how does one become a frequent flyer?

[2NE1]

I have a close friend that has recently moved to S. Korea and I'd love to visit this person as often as I can (and possibly other near countries like Japan and China). Since I'm on "rebuilding credit" mode, I have found one secured CC [U.S. Bank Skypass Visa] that offers air miles! I do not know how flexible U.S. Bank would be with my scores to even try to get their Skypass Classic unsecured Visa CC.

Would this be a great start to become a frequent flyer? I do not know how earning miles and exchanging them for free flights work. Can anyone that's an expert kindly explain this to me? I would be flying from the east coast, I'm assuming that would require earning more miles than flying from the west coast, correct?

Also, if you don't think this would be a good idea then is there any other way I can benefit from flying back and forth from US to S. Korea without wasting $ on flights and not earning any rewards at the same time? thanks everyone!  

Here's the info U.S. Bank provides on their website:

The SKYPASS Visa Secured Card

  

Earn SKYPASS Miles While Building Your Credit
Experience the Benefits of the SKYPASS Visa Secured Card:

• SKYPASS Bonus Miles after your first purchase1
• 1 mile for every $1 you spend
• Credit limit based on your deposit, from $300 to $5,000
• 1,000 Bonus Miles at renewal2
• $ 250,000 in Travel Accident Insurance3 

Additional SKYPASS Visa benefits:

• Redeem miles for free travel and free upgrades on Korean Air and SkyTeam partners4
• SKYPASS Visa card purchases help you reach and maintain Morning Calm Club Membership5 
• Card use at millions of locations worldwide
• Cash access at more than one million ATMs
• No cap on miles
• Bilingual automated 24-hour account access
• Bilingual customer service available
• Auto rental insurance
• Online purchase security
• Earn SKYPASS miles even faster when you take advantage of Automatic Bill Payment 
• Get your monthly credit score – at no cost!
• Lost and stolen card reporting
• SKYPASS Visa miles can be combined with your SKYPASS flight miles

Earn SKYPASS miles and enjoy travel rewards with the SKYPASS Visa card that builds your credit.

[Anonymous]

You usually become a frequent flier by flying frequently. Most cards points do not count toward status. You can charge 25K on Deltas cards and you wont become a silver madallion.

[2NE1]

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@Anonymous wrote:

You usually become a frequent flier by flying frequently. Most cards points do not count toward status. You can charge 25K on Deltas cards and you wont become a silver madallion.

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LOL..... ok, thanks!

anyone else?

[Anonymous]

You could buy me tickets and ill rack up miles for you

[Anonymous]

Tanner is right. You can still earn miles without a credit card. Just sign up with the airline for free. Credit cards just let you earn miles without actually flying. You'll earn more miles per dollar by flying anyways so you're not really missing out on that much unless you plan on spending a lot on your CC.

[CreditScholar]

You've asked two separate questions. Becoming a frequent flier is primarily about how much you fly. In a given year, you need to fly a minimum of 25000 miles to reach the lowest level in most programs. The better benefits don't really kick in until you fly 50000 miles a year as a general rule, and in some programs the top tier requires you to fly 100,000 miles per year. When you fly, you get BiS (butt in seat) miles that count towards your status. As to your second question, you can earn miles by flying, using certain credit cards and using certain partners like hotels and rental cars. Most miles other than flying dont count towards frequent flier status, but some credit cards will give you a very small amount once you hit an annual spend threshold (usually 25-40k). However all miles you earn through CC spend can be redeemed towards flights. A round trip ticket to Asia in coach will run you between 50-80k miles, business might be 70-100k. Every airline charges a different number of miles, so be sure to check which airline has the better redemption rates for the places you want to go.

[Walt_K]

thepointsguy.com, frugaltravelguy.com, millionmilesecrets.com, boardingarea.com/blogs/mommypoints, boardingarea.com/blogs/viewfromthewing, boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime, milepoint.com, flyertalk.com.

Happy reading.

[frogfan12]

Whatever airline you choose, you should sign up for their FF (frequent flyer) program and possibly their CC. But I would only apply for the CC if your credit is good. Otherwise, just sign up for the airline's FF program because it's free.