Please Help Me Figure Out Frequent Flier Programs

I have given up on them, basically. When I book flights, I do so on price and convenience. If I get a few points in the bank along the way, so be it. They keep shrinking the awards, then shrinking the number they let you earn. They started out as a loyalty program, but they have turned into a disloyalty program.

It's purposely opaque, and it keeps changing over time because the airline is really in the driver's seat here. Delta's program has been known as "a black box" for many years (their savings grace is the miles don't seem to expire quickly like other airlines). There is a lot of small print about how much mileage is earned with partner airlines. To really make these kind of airline mileage games work for you, one has to be incredibly dogged, strategic, and read and argue every point with the airline. There are folks out there who treat this like a sport (you can read Flyer Talk or the Points Guy to get an idea). I've totally given up on this nonsense unless the miles are relatively easy to cash out.

One thing you may want to do is make sure that you've waited enough time for all the mileage to be credited. Sometimes that could take a while.

Im with Sam. Gently, you might have been better off using a good travel rewards credit card and paying for all those flights with it to get points toward future travel that way. Chase is highly regarded. We have had success with the Saphire version, accruing enough points to use on the inexpensive flights we work to find.

Did you ask the representative about the missing miles from your Scotland trip? Did you fly Delta on every flight?

There are very few airlines that give mileage on actual miles flown any more (Alaska is one). Most look at the ticket code you paid for and then give you a percentage of the miles flown based on the code. It can be quite disappointing!

My favorite way to get Delta miles is to sign up for their Seahawks promotion every Fall. They will give one mile for every yard that Russell Wilson throws in a game over the course of the season. No cost to me, but it does help me hope he has a great passing gme each week.......

About five years ago I was traveling a lot for work, and the Delta frequent flyer mile accrual was straight forward. But, when we’ve traveled in the past few years on Delta, the mile rewards have been dismal. My flights now receive about the same accrual as previous minimum quantities for the shortest flights. I know they were trying to find ways to reduce the number of people who had the higher medallion status, so it was more meaningful to the elite travelers.

Glad to hear you had a great time in Kona. We really enjoyed our time on the Big Island in March!

The medallion miles part is the subset of total miles that is for status, so you can ignore that number. It’s the total miles number that is what can be redeemed for travel.

The big 4 programs (Delta, SW, American, United) are all the same with earnings based on $$$ spent not miles traveled. The expected earned miles should be listed on the reservation somewhere.

When getting into SkyTeam partner earnings (KLM, Alitalia, AF) it’s complicated, you’ll have to study the Delta website and note the formulas. Note that a KLM ticket codeshare of Air France earns differently than a ticket bought from Air France, for the same Air France plane. If in doubt which airline card-stock you bought, study the 3 digit prefix of the ticket number to determine it, Delta is 006, Air France 057, KLM 074. So use the Delta website to determine 006 ticket miles, KLM.com for the 074 tickets, etc.

Also note that some partner flight fare classes earn zero sky miles, that happened to me on an Alitalia flight.

In the end it isn’t really worth much bother, just take what you get. Note that of the big 4 Delta alone has miles that don’t expire.

I like the Icelandair program because you can immediately redeem whatever you earned on your last ticket on your next ticket. So your last flight’s points amounts to about $75 off the next ticket, and I’ll take it.

If you combine a high-yield point credit card, like one of the higher end Chase Sapphire cards, with miles / points on quite a few airlines then you will have something that will give you the perks you are looking for. If you travel frequently anyway, you can basically travel for free. I've started doing this and when you factor in some of the other perks these cards come with they are well worth it and pay for themselves in free or upgraded travel, free travel credit, lounge access, global entry coverage, etc.

Thanks to all who responded. Like most responders we agree that frequent flyer programs are a joke. We will continue to purchase our plane tickets based upon convenience & price.

FYI: The Big Island of Hawaii is not just a place to visit, it is our home.

Specific to OP's question:

Delta's program is complicated. The "currency" for getting awards tickets is Skymiles (aka, Skypesos to some); the current balance of Skymiles shows up as "Miles Available" when you look at the Skymiles tab. "MQMs" or medallion qualification miles have to do with gaining "status" in the program (becoming a Silver, Gold, Platinum, or Diamond medallion). "Miles" in the discussion below refers to Skymiles.

Miles for Delta-purchased tickets are based on ticket purchase price and status with the airline. If you have no status (not Silver/Gold/Platinum/Diamond Medallion), you get 5 miles per $1 spent on the ticket. This also applies to Delta-purchased tickets flown on partner airlines like KLM and Air France. You do NOT earn miles on Delta-purchased tickets on partner airlines' partner airlines (e.g., Transavia and Air Baltic, which are partners of KLM but not of Delta), even though they are purchased through Delta.

Miles earned on tickets purchased from partner airlines like KLM and Air France earn miles based on a percentage of miles flown and fare class. It can be as little as 25% of miles flown on a deep discount economy fare.

Then there are exception fares... fares that are not available to the public and are typically purchased as part of a package (e.g., for a cruise, for a vacation package with hotels included). These also earn miles based on a percentage of miles flown and fare class.

If you want me to be more specific with regard to your trips, feel free to PM me with more detailed info -- knowing the specific routes flown, how the tickets were purchased, and the fare class will be helpful -- I should be able to help you find fare class if you don't know where to find it.

General comment:

I think the airlines are trying to emphasize the "frequent flyer" part of frequent flyer programs. The original programs had an aspirational component to try to induce loyalty in infrequent flyers. The restructured programs have largely dropped that aspirational component and are virtually worthless to infrequent flyers now.

An industry insider's take on why an infrequent flyer should never be loyal to an airline: https://crankyflier.com/2019/04/29/an-infrequent-flier-should-never-be-loyal-to-an-airline/

It begins with the sentence, "I don’t think I’m overstepping by suggesting that airlines have borderline disdain for infrequent fliers."

That Seahawks promotion just proves the point-it's all about competition. I'm pretty sure there's no such Falcon promotion in Atlanta, since Delta owns that market. My soon-to-be Diamond husband will not be happy when I tell him about this.

https://amp.businessinsider.com/delta-seattle-seahawks-12status-fan-program-promotion-2018-9

I wonder if anyone who changes their address to WA can register?

Note that 13,500 miles isn’t nothing, that’s a one way domestic flight worth up to $250 depending upon the cities. And no worry about expiration with Delta.

I would point out that plenty of infrequent fliers are still loyal to one airline despite these devaluations, and overspending on tickets or choosing undesirable routings.

Also: I remember an Atlantic article from the late 80s showing data that people were already overspending on tickets to get their miles in the original programs and losing money.

I live in Atlanta, so obviously Delta is my home airline. I am a loyalist to them unless they are so grossly overpriced that it is just ludicrous to pay it. I think there is a lot more to airlines than price. Delta offers a superior product in many ways. A lot of the budget airlines cut corners and have confusing processes, so although I may pay a little more on Delta, generally do get what you pay for. I agree with previous posters that having the matching American Express is the way to go. Especially if you can use it for business expenses, the miles really add up. We earn about four Europe economy tickets every two years using the credit card, combined with flying Delta about 4-5 times per year domestically. I rarely make medallion status, but even as a regular sky Miles number I do think that the program is very worthwhile. Also the credit card comes in very handy because we ski every year and that saves us about $200 in baggage fees with all our ski junk.

Adding on some nuggets in the current programs:

Both Southwest and British Airways allow cancellation of award tickets and redeposit of points for free. The others charge a redeposit fee of up to $200.

Southwest also uses a straight redemption rate that they don't play games with. So if tickets are cheap, one ways can be had for less than 5000 points. Southwest also allows free reissuing of award tickets if the redemption rate falls, then the difference is credited back to you.

The reason I mention BA is because it is possible to book domestic US tickets one way on American for as little as 7500 miles. Tickets that would be 12,500 using American miles on AA.com.

Chase allows transfer of their points into either Southwest or BA so a Chase customer can take advantage of low redemption flights as they appear. I don't know how the Capital One points system works, if similar that would be great.

If you want a lot of skymiles with Delta, then you need to sign up for a credit card that offers a sign up bonus points like 60,000.

Using the credit card (and paying it in full every month) will also accrue the points. Before you know it you have a free ticket.

I've given up on loyalty programs and have been using a travel rewards card. There are a few out there but I use the VISA Premier Rewards card. The airlines never give you the best itinerary. One trip using Alaska miles to Europe on British Airways, we were required to fly to San Francisco first to connect to a BA flight to London. There are two direct flights from SEA to London each day but we were not scheduled on either of those flights. There are limited number of seats allocated to each flight so that is why they require you to go to a different city to catch a flight with a seat.
I much prefer to find my own flights and then reimburse myself after the charges hit my credit card. That way I can find an itinerary that is more convent to my needs.

Thanks to all who responded. Like most responders we agree that frequent flyer programs are a joke

I disagree. If you are willing to spend time and learn how to use them, they can be wonderful. My last seven roundtrip flights to Europe--in business class--were on miles. I have enough miles for four more. By utilizing the correct credit cards--tied to either airines or hotels---and taking advantage of promotions, I have done well.

One thing I also do is not stay in those quaint little B & B's that Rick recommends. I try to stay in chain hotels that offer points I can turn into airline miles. I also use my airline or hotel credit cards as much as possible to gain more points.

That there are so many web forums aimed at trying to explain airline points to the rest of us, suggests to me it's not something worth worrying about. I don't agree they are a "joke", but I wouldn't make any choice with my own money based on them. They're just a potential nice to have, especially if you do a lot of business travel and someone else is paying the airfare that gets you them.

If you have any additional questions that aren't covered by the good information you've received here, please feel free to PM me.

I'm also in the camp of a little research pays off big with the programs. My husband travels quite a bit for his job, I travel only a couple of times per year for work. He is required to use Delta and primarily books IHG. His points/miles exist for use whether or not I do much to understand them. But because I find research to be a relaxing way to spend some time and I value the opportunity this affords me to travel internationally, I have put in a little effort to better understand how to maximize what's sitting there anyway.

Partnering loyalty programs with smart choices of credit card, being aware of the different discount fare notification options and knowing my own priorities, I've NEVER paid for a hotel room in Europe including 20+ nights in Mayfair, London. I travel business class over and either business or comfort plus on the way home. I have an upcoming trip where it was 128k miles and $52 to travel roundtrip to Amsterdam in business class. The Skymiles sale price was as good or better than booking a business class/comfort plus split so why wouldn't I?

There is a learning curve (status miles vs. miles to spend, how many miles you earn base on status, etc.) but if you have a go-to airline for whatever reason, I encourage you to learn the basics of that program.

I try to stay in chain hotels that offer points I can turn into airline miles.

I also stay in chain hotels for points (and not charming little bnbs), but whenever I have calculated it out the best value in hotel points is leaving hotel points in hotel programs, not using hotels to earn airline miles. It's also my experience that hotel programs generate a greater dollar return in free nights than airline programs do in free flights or upgrades. But then I'm fine with taking Ambien in coach rather than trying to get a business class lie flat.

I certainly am no apologist for airlines; but, to be fair, they are in business to make a profit, and their greatest potential is the business traveler. Therefore, that’s the pool that gets the best perks. Back when FF programs first were introduced, the 1980’s, I think, it was possible to upgrade to business class very easily. Not now. That’s why you have to be a true “frequent” flyer to get them.
My daughter, who lives in San Francisco, works for a really big tech company. Her job takes her to Zurich, London, and other places in Europe very often. She usually has choices about which airline, and the company pops for business class. Of course the airlines would want to attract her with lavish goodies, which she can then expend for personal use.
We use our points, however many we get, for free flights when possible, and for hotel stays. I wouldn’t take a horrible itinerary to get a free flight. We prefer smallish, independent lodgings; but free hotel nights come in handy, especially when we need to sleep near an airport before an early morning departure.

I have zero interest in playing the points game. We take what comes and consider it icing on the cake. That being said, we have gotten several free flights and hotel stays over the years. What’s to complain about?
Please note, this is no apologia for the horribly cramped seating and disgusting food (or no food) one now encounters in many airlines’ “cattle class.” Those, however, are different issues.

I find it mildly humorous that the best way to rack up frequent flyer miles is not by flying, but by owning/using a credit card.

I'm one of those who fly a lot. I join Kelly in being a Delta loyalist. In fact, Delta is my favorite brand with which I interact (from restaurants to car companies to travel organizations -- sorry, Rick!). Weird to say, eh? The frequent flyer program works for me. Delta employees treat me great. The planes generally run on time. And despite the humor I find in it, I have my Delta AMEX that helps me rack up additional miles.

I'm definitely not willing to give up my quaint B&B's and inns to earn more points, though.

It's a different world with airlines miles now. As was said upthread, you're no longer getting actual miles flown accrued to your SkyMiles account or most other FF program from other airlines. Moreover, fare class and what you paid is what is considered valuable to an airline. I think Southwest has one of the best FF programs in the industry. Jetblue too?

Go to Flyertalk and read about the changes in the FF industry and also ask your Delta-specific questions there. It is a fantastic source of information.

Delta flies the most nonstops out of both JFK/LGA which is why I fly with them most of the time. They also are fantastic about flying with disabilities. The FF program? Not what it used to be.

I’ll add to my earlier post that a lot of FF programs’ success is if you find it “fun” (or not) to try to maximize them. I love having spreadsheets and planning trips and trying to get free rooms with targeted spending, the time is takes me to do all this is considered a fun hobby. For people who hate this kind of detail work and see it as drudgery, they may be better served with picking the cheapest flight with the best route. Still worth it though to enroll in FF programs where points don’t expire (eg Delta, Marriott, Hilton) as you may still get free stuff very slowly without trying even with occasional brand stays .

It's only "fun" if you actually have something to work with (substantive spending or mileage). For non-business or infrequent travelers or non-status folks, it's more or less a dead end. If you understand the underlying business model for these programs and who the target audience is, then you'll have a more realistic picture of your success rate knowing your own travel patterns and cc spending. Time spent trying squeeze out a reward is also worth something on a per hour basis, it's not free (unless you're retired and want to discount your time to zero). I'm not saying it doesn't work, but it could be quite marginal for the time investment, even if you're an Excel jockey who loves play with numbers and scenarios (for example, if your miles are spread very broadly across various airlines, you may not earn enough - and quickly enough - to satisfy one's shifting requirements).

I’ve also given up on loyalty programs, my company has basically eliminated business travel for everyone beyond the sales team and the upper level executives. We don’t even do the education in person anymore, it’s been cut drastically and the little we have is all online.

I’m tired of the constantly changing rules and having to jump through hoops like a circus animal. I don’t travel enough to bother. I’ll keep my Southwest and Wyndham rewards for now as I do use them for domestic travel, but I just can’t be bothered for my one (usually) international trip. At least in Europe I haven’t seen the scheme where you have to join the hotel loyalty program to get the free WiFi as is common in the USA

There’s just too much other stuff to plan for an international trip to deal with FF programs, I look far more for time of day and avoiding connections than having an exercise in Euclidean geometry trying to figure out some airline’s FF program. Plus, fares have really come down over the last few years so that helps tremendously.

@Agnes, you said what I meant much more eloquently. :) Nicely put!