get on a plane.
Signed, A former United 1K-er.
I was 1K with united until March 1012 and gave up on them. I know I would have gotten better service on Greyhound..
So I switched over to US (they were still *A) and been Chairman with them, and now that US is AA, I'll continue to fly them. If I didn't have to fly for work, I wouldn't have status at all, but being Chairman has some nice perks.. They Certificates for Hawaii FC and Europe in Envoy.
I still fly DL and will credit all fights to AS..
I'm one of those people who's less concerned with redeemable miles, and more concerned about the experience. Delta makes life a little bit easier for me.
I travel a lot for work, and I would much rather arrive at my destination in a good mood. I value being treated well FAR FAR FAR more than having valuable miles on an airline that constantly lets me down. If, at the end of the day I...
I'm one of those people who's less concerned with redeemable miles, and more concerned about the experience. Delta makes life a little bit easier for me.
I travel a lot for work, and I would much rather arrive at my destination in a good mood. I value being treated well FAR FAR FAR more than having valuable miles on an airline that constantly lets me down. If, at the end of the day I dread the experience that my airline provides me, doesn't that make all of this useless? The point is to enjoy yourself.
Skyteam is strong in Europe and parts of Asia, so it makes a lot of sense for me. I'll be working hard to re-qualify for PM this year because I'd like to roll over more than a 1500 MQM's (which is what happened this year).
*I'd just like to note that I'm not a person of exceptional means or anything close to it. I work hard like most of us do, and I make a good living. I see the value in traveling for free--it's just that I'm okay with paying for something I want.
could not agree more about Delta... "their frequent flyer program is a joke aside from domestic upgrades" - totally spot on.
i was just changing an award today and i was told one cannot fly an award on LAX-BNA-LGA because BNA is not a valid transfer city despite the pretty direct routing. has anyone ever heard of such idiocy from other airline than Delta?
I'm not sure what is going to happen with the new leadership, but I've always found Frontier's elite status to be a really great value, especially considering how little you have to fly to earn it (25,000 miles for the top level).
Free drinks, express security, free standby, early boarding, stretch seating, free checked bags, change fee waived, etc. Sure, you can't redeem for international first class, but for a free domestic ticket, it's a...
I'm not sure what is going to happen with the new leadership, but I've always found Frontier's elite status to be a really great value, especially considering how little you have to fly to earn it (25,000 miles for the top level).
Free drinks, express security, free standby, early boarding, stretch seating, free checked bags, change fee waived, etc. Sure, you can't redeem for international first class, but for a free domestic ticket, it's a great option at 10k each way.
Of course, being based in Denver helps too.
For me (and others with large families), I don't think that elite status is worth chasing. I will continue to go with the cheapest (free-est) flights. I think the trend is going to be towards cash-back cards like the Barclays Arrival or CapitalOne Venture and using those for travel expenses