I love frequent flier programs...you?

[OWC Jamie]

My travel agent manages my Alaska Airlines miles for me.
She has a long list of incentives to get every penny's worth from them.
The only miles I lost ( not Alaska airlines) was due to booking thru travelocity and the miles didn't count.

[josntme]

I don't fly anymore if I can drive there. Too much of a hassle at the airports.:villagers:

[davester]

JoeH wrote:
Define "... I don't even fly very much...". That phrase means many different things depending on the people saying it. Your perception of not very much already is a lot more often than mine, and could very well place you in the frequent category compared to the rest of us.

I typically take about one international and one domestic round trip flight every two years. I haven't flown for the last two years but this year we're doing that trip to Turkey/Spain. That is definitely not "frequent" in my book. When I worked for a big corporation many years ago I used to do a lot more. I know quite a lot of people in the corporate rat race who still do 20 or more trips a year, many to distant international destinations. That's what I call a frequent flier.

josntme wrote: I don't fly anymore if I can drive there.

I think that falls under the category of "Bah! I hate travelling". There is only so much to see within a couple of thousand miles of home, and that's about the limit of my tolerance for road trip vacations (of which I still take many).

[vision63]

I admire the folks that can keep up with the details of so many incentive programs.

[davester]

vision63 wrote:
I admire the folks that can keep up with the details of so many incentive programs.

It's really not that hard vision. I only belong to three right now and I only have to pay attention to them about once a year. When I enroll in one, I set the my ical calendar to remind me when I have to do something. Awardwallet.com keeps track of the programs if you have a bunch, but I don't really need it with my three. Usually, when I enroll in one program (to get a big free sign up bonus, often generous enough for a round trip international trip) I cancel an older one that might have fees coming due (most programs waive their first year's fees), so I never have that much to keep track of. It's easier than keeping track of my bank account or library books.

[vision63]

davester wrote:
[quote=vision63]
I admire the folks that can keep up with the details of so many incentive programs.

It's really not that hard vision. I only belong to three right now and I only have to pay attention to them about once a year. When I enroll in one, I set the my ical calendar to remind me when I have to do something. Awardwallet.com keeps track of the programs if you have a bunch, but I don't really need it with my three. Usually, when I enroll in one program (to get a big free sign up bonus, often generous enough for a round trip international trip) I cancel an older one that might have fees coming due (most programs waive their first year's fees), so I never have that much to keep track of. It's easier than keeping track of my bank account or library books.
I don't fly very much lately but that may change soon so I need to get past my resistance and get with the programs. Thanks for the encouragement.

[modelamac]

I fly as infrequently as I can. I'm 73, 6'-4" & 210 with minor back and leg problems.. I don't fit well in any airlines seat for very long. I have to get up and move for 15 min. every two hours, and there's not a lot of "moving room" on planes. The person in front of me cannot lean back more than an inch. I have never flown anything but coach, but will not pay for more. I do love to fly, just not on commercial airlines.

[Drew]

FlyerTalk is probably the largest discussion board that is divided into all of the various airline, hotel, etc. frequent traveler programs. They also have other boards discussing travel to certain destinations. I've learned a lot on those boards about frequent flyer programs and other travel-related stuff. Many of them are populated by outstanding helpful folks.

http://www.flyertalk.com

[Grateful11]

Where's the "I've never flown before" check box?

[Will Collier]

I've had three round-trips to Europe (with wife) on various FF plans. Was still a huge PITA to set up every one of them...