Smart Things to Consider When Traveling for Business
Reward Programs
There are many different types of reward program’s out there on offer from airlines, to hotels to rental cars to name just afew. It’s a lucrative service offered by many companies in order to pay respect to the loyalty of a customer. A way to say Thanks basically and have you returning back for more. Most programs are free to join. It is free for the most basic program. Within each program though, there maybe different tier levels you can join up too again which are paid, so check this out before joining as well and choose a program you are most likely to Travel with frequently and look into it’s benefits.
Enroll yourself in a Frequent flyer program if you travel to a particular city often. I would suggest that you sign up for ALL the free mileage points/loyalty programs you come across that would be of benefit to you. If you’re using online sites like Expedia and CheapOair, it’s likely you’ll be traveling with two different airlines so you can be earning points on both. It would be advantageous also though to accumulate as many points as you can under the one frequent flyer program so you can redeem points quicker. You would be best to use the frequent flyer program you travel with the most eg United airlines Mileage Plus Program or bmi whatever airline it maybe. Don’t forget to also keep your boarding passes with you until your statement has arrived so you can cross check all points have been received.
An even faster way to accumulate points is by joining a credit card rewards program such as the Platinum or Gold Card with American Express. Having a Platinum may also mean you can use almost all of the airline clubs on the day you fly that airline. This works great when you’re flying multiple airlines. Also, Platinum may also reimburse some of your expenses for checked baggage or onboard food purchases when using the card. Warning: There are fees to be a platinum member as well, but the program itself far outweighs the annual fee particularly for those that travel frequently. Use it to pay all your bills as well and earn points, but just ensure that you pay the credit card bill off in full each month so not to accumulate interest charges. Benefits vary from country to country as well so read through all the details carefully.
Once you have joined the loyalty program’s that would benefit your needs, a good way to manage these is by joining points.com. Points.com means you can keep track of all your points & bonuses in one place. They will find and share all the best tips regularly so you never miss a bonus offer again.
Below is a list of some of the programs out there that maybe of benefit to you to join:
Airlines
Under the Star Alliance Network:
1. Adria Airways
2. Aegean Airlines
3. Air Canada
4. Air China
5. Air New Zealand
6. ANA
7. Asiana Airlines
8. Austrian
9. Blue1
10. Bmi
11. Brussels Airlines
12. Continental Airlines
13. Croatia Airlines
14. EGYPTAIR
15. LOT Polish Airlines
16. Lufthansa
17. Scandinavian Airlines
18. Singapore Airlines
19. South African Airways
20. Spanair
21. SWISS
22. TAM Airlines
23. TAP Portugal
24. THAI
25. Turkish Airlines
26. United
27. US Airways
Under the One World Network:
1. American Airlines
2. British Airways
3. Cathay Pacific
4. Finnair
5. Iberia
6. Japan airlines (JAL)
7. LAN
8. Malev
9. Mexicana
10. Qantas Royal Jordanian
11. S7Airlines
Hotels
1. Accor Hotels (Sofitel, Pullman, Novotels, Swissotels, ibis, allseasons, Etap, MGallery, F1 Hotels, Formule1 Hotels, Adagio, Barriere, Thalassa Sea & Spa Hotels and the Orbis Hotel brands). Loyalty Program: http://a-club.com or http://www.advantageplus-asia.com/ (for Australia/Asia-Pacific)
2. Starwood Hotels ( Le Meridien, Westin, The Luxury Collection, Aloft, Four points by Sheraton, Sheraton, element, St Regis & W Hotel brands)
Rentals Cars
1. National car rentals
2. Avis
3. Hertz
4. Europcar
5. Thrifty
6. Alamo
