Free air travel

[gentlemangeoff 16]

One of the good things about this board is that it is o.k. to ask questions, the answers to which seem obvious to the world and his brother - but not to me.

 

I am becoming an increasingly regular traveller to LOS. I read about getting "free" air tavel with particular airlines which is earned by travelling with them frequently.

 

Would someone kindly explain how this works? I did join the Eva air miles club but how one gets a free flight remains a mystery.

 

I am travelling with Thai Airways in May and I understand that they also have a "club" which entitles you to free air travel provided you satisfy certain conditions.

 

Help please guys.

 

Thanks

[brotherbuzz 3,206]

Well, I started to write a long boring answer but decided to send you to a site with the info instead. Others here can give you a better explanation than I :). If you have not already, you may find the answerrs you seek here by searching for FF program(s) or Frequent Flier.

 

Basically, once you have enough miles you can trade them in for an 'award' seat on a flight.

 

Don't know anything about EVA's Evergreen Club (Partnered with NW I think), but Thai is in the Star Alliance and you can generally use your accumulated miles with any of the SA partner airlines and not just the airline you've earned you miles with. e.g. Your Thai miles can be used for receiving an award seat with United.

 

You can collect miles in many ways aside from flying. Credit card sign-up bonuses (upwards of 20,000 miles), miles for paying with the CC (e.g. 1 mile for each $ spent), miles for buying products from associated partners such as flowers from FTD, etc. etc.

 

A good place to learn about FF programs is : http://www.flyertalk.com/ It's where I got my start and I have flown 3 "free" ($25 tax) flights out of 5 since I looked into FF programs.

[JollyMan 0]

Flying from England one of the best collection places for point to get a free flight is KLM have a look at their web site it should explain most things that you ask. But briefly each trip you do to BKK is worth about 5,000 miles(points) there and 5,000 miles back, once you have collected I think it's 60,000 you can exchange them for a return flight and you only pay the taxes (about £80 return) so for each light you make you can say one is six is free as even on the free flight you get points. This is worked on economy flights so when looking at the price of flights I always take into account the discount I am getting by flying KLM as opposed to saving say £50 on another airline cheaper flight. When booking with KLM it is always worth booking well in advance as they give some very good prices for advance bookings also they have what they call action fares which are the short notice fares also good value.

[gentlemangeoff 16]

Thanks very much gents

[Emil 0]

Once you find out which airlines have a FF program that flies out of your home country do an extensive analysis of how those programs work, I didn't and it cost me a free flight because I wasn't aware of the different levels and bonuses offered. Some airlines offer bonus miles once you reach a certain level. What I'm talking about is that instead of getting 10,000 miles for a R/T to LOS you'll get 20K miles even though you only flew 10K. I'm with United and they give you a 25% bonus once you reach 25,000 miles flown in a calander year and 100% if you hit 50,000 miles. The bonus is not only good for the remaining calander year but for all your flights the following year and 1 month into the year after. Like others have mention they have partners in these programs that allows you to earn more miles like renting a car, staying in a hotel, signing up with a specific internet provider, eating at certain restaurants, selling your house, and opening a brockerage account to name a few.

 

Besides the free flights some of these programs have other benefits once your reach these levels. As an example with United you'll sit in the economy plus section that provides an additional 5" of legroom, access to their lounges at the international airports, and priority for the exit row seats.

Edited April 14, 2006 by Emil

[EDP 0]

Good luck with EVA they are among the most difficult to understand.. I knew that after so many miles you can get an upgrade but not sure about the free flight.

I flew NW air last trip in Feb I dont think they are paired up with EVA just yet because I have a working mileage plan with NW air. Flights suck though ...

But with NW air you go to the website enter your name etc and how many miles u have earned popps up and u match it for what you can get for a flight. Enough miles free flight.

With EVA who I like to fly with they dont have it set up like that...

Sorry I wasnt of much help but I know what you mean!!

 

ED

[CheshireTom 1,377]

If you are not a regular traveller and cannot use your miles on a regular basis beware of some Airlines such as Thai that have very limited periods of validity before the miles expire.

[Gus 97]

geoff

Airlines are not Thai Girls, if you want to earn a free flight you cannot butterfly.

The whole process is that airlines give you miles to tempt you not to fly with another airline.

If you go to LOS 10 times with 10 different airlines at the lowest possible fare, it will probably have cost you a lot less than flying with one airline 9 times and getting a freebie on the 10th.

Up to you

[nico 0]

I agree with Gus 100%, which is why I don't collect frequent flyer miles.

[Gus 97]

Unfortunately I don't practice what I preach, I always fly EVA.

[nico 0]

I still agree 100% with Gus, even if he doesn't. Sure, I might have had a free upgrade by now, but every time I fly I know that I have chosen the flight that works best for me.

[Emil 0]

I agree with Gus 100%, which is why I don't collect frequent flyer miles.

Then your throwing money away. When I pay for 1 flight I collect enough miles for almost two thirds of a free flight. In other words, pay for 3 and get two free.

 

With a little advance planning you can increase your savings. Pay for your tickets when the airline's load factor is low and use your freebie when prices are high.

Edited April 20, 2006 by Emil

[terrybooth 0]

I would like to know which airline gives 2/3 value miles with each trip.

The normal total required to go from UK to Thailand is 80000 award miles(star alliance-Thai Air,Lufthansa SAS etc) and you would qualify for around 11000 with each return trip meaning 7 round journeys for a free ticket plus tax. Sky Team (Air France KLM etc ) operate an identical scheme.

[CheshireTom 1,377]

I would like to know which airline gives 2/3 value miles with each trip.

The normal total required to go from UK to Thailand is 80000 award miles(star alliance-Thai Air,Lufthansa SAS etc) and you would qualify for around 11000 with each return trip meaning 7 round journeys for a free ticket plus tax. Sky Team (Air France KLM etc ) operate an identical scheme.

terry,

 

It depends on your class of travel and membership status. I am a gold card holder with Qatar and earn 40,000 miles for each paid trip I make between UK-LOS or 20,000 between Qatar and either UK or LOS. Simply by using my credit card when booking earns another 1,500+ miles and taking out the credit card in the first place earned 20,000 miles. At 80,000 miles for a biz class upgrade round trip UK-LOS it effectively reduces the average price of a biz class return to well under 1,000 quid. Chuck in the value of the free limo service to and from the UK airport and it soon mounts up.

 

Tom

[BigDUSA 71]

I'm a premier executive with United, I pay for two and the third one is free. I get 100% mileage bonus and free access to the various clubs with Star Alliance when I fly international. I find it worthwhile to fly with UA as the prices are very similar with the various airlines that fly out of Philly. If I wanted to travel to Newark or NYC, I could get a cheaper ticket. On some airlines S'pore air in particular the cheapest tickets don't qualify for frequent flyer miles.

[Emil 0]

I would like to know which airline gives 2/3 value miles with each trip.

The normal total required to go from UK to Thailand is 80000 award miles(star alliance-Thai Air,Lufthansa SAS etc) and you would qualify for around 11000 with each return trip meaning 7 round journeys for a free ticket plus tax. Sky Team (Air France KLM etc ) operate an identical scheme.

I was referring to United which only requires 60K miles for a freebie. United gives you 1 mile for every paid mile flown, if your premier you get a 25% bonus and if your premier executive you get a 100% bonus. They also have a 100k level but I don't know its bonus. On top of that for every 10,000 miles flown you earn four 500 mile upgrades which can only be used on domestic flights. If not used within a year they convert to miles in your FF account. Also if you book through their website you get 1000 miles. I fly from the west coast and the R/T is a little over 17K miles, multiply that by 2 and its over 34K miles. Add in the 3K miles of unused upgrades and its up to over 37K miles and by booking on line its over 38K miles. Pay for it with your United credit card and your close to 40K miles or roughly 2/3 of a freebie. Guys flying from the east coast would do even better as its a longer flight.

 

Actually last year I did even better. Besides the miles I've already listed, my January trip United was giving an additional 5K miles to everyone who flew during that time. My next 2 trips United was giving double miles to everyone so I actually earned triple miles and on my November trip they were back to giving an additional 5K miles. So that year I earned an additional 44K miles. Doing the math, that works out to around an additional .85 trip for every paid flight.

[dainorth 0]

all very well for you americans as you fly a lot domestically quite cheaply the cheap flights from uk to thailand are often only 50% airmiles or as klm is offering in may a cheap flight but only 25% airmiles allowed. to book a cheap flight then upgrade the ticket to full airmiles allowance is about a £100 on top not a geat deal of difference in buying air miles

[poskat 0]

I'm surprised that with all the guys who say they fly EVA Evergreen Deluxe every time that no one has gotten free trips from all the miles and can describe how to line that up. I'll be on my 3rd EVA trip in a year coming up and wonder whether to go for upgrades via miles or hold out for a free ticket.

[BigDUSA 71]

Emil,

 

I've been a 1K you get the same 100% mileage bonus plus six free system wide upgrade certificates. They used to have a private phone number to reservations and a 1K desk at the major airport clubs. During my 1K days I was always upgraded to first class on domestic unless they were sold out with high paying customers.

 

Not bad for a retired guy who always paid for my own flights.

[exwannabe 1]

I'm surprised that with all the guys who say they fly EVA Evergreen Deluxe every time that no one has gotten free trips from all the miles and can describe how to line that up. I'll be on my 3rd EVA trip in a year coming up and wonder whether to go for upgrades via miles or hold out for a free ticket.

For me it is better to use my miles for a free ticket, as I don't want to ever risk being stuck in coach if I can't upgrade. I have used one free RT ticket and 2 upgrades.

 

The process is trivial, go to http://www.evaair.com/html/b2c/english/clu...am/Award_Ticket

 

And hit the "Award tickets" link.

 

Once they start flying with the newer seats, you might want to use your mile for a Premium Laural seat, that's my plan.

[Florida Guy 0]

I fly from the U.S. to Thailand for free once a year. I use a Delta Skymiles Card from American Express and use it to purchase EVERYTHING I can ..... groceries, gas, all store purchases, etc. Generally I get a mile for every $1.00 spent, but on many items they give double miles ... gas, pharmacies, groceries, Post Office, etc. I also pay many of my bills on-line and use the card ... auto/home owner's insurance, cell phone, etc.

 

They offer points for taking on-line surveys and I get 2000 points/year for that. It just takes a couple minutes 2-3 times a month or so.

 

I pay close attention to any specials they run and use them if they apply to me. As an example, just last week they ran a special to commemorate the 25th year of the Delta Skymiles program and offered 25 miles for every $1.00 spent on many of their partner purchases. I sent my mom flowers for Mother's Day through FTD and received 2000 miles. Right now they're running a special and are giving triple points for a three month period, May-July, so I'll probably get 8,000 - 10,000 points for those months.

 

I own a small business (very small, myself and one part-time employee) and I charge everything I can to the card, office supplies, vehicle maintenance, I-net service, daily newspaper subscription, etc.

 

I can get over 25,000 points for a r/t flight to Thailand. I'm on the east coast of the U.S. and get 20,000 miles credit for the flight. I get double miles for paying for the ticket via American Express so that's another 2000+ miles. I'm a Silver Medallion Member (fly 25,000 miles/year) so they give me a 25% bonus on flights. (the Thai trip gives me 5000 bonus miles). So, one trip to Thailand alone gives me 27,000+ points. I spend an average of $2500/month on my card and some of those point are doubled, so I get approx. 40,000 - 45,000 points/year that way. (NOTE*If you book on-line you get an extra 1000 points, but the website is only set up for domestic flights at this time and not for international bookings, so you have to book via phone.)

 

In a year's time I receive anywhere from 65,000 - 75,000 points. A r/t to Thailand only requires 60,000 points. It's not all that hard if you study the program and work at it. I don't make a lot of money and these points make it possible for me to make an extra Thai trip I otherwise could not afford ... all by using my credit card to pay for things I'd have to pay cash or write a check for anyway.

 

On my last trip, I was awaiting a connecting flight in Atlanta when a Delta representative walked into the waiting area. He asked if I was a Skymiles member and I said I was. He handed me a business card with a code and web address on it, then told me if I went on-line and answered a survey about my flight experience I'd get 250 points added to my account. I returned from Thailand, answered the survey (took about 2 minutes) and noticed instead of the 250, they added 500 points! I guess they liked my answers!

 

You'd be surprised how many points you can accumulate in a year's time if you pay attention to it.

Edited May 24, 2006 by Florida Guy