Frequent-Flier Alliances Create Plenty of Small Print

Is it good news or bad news if your favorite airline is tying its frequent-flier program to somebody else’s frequent-flier program? The answer, experts say, is both.

Everybody has a different opinion about whether this sudden epidemic of proposed and completed airline alliances--Delta and United, American and US Airways, Northwest and Continental--means easier trips for mile collectors in the near future or a dangerous relaxation of competition or both.

While the experts argue about the big picture, leisure travelers are trying to figure out what this means for them. Here’s a quick look at what is and isn’t happening in the frequent-flier alliances offered by American and US Airways (in effect since Aug. 1), Delta and United (takes effect Sept. 1) and Continental and Northwest (still in the works).

In the short term, the alliances will not change most mileage award threshold levels, nor will they erase the difference between programs with mileage expirations and those without them. But consumers should take great care in questioning the carriers’ mileage redemption agents, because the corporate cooks are still stirring this stew and much confusion remains. In researching this column, I got conflicting answers from two American agents within 30 minutes.

American (AAdvantage)-US Airways (Dividend Miles). This pact, to be phased in via three stages, begins by focusing on the redemption of miles already earned. In the first stage, which began Aug. 1, travelers cannot yet pool miles from the two programs. But American customers can redeem their accumulated AAdvantage miles in order to fly to a US Airways destination. Conversely, US Airways customers can trade their accumulated Dividend Miles for award travel on American--a provision that gives US Airways customers a new chance at award travel to Hawaii, since American flies there and US Airways doesn’t.

In other words, the move gives consumers with mileage credits in hand more destinations to consider--and also more fellow award travelers to contend with for prime dates and destinations. In addition, since Aug. 1, members of American’s Admirals Club and the US Airways Club have had reciprocal club access.

The next phase will be pooling miles, which many insiders expect in coming weeks. That change will allow Dividend Miles and AAdvantage program members who belong to both programs to combine mileage in order to reach required award levels, and then redeem the awards on either airline.

Phase three of the American-US Airways marriage has more to do with East Coast travelers than those in the West. Hoping to steal some travelers from rival United in a hotly contested area, American and US Airways will soon (probably by October) let travelers on US Airways’ shuttle service between New York, Boston and Washington, D.C., “double-dip” miles--giving them both US Airways Dividend Miles and American AAdvantage miles for trips in those corridors.

Delta (SkyMiles)-United (MileagePlus). This joint effort takes aim first at new miles, not mileage credits already earned. It begins Sept. 1, when travelers on domestic United flights can earmark new mileage credits for their Delta SkyMiles accounts, and vice versa. In both cases, customers continue the existing practice of getting more miles for buying costlier tickets: First-class customers get a bonus that amounts to 150% of the mileage that a coach-class ticket would earn; business-class travelers get 125%.

The joint program applies only to flight itineraries that stay within the 50 states or Puerto Rico. That excludes not only foreign flights but also domestic connections that are part of a foreign itinerary, such as an LAX-Cincinnati flight preceding a Cincinnati-London connection (a common routing on Delta). Also, the program excludes United Express flights (common in Northern California) and other United code-share partners. The Delta-United alliance doesn’t allow a consumer to redeem already-earned United miles for a Delta award, or vice versa.

Road warriors seeking elite-level membership on Delta or United should be warned: The elite programs continue to count only miles actually flown on the sponsoring airline. If you earmark a United flight’s miles for Delta, you can’t count the mileage toward the United elite program.

Delta and United say they expect to announce further ties in coming months, including arrangements to let travelers use accumulated mileage from airline A to get award tickets on airline B’s domestic flights. The carriers also say they plan to let travelers pool their miles, but no date has been announced.

Continental-Northwest. On Jan. 26, these two carriers announced plans for a “long-term strategic global alliance” that would include code-sharing and frequent-flier-program reciprocity. But the carriers’ plans are still being reviewed by the federal Department of Transportation and Department of Justice, and as yet there’s no timetable for further information.

Reynolds travels anonymously at the newspaper’s expense, accepting no special discounts or subsidized trips. He welcomes comments and suggestions, but cannot respond individually to letters and calls. Write Travel Insider, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053 or e-mail chris.reynolds@latimes.com.

* NEXT WEEK: Mileage strategy suggestions.