America West FlightFund

Pros: Earn miles through several mechanisms; deals can be found by searching online.
Cons: None.

I have been Flight Fund member for several years and now use America West almost exclusively for business and personal travel. While they don't go everywhere, if you live on the West Coast they can usually get you where you need to go. Their service has ...

Pros: Many options to earn mileage, reasonable award thresholds
Cons: Issues with America West air service, no account status online

I have been a member of the America West frequent flyer club since I made a large batch of business travel since 1996. I am also a member of the Continental and Delta flyer clubs, and can contrast my experience with America West flying club versus these...

Pros: Free trip @20,000, lots and lots of bonus miles
Cons: none so far

It's so easy to earn a free trip on AmericaWest. 2500 bonus for signing up, 3000 bonus miles for booking a flight online, and many ways to get bonus miles with cars, credit cards, etc etc. And, it only takes 20,000 to earn a free trip.

I can...

Pros: low points needed for a ticket, if you can get one.
Cons: hardly ever any seats available.

I used to belong to America West's flight fund, but canceled after earning 50,000 points, and then having difficulty with using them, because I couldn't get a ticket for the advertised 20,000 points...in fact, I doubt if many tickets at that level even exist, since I've tried to look for tickets up to one year in advance. Now, America West is offering tickets for 35,000 points, and for that point level, you can find tickets. So, essentially, America West's airline tickets actually go for 35,000 points, which is 5,000 points higher than United, and I never have problems getting a ticket with United. I now belong to that program and have been much happier!