Top 8 Frequent Flyer Programs For Eco-Travelers

*** UPDATED FOR 2016 ***

It’s always good to be diversified but then not TOO diversified that you end up with tiny amounts in too many programs.  Everyone, no matter where you live should join these programs right now and be ready for the New Year in case bonuses and promos are released.  It’s also a good idea to make your own spreadsheet and track your miles in each program and set up a special email folder to put all emails that come from these airlines.  Throughout the year, I will be blogging about any promos that come up but will concentrate on these programs as I feel they offer the best award opportunities for eco-travelers in particular.   You will be on your way to a free eco-tourism adventure in no time at all!

1.  United Airlines Mileage PlusStar Alliance member, very easy for Americans to get LOTS of miles via Chase’s Ultimate Rewards (see reference tab at top), especially strong for Central America with partners Copa and Taca, but can get you to Asia pretty easily on Singapore or Thai.  Has an excellent online award booking engine and allows one ways at half round trip for extra flexibility.

2.  American Airlines AAdvantageOne World member, has more options between USA and Australia on Qantas, Air Pacific or Air Tahiti Nui, also great for LAN or AA to South America.  Can book several of their partners online with AA planning to add more as they go along.  One way awards at half round trip rates.

3.  US Airways Dividend MilesStar Alliance member, noted for great promos in the past such as Grand Slam (between me and my husband, we got over half a million miles in 3 years with this promo).  Good option for non-USA residents as they offer frequent discounted buy/share miles promos throughout the year.  Same redemption opportunities as UA but no one-ways and you must call them to book so they lose points for inflexibility.  They have recently started to enforce MPM (maximum permitted mileage) on award tickets so booking Australia to/from USA via Asia may or may not work.

4.  Avianca-Taca LifeMiles –  Star Alliance member, has frequent buy share promos so good chance for worldwide members to get discounted tickets.  Has online booking of partner awards but the real benefit to eco-travelers is the great rates on their own flights within Central America and Peru.

My analysis of Avianca-Taca LifeMiles

 

5.  British Airways Avios and Iberia AviosOne World members, same Avios currency but you need to join both BA and IB’s versions to maximize it.  Pretty easy to earn Avios via E-Rewards and can also credit stays at Accor hotels to Iberia’s program and transfer easily between BA and IB.  Americans can get lucrative credit card bonuses.  Not a program for long haul or itineraries needing connections but excellent for short haul within South America on partner LAN or within Australia on partner Qantas.

FOR AUSSIES ONLY

6.  Qantas Frequent FlyerOne World member – Join at Woolies via Everyday Rewards and get points from your weekly grocery shopping and Optus phone/internet.  Various credit cards to get more points.  Use for domestic Australia or short-haul to NZ, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.

7.  Virgin Velocity – Not in an alliance.  Good for credit card bonuses, transfers from Amex and short-haul to New Zealand and Pacific islands.

8.  Singapore Airlines KrisFlyerStar Alliance member.  Don’t keep miles in here if you can’t use them within 3 year because they expire whether you have activity or not.  Good for redemptions on NZ between Australia and Pacific islands.

Mileage Earning Credit Cards USA Edition And Best Uses For Eco-Travelers

A GUIDE TO CREDIT CARD SIGNUP BONUSES

***Disclaimer:  This is going to be a reference post about the many opportunities available for Americans.  Due to the heavy competition between credit providers and airlines, Americans are blessed with unequaled chances to acquire huge amounts of frequent flyer miles and hotel points simply by applying for credit cards.  I know there is a lot of controversy about referral links from bloggers so I want to assure you that I do not have any referral agreement with any credit provider.  I do have Google ads down the right side and you may be presented with ads from credit providers at random which may be a good deal so I would suggest read the ad, compare it with all other offers for the same credit card, then if you are satisified the ad is the best deal, I would appreciate if you click through this site to apply for the card.  I have no way of knowing which ads are provided as they will vary based on your physical location.

All links on this page go to the airline’s credit card information page.  These may or may not be the best offer available.  So learn how to fish!  Fishing CC

TEACHING YOU TO FISH

You’ve all heard the saying “Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach him to fish and he eats for a lifetime”?  Learning how to use credit card sign-up bonuses to get free or almost free airline tickets and hotel rooms is basically like learning to fish.  You will need to know how to choose an airline based on your destination and be familiar with the credit cards they offer, then know where to look to get the best deal.  You also need to know your credit score to see if you will qualify for these lucrative sign up bonuses.   Before signing up for a credit card, you need to be a person who can manage credit and pay your bills on time and preferably the full amount so you don’t incur interest.  Most people have enough daily expenses such as food, gas, utilities, travel expenses, clothing, etc that if they route everything through a mileage earning card, they can make the minimum spend requirements and continue to accrue miles every month.  Always check the ever-changing master credit card thread on FlyerTalk for more recent information.  Also see the Glossary at the bottom of this page for terms that you will encounter while applying for mileage earning credit cards.

***These offers are available only to US citizens or permanent residents with a Social Security Number (SSN) and excellent credit scores***

 

CREDIT SCORES

Use one or more of these options to get your credit score.  Everyone has three credit scores, one from each of the three major credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, TransUnion.

Annual Credit Report – Free once every 12 months.

Credit Karma – Free, no credit card required, based on TransUnion.

Credit Sesame – Free, no credit card required, based on Experian.

Equifax Score card – $15.95 but you can get a free one with Annual Credit Report

 

MILEAGE EARNING CREDIT CARDS – ONE WORLD AIRLINES

CC AA

American Airlines – AAdvantage

Issued by Citibank

Sign-up bonuses from 30k-50k depending on product, historical high offer 75k

Annual fee $95 waived first year

Churnable after 18-26 months (varies)

Minimum spend $2500-3000 in 3 or 4 months depending on offer, varies so check carefully

Can get 2 Citibank cards at once using 2 Browser Method.  Open Firefox and IE, click on 2 different cards-a Visa, Mastercard or Amex, fill out both applications but don’t send right away.  Wait until you have both apps filled out completely, then VERY QUICKLY go to each browser and click the “Apply” button.  If you are not instantly approved, you can call their reconsideration number and try to push it through.  1-866-606-2961

Dedicated FlyerTalk thread

 

Best uses for Eco-travelers: (Round-trip awards but bookable as one-ways for half the amount) 80k USA to Australia or South Pacific; 35k USA to Central America, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador; 40k USA to Rest of South America, 90k USA to Indian subcontinent, 70k USA to Southeast Asia (such as Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia.  Also good for long distance domestic Australian awards 10k for a one-way trip such as Perth to Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane.  Some good deals on LAN awards intra-South America too.  Full award chart

CC BA

British Airways Avios Visa

Issued by Chase

Signup bonuses from 50-100k, depending on levels of minimum spend, historical high 100k

Annual fee $95 not waived

Probably not churnable

Minimum Spend $1000 in 3 months for 1st 50k, additional 25k when you spend $10,000 in first year, an additional 25k after an additional spend of $10,000.  I tend to look at this card as a 50k card because only the $1000 spend is easily reached for most people.

Possible retention bonus if you call them and say you want to cancel it before first year is up (done to avoid additional annual fee if you don’t want to keep the card)

Dedicated FlyerTalk thread

 

Best uses for Eco-travelers: Short-haul one way trips within Australia and South America.  Examples:  Buenos Aires to Sao Paulo on LAN for 7500 Avios or Brisbane to Cairns on Qantas for 7500 Avios.  Also bargains from West Coast USA to Hawaii on American or Alaskan for 12,500 Avios each way.

CC LA

LAN-LanPass Visa

Issued by US Bank

Signup bonus – Up to 20,000 Bonus Miles with first use, Up to 4,000 Bonus Miles with annual renewal (Visa Signature)

Annual fee $25-75 depending on product, waived first year.

No minimum spend

No data on churnability

Dedicated FlyerTalk thread

 

Best uses for Eco-travelers:  Domestic one way flights within South American countries.  Not amazing value but possibly worth it since there is no minimum spend on this card.  See chart here.  Brazil’s TAM is expected to merge with this program in the near future so possible intra-Brazil redemptions.

 

MILEAGE EARNING CREDIT CARDS – STAR ALLIANCE AIRLINES

CC UA

United Mileage Plus Visa

Issued by Chase

Signup bonus 30k-65k  (some offers targeted), historical high 65k

Annual fee $95 waived first year

Probably not churnable

Minimum Spend $1000 in 3 months for most offers.

Possible retention bonus if you call them and say you want to cancel it before first year is up (done to avoid additional annual fee if you don’t want to keep the card)

Dedicated FlyerTalk thread

Best uses for Eco-travelers:   (Round-trip awards but bookable as one-ways for half the amount) 80k USA to Australia, South Pacific, Indian subcontinent; 65k USA to Southeast Asia (Thailand, Indonesia, etc); 60k Brazil, 40k Peru, 35k Central America.  Also good deals on Copa and Taca awards within Central America such as Flores (near Tikal, Guatemala) to San Jose, Costa Rica for 7500 miles one way.

CC US

US Airways Dividend Miles Mastercard

 

Issued by Barclays

Signup bonus 30-50k, offers vary widely.  Some have 10k annual bonus on anniversary.  Some only give the last 10k with balance tranfer so read the offer page carefully.  Historical high 50k.

Annual fee $89 usually not waived.

Some people have churned it once or twice, bank may possibly be cracking down on this.

Usually no minimum spend to get signup bonus of 30-40k depending on offer,  additional 10k which will be advertised in offer usually requires balance transfer from other credit card.

Credit card holders save 5000 miles on US Airways metal redemptions

Dedicated FlyerTalk thread

Best uses for Eco-travelers:   (Round-trip awards only) 80k USA to Australia, South Pacific, Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia (Thailand, Indonesia, etc); 60k South America (35k for off-peak), 35k Central America.

CC AV

Avianca Taca LifeMiles Visa

 

Issued by US Bank

Signup bonus – Up to 20,000 Bonus Miles with first use, Up to 6,000 Bonus Miles with annual renewal (Visa Signature)

Annual fee $25-75 depending on product, waived first year.

No minimum spend

No data on churnability

Dedicated FlyerTalk thread

*** If you let me refer you, I can get a bonus of 5000 LifeMiles.  This has no effect on your application, but it does help me out with future eco-trips.  Once you have the card, you will also be able to refer people and earn your own bonuses.  Please use the contact form to request a referral. ***

Best uses for Eco-travelers: Redemptions on Taca Peru or Taca Central America short haul flights.  Example:  Lima to Puerto Maldonado, Peru 3500 miles one way or San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO) to Panama City, Panama (PTY) 7k miles one way.  Good deals on Taca’s flights between USA and Central America such as LAX -SJO Round trip 24k.  You can also travel between USA and Central America on Star Alliance carriers for 30k round trip.

 

MILEAGE EARNING CREDIT CARDS – SKYTEAM AIRLINES

CC DL

Delta Skymiles American Express

 

Issued by American Express

Signup bonus – 30k-45k (see Flyertalk thread) depending on product.  Historical high 75k.

Annual fee $95 and up, sometimes waived so you need to check each offer

Minimum spend is all over the place!   Sometimes 35k after $750 spend in 3 months, sometimes 30k after first use and an extra 20-25k after an extra specified spend.

Possibly churnable after 24 months

Dedicated FlyerTalk thread

 

Best uses for Eco-travelers:  (Based on round-trip, no one ways allowed) USA to Australia and Pacific 100k, USA to Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia or Africa 80k, Southern South America 60k, Northern South America 45k, Central America 35k.  Full chart ex USA here.  New possibilities when Garuda joins Skyteam for domestic Indonesia awards.

CC KE

Korean Airlines Skypass Visa

Issued by US Bank

Signup Bonus 15k for Visa Signature, otherwise I wouldn’t bother.

Annual fee $80 not waived

No Minimum spend

Best uses for Eco-travelers:  Not a whole lot, but they do partner with Garuda so the 15k gets you close to a round-trip Garuda domestic award for 20k.

 

MILEAGE EARNING CREDIT CARDS – NON-ALLIANCE AIRLINES

These will have very little use for eco-travelers, though they may have some use for mainstream tourism.  I will just provide the links to the airlines’ pages and you can see for yourselves if any of them would suit you.

Alaska Airlines Visa

Frontier Airlines Mastercard

Hawaiian Airlines Visa (B of A)

Hawaiian Airlines Visa (B of H)

Southwest Airlines Visa

Virgin America

 

GLOSSARY

App-O-Rama – A term used by credit card churners to describe a behaviour of applying for different credit cards on the same day with different banks.  This is usually done because enquiries (applications for credit) can lower your credit score making it more difficult to get the cards approved.  If you do all your application on the same day within as little time possible, the banks won’t see the new enquiries on your credit report.

Churning – Applying for the same credit card you have already had to get the signup bonus again

Credit Line Shifting – This happens when you apply for a second card with the same bank but they are not willing  to give you additional credit.  They may be willing to shift credit from your existing card to the new card.  Also, if you plan to close a card you no longer need, always shift the credit line to another card with the same bank if you have one.  If they don’t, try to shift to a card with no annual fee to preserve the credit line.

Reconsideration Line – The bank’s credit department with the power to approve your application.  You may need to call the reconsideration line if you don’t get an instant approval and are in a hurry or if you are denied credit and want a second chance.

  • American Express – 866-314-0237
  • Chase Personal – 888-245-0625
  • Chase Business – 800-453-9719
  • Citibank – 800-695-5171 or 800-763-9795
  • Barclays – 866-408-4064
  • US Bank – 800-947-1444

Retention bonus – Sometimes offered by banks to keep you as a customer after the first year has passed and your annual fee is due.  Sometimes it is a credit on your account to offset the annual fee, sometimes it is a bonus of miles to your frequent flyer account but you have to pay the annual fee.  There may be conditions of a minimum spend attached to the retention bonus.  Usually you call the number on the back of your card, hint to the CSR that you may not want to keep the account and get them to transfer you to retention.

2BM (Two Browser Method) – Only works with Citibank cards.  Open Firefox and IE, click on 2 different cards-a Visa, Mastercard or Amex, fill out both applications but don’t send right away.  Wait until you have both apps filled out completely, then VERY QUICKLY go to each browser and click the “Apply” button.  Do not try this with 2 tabs in the same browser as the cookies will over-ride each other and give you a duplicate application for the same card.

Hotel Point Earning Credit Cards

Flexible Points Credit Cards

 

Airline Alliance References – Star Alliance

Star Alliance

Adria (JP)

Aegean (A3)

Air Canada (AC)

Air China (CA)

Air New Zealand (NZ)

ANA (NH)

Asiana (OZ)

Austrian (OS)

Avianca and TACA (AV), (TA)      My analysis of Avianca-Taca LifeMiles

Blue1 (KF)

Copa (CM)

Croatia Airlines (OU)

EgyptAir (MS)

Ethiopian Airlines (ET)

EVA Air (BR)

LOT Polish Airlines (LO)

Lufthansa (LH)

Scandinavian Airlines (SK)

Singapore Airlines (SQ)

South African Airways (SA)

Swiss (LX)

TAP (TP)

Thai (TG)

Turkish Airlines (TK)

United (UA)

 

As you can see, Star Alliance is the largest of the 3 alliances and is very strong in the Americas, Europe and Asia but has no domestic service in Australia.  Most people are members of several Star Alliance programs so they can take advantage of local credit cards and promos and also the more lucrative promos with United.  Avianca/Taca has  several 100% buy miles bonuses throughout the year and less frequently an even more lucrative share miles promo.  I am a member of United, Singapore and Avianca/Taca.  The main reason for joining Singapore Krisflyer is because my Aussie Amex MR points can transfer 1:1 and they are good for redemptions on NZ, but on most of their Asian and European partners will attract a very high fuel surcharge.  Buying miles on  Avianca/Taca is a great way to get cheap business class or economy awards when they have a double miles bonus promo.  United is a partner for Chase’s Ultimate Rewards programs with several credit cards that can accrue miles for sign up bonuses.

These links are also good if you want to check out an airline’s route map to see where they fly, join their frequent flyer program and see what you can do to earn miles by flying on partners, staying in hotel partners and patronizing their other partners such as credit cards, shopping malls, phone companies and survey companies.

This is a just a very brief overview of Star Alliance and there is so much more to learn.  The best source of information is on FlyerTalk  where each airline has its own forum, most forums have wikis or “read this first” posts to get you started.  I will be going into some programs more in depth as the subject relates to building your ecotourism dream trip