Best Mileage Program?

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I’ve gotten a few emails from people asking to pick one of the free airline credit cards as the best choice.
As all of the cards give roughly the same benefits (besides the AA card that gives a 7,500 mile discount to select destinations each quarter) essentially what the question boils down to is, “What is the best mileage program out there?”

Here is my experience with 4 of the major mileage programs.

First off, a major factor is the ability to actually be able to use the miles:
Mileage Seat Availability Rankings:
1.AA
2.United
3.Delta
4.Continental

The next factor is the amount of miles they charge once you do find availability…
(Helpful Tip: Many times an airline tries to sell you an unrestricted coach ticket for about twice the amount of miles as the restricted ones, however often there are restricted business or first class seats available for less than the unrestricted coach seats-so always be sure to check on those first!)

For standard awards:
Notes:
-Some award prices listed here are for travel on partner airlines.
-Delta’s Business Elite And Continental’s Business First Products Are Somewhat Of A Combination Of Business And First Class, And Are Classified Here For The Sake Of Simplicity As First Class.
-My apologies for the crude chart, I will host an excel file for download in the future, but this should work well as a quick reference.

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United…………………………Coach, Business, First
Continental US, Canada……..25……….40………60
Hawaii, Caribbean…………..35………..60………80
S. America……………………50………..80………100
Europe………………………….60……….80………100
Asia……………………………..60……….90………120
Australia……………………….60……….90……….120
Israel…………………………….75……….115………140
Notes:
-All 3 Classes To Australia Are A Bargain!
-Generally Lower Premium Class Travel Rates Than The Other Airlines…
-One Of The Few Airlines That Dont Have A Surcharge For Last Minute Award Bookings(Although There Are Ways Of Circumventing The Expedite Fee On The Other Airlines As Well…)
-So-So Availability
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American……….Off Peak Coach, Peak Coach, Business, First
Continental US, Canada…N/A………….25……….45…………60
Caribbean…………………..25………………30………60………..80
Hawaii……………………….N/A…………….35………75……….95
S. America……………….40………………..60……….90……….125
Europe……………………..40………………60……….90…………125
Asia………………………….50………………65…………90……….125
Australia……………………N/A…………….75………..125……….140
Israel…………………………N/A……………..75……….135………180
Notes:
-Best Availability In The Industry
-Only Airline To Have Peak And Off-Peak Awards, The Off-Peak Awards Are True Bargains, But The Peak Awards Are Higher Than Other Airlines’ Standard Awards…
-Only Airline That Counts All Miles Earned(Even Credit Card Bonus Miles) Towards Million Mile Lifetime Elite Status.
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Delta…………………………Coach, Business, First
Continental US, Canada……25……….N/A………45
Caribbean…………………….35…………N/A……..60
Hawaii…………………………35………..N/A………75
S. America…………………….50……….N/A………90
Europe………………………….50……….N/A………90
Asia……………………………..60……….120………140
Australia……………………….100……….150……….200
Israel…………………………….80……….120………160
Notes:
Somewhat Weak Availability…
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Continental………………..Coach, Business, First
Continental US, Canada……..25……….N/A…….45
Caribbean………………………35…………N/A…….60
Hawaii…………………………..35………..N/A…….75
S. America…………………….50……….N/A……..90
Europe………………………….50……….80……….100
Asia……………………………..60……….N/A……..120
Australia……………………….100……….N/A…..150
Israel…………………………….70……….N/A…….100
Notes:
-Cheapest Israel Ticket, But Good Luck Finding Availability For It, Or For That Matter Availability To Anywhere…
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