The Airline world is made up of three alliances:

Star Alliance
SkyTeam
OneWorld

Understanding the alliances and the airlines that make them up, and which airlines do not participate in an alliance, is key to maximizing miles and status. What alliances allow you to do is pick one airline per alliance and earn miles on that one airline’s frequent flier program no matter which airline in the alliance you fly. That way you can maximize miles. Airlines not only give redeemable miles but also status miles across alliance partners, so this also maximizes Elite …

There are some unique cities around the world when it comes to flying. While they may be excellent destinations themselves, for long haul travelers, they are best known as being key transition hubs. Two cities that have earned this reputation are Dubai and Singapore. They are both in this position due to their unique geographical location but more importantly because they are hubs for two very large, world-class airlines that have a worldwide reach. Dubai and Singapore are not the only cities in their neighborhood. Both have other cities that …

Qatar Airways from the Emirate of Qatar is one of the fastest growing airlines in the world. They are working hard to match up with their elder sibling – Emirates. As Emirates has developed a reputation of an airline with a global network, excellent in-air service and brand new aircraft with extra comfortable seats, Qatar is matching up.
Qatar Airways – Global Reach
Qatar Airways flies to close to 100 destinations out of their hub in Doha (DOH, no I am not pretending to be a character out of The Simpsons, …

I have discussed the idea of having one primary airline you credit all your miles on in several previous articles. I have also discussed the importance of Airline Alliances and why the airline you choose should be a part of one of the three Global Alliances. As you go about picking your primary Airline and hence, primary alliance, one very important factor that needs to to be taken into consideration is that of hubs. Hubs form, there is no better way to put it, the hub of an Airline and …

One of the eternal dilemma’s faced by travelers is choosing between a low cost flight ticket and sacrificing the miles that one loses by buying that ticket, or buying higher fare tickets that will earn the full miles. Yes, you don’t always earn one mile for every mile flown.
Airlines sell tickets in different fare buckets. In the case of some airlines all fare buckets do not earn 100% miles. In fact, some fare buckets may earn no miles at all.
Cheap Fare buckets:
All airlines sell airline tickets in different fare buckets. …

In my last article, I did a review of Emirates airlines, their aircraft, their meals, their Flight Attendants and Dubai airport. In this article, I review Skywards, their Frequent Flier Program.
Emirates has built a Frequent Flier program outside of any major airline alliance. Very similar to Alaska Airlines, which I discussed in an earlier article, Emirates has built a global network of airline and other partners. The big difference here is the Emirates itself is a global airline with over 600 destinations in all six continents. Ok, there is only …

Here are a few highlights that felt I could write home about (or at least write on my blog about): Aircraft: The aircraft were brand spanking new. … I am not being politically incorrect here, but one could not but notice the young folks on the plane and with the youthful enthusiasm to go with it.

I am very attached to my BlackBerry (CrackBerry, works fine for me too). I am one of the people who is admonished by the Flight Attendants on almost every flight I take for sending out that one last email or text after they have closed the aircraft door. Hey, we are not in the air yet… I am also one of the first to turn on my device as soon as the plane lands and we start taxiing to the gate. So, if someone asks me about installing cell phone …

How to Maximize Airline Mile Earnings
In my previous articles in the series ‘Economics of Airline Miles’ I covered the Value of Airline Miles in part 1 and the Value of Elite Status in part 2. Continuing in the series, in this article I will discuss practical tips on how to maximize the airline miles you earn. As I mentioned in part 1 of this series, your airline miles are an asset. Treat your collection of airline mile accounts like a portfolio. To borrow a quote from the greatest portfolio owner …