Best Airline Rewards program out there

[supercar]

Hi all,
Its been a while since I posted my last post.

I recently got married. Yay !

My spouse works in Seattle, WA and me in Boston, MA. We expect her to be on the west coast for at least the next 6 months. We plan to meet about once every month until then, whether it be at our locations, or different places on vacation.

I have heard of how people save using the miles they have and all....using the credit cards from airlines.

I am looking at different airline rewards programs out there. I'm already a member of delta, American Airlines and Lufthansa (Star Alliance) but never owned a airlines reward credit card.
So, before I go apply for one of those cards for miles that they give out on sign up and first purchase, I would like to know if anyone of you owns these cards and what is the best program and card out there that might benefit us.

Thank you all a lot !

[rennigade]

I personally like american airlines reward program. For me its the easiest to book flights at pretty much any day/time you want. That and theres always 12.5k miles one way flights. As far as the airline, I couldnt care less. Flying mostly the continental US, I'm never in a plane for more than 5 hours at a time. I can put up with just about anyting for that short amount of time.

[nck4857]

Good luck with American: Book Away From American This Fall; Pilot Feud Has Made Airline Too Unreliable - The Middle Seat Terminal - WSJ

It's not going to get better anytime soon.

[Like2Plan]

We have Southwest.
Pros: At times, they have 50,000 points for a bonus (CC) sign up. That could get you a couple free RTs depending on how far in advance you schedule. SWA has a companion pass they award you after you earn 110,000 points in a year. In a nutshell, the CP allows you to take someone you name on your same itinerary for every flight you take for a year. You can earn the additional points needed through travel and purchases made by your CC ( and partner points). You earn double points for SWA travel.
The points you use for regular award travel are non-capacity controlled. If they have an empty seat and you have the required points, you can book it.

Cons: Southwest does not have much in the way of status upgrades compared to the legacys. SWA is not alway the cheapest on comparable routes. SWA does not confer your status to your trAVeling partner even if traveling on the same itinerary. ( Which is not so good when you get into irregular OPs. ) Unless you buy their most expensive seat, purchases made within 36 hours will not give you a favorable boarding pass and you will most likely end up sitting in the dreaded middle seat. The point values for award seats can vary a lot-generally costs more points the closer you are to your departure date.

DH has earned a companion pass for several years now. I generally go on just about every trip he takes. It is the most awesomest benefit ever as far as we are concerned. However, there are folks who are not able to use the CP feature so it all depends on your unique situation. The really cool thing is the CP is it is on top of the award points, so you can use the points for award travel and still earn the CP. You can even travel on award points and your companion goes along with you for the cost of the security fee.

[supercar]

Thank you for your kind replies.

Southwest seems interesting. But it rarely has non-stops (long distance) and the prices are a little bit costlier than other airlines ... from what I see.

I was previously thinking in between AA and Delta, but decided to go with AA Citi credit card which gives me 40,000 miles with $3000 spent in first three months.

Thank you again guys.