Best Frequent Flier Program

In my experience they're all the same, though this year I have been surprised to get results trying to book an international SkyMiles flight with Delta. In the past it was only frustration after frustration. I now use an American Express Blue® card to earn points on every dollar and use the points to pay for travel.

Thank you, I will check into that card.

I agree with you, Lynn, about Delta's program being too difficult to actually use. We got a United card, which is a Chase Visa. Much easier. They gave 30 or 50 thousand miles as a signing bonus, and I have already been able to get free tickets for a short flight (Berlin/Dubrovnik) that would have cost more than $500 for the two of us. I put my Delta miles to work getting some hotels that would have been too pricey for our budget.

Sounds great with the hotels. May I ask how you did that? Do you convert the miles to a certain hotel chain? Thanks again.

Thanks for all of the replies. I really appreciate your advice.

Delta's points don't expire (at least not yet.) Some others do.
I agree that booking an awards flight through the Internet site is frustrating but I had success phoning the Skymiles toll-free number. It took less time and gave me better flights than I could do electronically.

I use SFO and the United FF program. Flights are fairly easy to book using FF miles, even tho the required # of miles has risen over the past few years. It is possible to pay cash for half a round trip and FF miles for the other half. A new Mileage Plus credit card has yielded thousands of reward miles in the past; I've taken 3 "free" flights to Europe with United. Usually I fly non-stop to London on FF miles; it is about 10 1/2 hours.

Lynn,
To use the FF miles, I went to the Delta website, clicked on "Use Miles," (maybe there's an intermediate step, like click on Skymiles Program). Then, you have to go to "Travel Marketplace." From there, you'll see a category, "Hotels;" and you're on your way. It wasn't absolutely simple; I actually had to call their number to get guidance on how to make it work. Why make it simple? lol. And, by the way, both Delta and United offer non-chain as well as chain hotels. We also used United points for one night's stay in Zagreb before our return flight. All told, the use of the points from the two airlines has saved us around $1500 for this trip. A significant amount for what is, to me, minimal effort.

Regarding Delta, calling does work better than booking a FF flight online, even though you have to pay a booking fee. Recently I tried to book a direct flight to Paris on the website, but no luck. When I called Delta, the ticketing clerk was able to check many combinations and found one that got me on the flight I needed by leaving one day earlier. They also can scan their FF partners better than users can online.

Check out this article... http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2013/01/23/why-frequent-flyer-programs-dont-work-and-what-delta-is-doing-about-it/ In my experience, Southwest is the absolute best for earning travel (easy, straightforward, and they will make room for you), but unfortunately they don't go to Europe (although their partnership with Frontier expands their market to places outside the US like Puerto Rico, etc) I read another article that ranked programs in terms of ease of use and Delta was near the bottom. You have to be very flexible - then it can work.