Alaska Airlines Loyalty Program

This can bring you free up-grades ( hello, bus class) and even free air travel ( hello, Paris), in additon to the elusive sense of being handled like a person when you're at the airfield. To identify which loyalty programmes are the best, we have considered a number of different factor.

What is it like to collect points? And the sooner you collect points, the sooner you will be repaid for your loyalty. What is the airline's networking like? It is not a good earnings position with an air carrier that does not go where you want. Do you have to pay a fortune to get precious benefits?

What is it like to give out your points? With the best programmes you can earn money quite simply. Many of the most important FFPs have been assessed using these indicators and we have identified which of them are the best for most (but not all) travellers. Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, one of our favourites, is an old-fashioned trip that builds its reward on the number of kilometers you cover, which means it's perfect for those who do a lot of traveling within the country.

The programmes of other airlines, many of which are now dependent on how much you pay and not how far you go, provide other benefits that are more suitable for those who want to continue flying - and with first-class amenities. However, what is best for you depends on a variety of different things, and so here is our explanation of how each of these US Airlines loyalty programmes is developing.

The Alaska Airlines program is great and the name doesn't fool them: the airline now serves more than 115 locations from its hub in Atlanta, New York, and Seattle. It' simple to collect mileage points depending on how far you go (and not on how much you spend).

It is also quite straightforward to make money with Alaska brand credits as well. It is also possible for the carrier to make the return process easier. The Condé Nast Traveler's Readers' Choice Awards last year recognized Alaska as the third largest carrier in the United States. Now that the carrier has included the popular Virgin America, this rankings could be even higher.

However, although the main thing is the product itself, the big sales argument of this program is how easily it makes it possible to collect points. It' as straightforward as counting how many leagues you fly: If your trip is less than 500 nautical miles, your carrier will round it up to 500.

 Alaska also offer bonuses on the basis of your tariffs. A few economies of scale are earning 25 per cent or 50 per cent more mileage, while first-class tickets are earning 75 per cent more mileage. Shorter departures begin at only 10,000 mile, which is relatively inexpensive in comparison to other itineraries. From San Francisco to Seattle, for example, a return journey of only 10,000 mile can be made; the same routing will take you to 25,000AAdvantage miles when booking with American Airlines.

Whereas other airlines give you points that depend on how much you are spending on your flight, Alaska credits you with air miles regardless of the cost of your tickets, which means you don't necessarily have to pay much to get it. There are three state levels in MVP, MVP Gold and MVP Gold 75K.

In order to be eligible for MVP, you must earn 20,000 air miles on Alaska in one year or 25,000 air miles with qualified affiliates; for MVP Gold, 40,000 air miles or 50,000 air miles with qualified affiliates; and for MVP Gold, 75K, 75,000 air miles or 90,000 air miles with qualified affiliates. By booking four return trips between New York and San Francisco in one year, you've earned 20,000 mileage.

What you should keep in mind Unlike most large airlines, Alaska is not part of the three large carrier alliance - Neworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance - with which you can collect and spend points on your flight. However, Alaska has unique relationships with many airlines - among them American, Emirates and Singapore Airlines - that serve more than 900 global routes.

This gives you many opportunities to not only earn points (e.g. miles credited for a journey from the USA) and spend them (e.g. for a Business/Class flight to Dubai). You can even stop off in Alaska on one-way rewards planes - which means you can see two places for the cost of one (free) fare.

After two years of no activity, your milestones will lapse. Award ticket periods apply and the number of award seats may be restricted on certain routes. The Bottom LineAlaska Loyalty Program of the Bottom LineAlaska Loyalty Plans is suitable for both home and overseas trips and is the uncommon program that awards you for how far you go.

There' s a great deal to this high-frequency program, among them dynamic benefits and super-simple profit and take-back schemes. But if most of your travel is inland - or you're just a big South West enthusiast - the Rapid Rewards program is an outstanding one.

One of the most valuable benefits of any loyalty program is Why We Love ItSouthwest's Comppanion Pass. Obviously, it's not simple to deserve this advantage: you have to travel 100 "segments" in the southwest, with a simple descent that counts as a single one, or accumulate 110,000 Rapid Rewards points in a single year to receive an escort pass for the remainder of the year and the whole of the following year.

However, it is an unbelievable advantage of this program; no other carrier has anything like it. Generally, Rapid Rewards makes collecting points easy. We do not black out Rapid Rewards even on public holiday so you can use your points for every free place; there are also no modification or cancelation charges on rewards ticket, which means you can make any booking and subsequently alter your opinion.

You must travel 25 slots or collect 35,000 qualification points for the A-list, which gives you benefits such as preferred embarkation and free stand-by on the same date if you want to board an early one. By flying 50 segment or earning 70,000 qualification points, you will receive A-List Preferred, which includes free WiFi on board and 100 per cent more points per trip (plus all A-List benefits).

While Bottom LineSouthwest has a more restricted global routing than other US airlines, the Companion Pass provides a truly one-of-a-kind advantage for true hardcore enthusiasts. When most of your flights are within the country, this program is definitely deserving of a closer look. United' s program can take you seriously to one place:

More than 1,100 global departures are served by the carrier and its Star Alliance members, giving you many opportunities especially in Asia, Europe and South America. Unlike many of our rivals, United does not charge high additional fees for many of its award travel. Whilst redemption of your points can be annoying, the great versatility and earnings of the program make it valuable to take a closer look at anyone who travels much of United'subs.

As part of the Star Alliance worldwide airline ecosystem, you can accumulate and redeem points for 28 airlines flying to more than 1,1000 locations. Those mileage' is kind of pliable. It makes it easier for United to redeem for free travel, with better flight uptime than American and Delta Air Lines when it comes to award travel.

And unlike Delta, United actually releases a rewards graph so you can compute how many mile you need to get somewhere. A November New York to Rome business trip on United would be 60,000 MileagePlus mileage plus approximately $85 in Tax. However, most award travel on America Airlines requires a stop in the UK, where charges are significantly higher.

When you want to spent your mileage instead of your dollar, you're better off with United. And United has another complex, albeit funky, incentive program member bonuses. With the excursionist Perk you can include a free connection between two towns when you make a round-trip award booking.

They' re going to redeem 60,000 for a roundtrip Chicago-Paris ticket. United has four states, beginning with Premium Silver, that are available to those who earn 25,000 Premium Qualifying Meiles (or 30 Premium Quality segments) and spending at least $3,000 on United outings. Of course, those who are flying and spending more will enjoy better discounts on the following levels:

Prime Gold, Premier Platinum, Premier 1K. Looking for the unavailability of awards can be quite a pain. It also offers some awards known as the Saver Awards, available only to United cardholders. Chances are that anyone who' s heavily involved in United will own an air ticket, but it is another level of complexities to consider.

Ordering through top-notch qualification mileage, top-notch qualification segmentation and top-notch qualification bucks - not to mention all those states and opportunities to score - requires a lot of effort and patient effort that some may not want to do. The Bottom LineUnited is great if you are looking for long distance travel with a variety of airline partners.

Whilst you need to read a great deal to fully appreciate the specifics of this sophisticated program, it is no more opaque than programmes offered by American and Delta. And one of the best airlines in the US - our readership ranks second - also has a great loyalty program.

It is particularly beneficial if you are living on the east coast and often have domestic or Caribbean departures, where the airline flies many times. While TrueBlue is not perfect if you are going on many long distance journeys internationally, if most of your journeys are near home, this program is a good one.

With JetBlue, you get an easy-to-understand graph that shows how much you make with every Dollar you spent on your flight. However, if you book directly with JetBlue.com (as distinct from using other websites), you will receive six points per dollars for tickets in the JetBlue.com rate plan, seven for Blu Plus and eight for Blu Flex; Mint, JetBlue's Blue Flex, JetBlue's Mint, ticket earns six points per dollars.

That' it - no qualified mileage or other parsing bullshit. TrueBlue also offers other great benefits, such as no bonus flight bladout dating and the opportunity to collect and divide points with your loved ones. These functions make it easy for you to cash in your points. In order to get it, you must pilot 30 flight sections and earned 12,000 points in a year or 15,000 points in a year.

Please note the number of mileage needed to purchase a specific award travel with JetBlue; if the cost of a journey in dollars increases, the number of points needed to purchase an award travel pass will also change. JetBlue's rewards pricing formulas are not entirely clear, but this general policy is intended as a "buyer's tip" for those who wish to redeem for rewards during busy periods, especially holiday periods.

While you can collect TrueBlue points by traveling with the many JetBlue carriers - Emirates, Icelandair and South African Airways - you can only use your points on JetBlue and Hawaiian Airlines outings. This easy-to-follow program can make your flight as an already great carrier even better, but it's not perfect for anyone looking for long-haul reward travel and premier class up-grades.