NEWS SPORT ECONOMIES … more
Fly Guy: Frequent flier tips that only the pros know
By George Hobica, Airfarewatchdog.com
Updated 06/28/2011 10:20 AM
I don’t know how some frequent fliers manage. Travel can be so discombobulating and disruptive, yet some road warriors spend half their lives on planes, sometimes just to collect miles and attain elite frequent flier status. But with the work comes the perks, as that same group knows how to make the best of it, collecting as many frequent flier miles as possible and using the status they earn from traveling so much to their advantage. Here are some of their tricks that any flier can put to good use.
By Stephen Brashear, for USA TODAY-
Hostess Svetlana Shapiro serves a glass of wine to Brian Lannutti, of Seattle, as he waits for his flight in the British Airways Terraces first class lounge at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in January.
By Stephen Brashear, for USA TODAY
Hostess Svetlana Shapiro serves a glass of wine to Brian Lannutti, of Seattle, as he waits for his flight in the British Airways Terraces first class lounge at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in January.
1. Getting into business class lounges even if you’re in economy class
Airports aren’t much fun, but one way to make the whole flying experience more pleasurable is to wait for your flight in an airline lounge. Savvy fliers know that even if they are flying in economy class, they can access business class lounges when flying overseas. If you’re a member of Air Canada’s Maple Leaf Lounge, Continental’s Presidents Club, the United Red Carpet Club, or the US Airways club you can access any Star Alliance business class lounge when flying internationally. No matter what class of service you are flying or elite status, show your club membership card and you gain access to alliance member lounges across the globe.
2. Getting elite status
Elite status is an important tool in every road warrior’s bag of tricks, but achieving status can be troublesome if your travel patterns change each year. But did you know that most airlines award elite status for life upon reaching the one million miles flown mark? Sure, it takes a lot of flying to get there, but you are a road warrior and you will live a long time.
Most airlines are very specific about what miles they count towards the accrual of elite status, usually including only flown miles on the airline and its alliance partners. However, American stands out of the crowd to include any miles earned (such as credit card spending and promotions) towards its AAdvantage program as part of its million mile status calculation. This makes it the easiest program in which to earn lifetime elite status. United counts elite levels from only its own UA-coded flights towards elite status whereas airlines like Delta and Continental also count its alliance partners’ flights towards lifetime accrual.
Read previous columns
