Thread: are there other ways to get frequent flier miles without booking with a star alliance airline, etc?

hi, I'm planning to fly to malaysia in january from canada, so I think I could get a lot of frequent flier miles from something like that, but when I looked on the united airlines website, I have a mileage member card with them, but their flights are like a thousand dollars more than other ones I've found. Is there a way to earn miles if I booked off a website like expedia or kayak, etc....so I could save myself a lot of money?

Sure, you can book through a third party--you don't have to book direct from an airline to get your frequent flyer miles. Exceptions are Priceline, Hotwire, and some consolidator offers. Just be sure to present your mileage card when you check in--both when you begin your journey, and when you check in at Malaysia to return.

You can still earn miles without booking directly with United Airlines. Just make sure, though, that you will take Star Alliance member airlines. If you find UA's tickets expensive, then try the other Star Alliance member carriers like (for your route from Canada to Malaysia) Air Canada, Thai Airways, Singapore Airlines, All Nippon Airways, and Asiana Airlines. They are all Star Alliance members and all your flights would earn miles which can be credited to your Mileage Plus account with United. You just have to build your itinerary in such a way that you will pass through the hub cities of these carriers.

For example, if you're located in interior Canada (which means any city other than the Pacific gateway, which is Vancouver), then take Air Canada from that interior point to Vancouver, then take Air Canada again to Seoul, then take Asiana Airlines to Kuala Lumpur. Voila! All your flights are on Star Alliance members and you can be assured that you'd have mileage credit for all of them.

Another itinerary could be from interior Canada to Vancouver on Air Canada, Vancouver to Tokyo on Air Canada, then Tokyo to Kuala Lumpur on All Nippon Airways.

Just make sure that you quote your Mileage Plus number to your travel agent or to the check-in agent at the airport so that all your flights can be tracked by the Star Alliance Intranet Web.

Yes like the first person said, you can just provide the frequent flyer number anytime before check-in, as long as your ticket is eligible for mileage accruel.
If you book on the UA website, you have the option to choose "include star alliance flights" in the search, then you can buy Singapore Airline, Thai Airways, and Malaysia Airlines tickets off of United. This way the miles count toward your UA elite miles for 2008. The downside is that they may issue you a paper ticket.

You can do that or go through an Asian travel agency since they buy their tickets in bulk quantity and can sell them to you at a lower price. My friend does this each time he flies from the U.S. to Hong Kong on United Airlines.