I have tried several flight bonus programs over the years in my search to find even cheaper flights. Because I fly a lot, if I believed the flight companies commercials, I should get several benefits if I join their bonus programs. Let’s look at their claimed benefits one at a time:
Free flights
Let’s say you want a free single way ticket from Sweden to South Africa. To earn the points needed for this, you need to fly the same distance 23 times and the 24th time you will get the ticket for free. This means you will spend about 15 000 euro for flight tickets before even getting one flight for free. Keep in mind that most membership programs delete your points after 2-5 years, so you need to make all the 24 flights within this time not to loose the points again before getting the final flight for free. And remember, all this flights need to be with the flight companies within the network for your membership card. This means you can not fly with your regular low price flights and airlines which have the cheapest flights, or even last minute tickets. The same applies for upgrading your ticket to first class, it takes a LOT of expensive travel to reach this level.
Airport lounges
Lounges at the airport are nice to relax or work in and you can save money because of the free food and drinks. It is also a good place to extend your business network. On the negative side though you meet more interesting travelers outside the lounges, and if you travel with friends they all need to pay 10 euro each to enter the lounge. Finally, most people try to be in the airport as short time as possible anyway, so there is no time for the lounge.
Priority queues at the airport
Ok the priority queues are nice but it will not get you flying earlier than the people in the back of the long queue anyway. The good thing is you can use the time for other things at the airport, instead of queuing.
So for the conclusion, at least for me it would never be worth it to use one of the today existing frequent flyer bonus programs. Of what I see the only situation it would gain you is if you are employed and fly on weekly bases within your work.
If you still think a frequent flyer flight bonus program would be a good thing for you, here are some of the biggest ones. There are about 100 more programs, and you should choose one that have most flights in the area you move around within the most, and at the same time a membership card that can be linked together with your daily payment card. The similarities of partner flight airlines is because a lot of the frequent flyer programs are connected with the Star Alliance Network.
* Miles & Smiles (Turkish Airlines)
Can be combined with American Express, Master Card.
Partners: Adria, Agean, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, AnadoluJet, Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines, B&H Airlines, Blue1, Brussels Airlines, bmi, Continental, Crotia, Egypt Air, Jet Airways, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Spanair, Swiss International Air Lines, TAM, TAP Portugal, Thai Airways International, Turkish Airlines, United Airlines, US Airways
* Miles & More (Lufthansa & Swiss International Air Lines)
Can be combined with American Express, Diners Club (only Swiss Franc), Credit Suisse. You get a monthly invoice with your collected expenses.
Partners: Adria Airlines, Aegean Airlines, Air Astana, Air Canada, Air China, Air Dolomiti, Air India, Air Malta, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines Group, Blue1, bmi, Brussels Airlines, Cirrus Airlines, Condor, Continental Airlines, Croatia Airlines, Egypt Air, Ethiopian Airlines, Germanwings, Jat Airways, Jet Airways, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Lufthansa Italia, Lufthansa Private Jet, Lufthansa Regional, Luxair, Mexicana, Qatar Airways, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Spanair, Swiss International Air Lines, TACA, TAM, TAP Portugal, THAI, Turkish Airlines, United, US Airways
* SAS Eurobonus (SAS Scandinavian Airlines)
Can be combined with American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard
Partners: Adria Airlines, Aegean Airlines, AirBaltic, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Atlantic Airways, Austrian Airlines Group, Blue1, bmi, Brussels Airlines, Cimber Sterling, City Airline, Continental Airlines, Croatia Airlines, Egypt Air, Estonian Air, Ethiopian Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Qantas, Shanghai Airlines, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Skyways, South African Airways, Spanair, Swiss International Air Lines, TAM, TAP Portugal, THAI, Turkish Airlines, United, US Airways, Widerøe
* Mileage Plus (United Airlines)
Can be combined with VISA, American Express (Japan, United Kingdom), MasterCard (Argentina, Brazil, Hong Kong, Japan)
Partners: Adria Airlines, Aegean Airlines, Aer Lingus, Air Canada, Air China, ANA, Air New Zealand, Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines Group, Blue1, bmi, Brussels Airlines, Continental Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EgyptAir, Emirates, Hawaiian Airlines, Island Air, Jet Airways, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airways, South African Airways, Spanair, Swiss International Air Lines, TAM, TACA Airlines, TAP Portugal, THAI, Turkish Airlines, United, US Airways
