Frequent flyer programs are essential for people who frequently go on flights for business or personal reasons. Whether you often travel due to your job as a tech consultant at Deloitte or to take care of your aging grandparents in Jordan, these programs can help you with your travels. Loyalty programs entail earning miles or points if you spend your money with the same airline. These miles or points eventually add to benefits, including free flights and better seats.

That being said, 2024 is expected to be a good year to travel within the U.S. or to international destinations. The strong travel demand that the aviation industry saw in 2023 is predicted to continue despite concerns raised by airline investors about the end of the travel boom. The three largest U.S. carriers - Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and United Airlines - announced massive schedule increases for 2024. We will look further into the different frequent flyer programs major American carriers offer for you to determine the best fit for your needs. 

American Airlines AAdvantage

The AAdvantage program benefits passengers based in cities with airports that are hubs for American Airlines. The carrier has a large presence in Charlotte (CLT), Chicago (ORD), Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), New York (JFK and LGA), Philadelphia (PHL), Phoenix (PHX), and Washington, DC (DCA). AAdvantage members earn points and miles for each flight operated by American Airlines, its regional subsidiary American Eagle, and codeshare flights operated by other airlines. 

Aside from benefits on American flights, passengers can earn miles for flights on airlines that are part of the oneworld alliance. This is especially beneficial if you are flying to an international destination that American does not offer a route to. Furthermore, passengers can earn miles on other expenses due to American's partnerships with various car rental companies, hotel brands, cruise lines, and credit card providers. These partner entities include the Citi / AAdvantage credit card and Hyatt Hotels.

AAdvantage's main benefits are that miles can be collected and used with over 1,000 partner companies and can be used on flights operated by oneworld partner airlines. The program is good if you enjoy foreign carriers such as British Airways, Qantas, and Qatar Airways. AAdvantage is also beneficial for passengers who may take one large trip each year because miles don't only have to be earned by purchasing flights. 

However, miles are awarded based on the amount spent instead of the miles flown. This means you could fly on a long flight offered at a discounted price and still earn the same miles as a shorter, more expensive flight. Furthermore, passengers cannot use the miles to book free stopovers if they have a long layover. AAdvantage may not be the best program for the spontaneous traveller interested in seeing a new destination during a layover. 

United Airlines MileagePlus

The MileagePlus program is especially beneficial for frequent flyers based in cities with United Airlines' hub airports. Similar to American Airlines, United has a significant presence in Chicago (ORD), Los Angeles (LAX), New York (EWR), and Washington, DC (DCA). Aside from these cities, United operates hubs in Denver (DEN), Guam (GUM), Houston (IAH), and San Francisco (SFO). MileagePlus miles can be used on United Airlines, its regional subsidiary United Express, and airlines part of the Star Alliance network. 

MileagePlus members can earn miles on cruises, rental cars, hotels, and other leisure experiences. Companies that partner with United include Marriott, credit cards eligible for Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Hertz-owned car rental companies. MileagePlus offers the most ways to earn and redeem miles outside of flying, especially since United provides different credit cards for several kinds of travellers. The program's miles also never expire, unlike AAdvantage miles that become useless after two years. MileagePlus benefits passengers who may save up for a large, once-in-a-lifetime trip over several years, such as a destination wedding in the Maldives. 

The problems with MileagePlus are the difficulty with reaching Elite status and United not telling you how many miles you need for a specific flight. This can make it difficult to plan trips if you do not know if miles alone can pay for a ticket. Earning miles on United's partner airlines is not guaranteed since MileagePlus looks at price, cabin class, and distance. MileagePlus may not be the right fit for a passenger who likes to plan trips with absolute certainty and know what they're getting into before booking.
 

Delta SkyMiles

The SkyMiles program is for passengers in cities with major hub airports for Delta Air Lines. Delta has vast operations in Atlanta (ATL), Boston (BOS), Detroit (DTW), Los Angeles (LAX), Minneapolis-Saint Paul (MSP), New York (JFK and LGA), Salt Lake City (SLC), and Seattle (SEA). SkyMiles can be used on flights operated by Delta Air Lines, its regional subsidiary Delta Connection, and partner airlines in the SkyTeam alliance.

Like AAdvantage and MileagePlus, passengers can earn miles from credit cards and other non-flying purchases. Delta allows passengers to easily reach elite status with enough purchases, especially for those with an American Express card. The airline partners with major food, hospitality, and entertainment brands, making earning miles easy for the average person. 

However, the drawbacks with SkyMiles are unpredictable redemption values and the difficulty of getting good value for SkyMiles. The number of miles required for a given flight fluctuates with demand, meaning that flights during the high season need more miles. Since demand frequently changes, predicting the exact miles to purchase a flight can be difficult. Furthermore, you may not get the best value for your hard-earned miles if you travel during the high season. SkyMiles may not be the best program for passengers who prefer to travel during the summer or holiday season. 

Conclusion

AAdvantage, SkyMiles, and MileagePlus each have pros and cons, depending on the type of traveler. Passengers in specific cities would benefit more from one since the airline has a hub airport in that city. Furthermore, the type of purchases that count as miles and the partner airlines that can use miles depends on the program. Passengers can look through the above three programs in more detail to determine the best fit for their interests.