Glossary
Below are some of the less obvious abbreviations I may use on this site. Please let me know if I missed any terms that could cause confusion.
- AA: American Airlines AAdvantage (member of Oneworld Alliance)
- AF: Air France’s Flying Blue (linked with KLM, member of Skyteam alliance)
- AMEX: American Express Membership Rewards (see MR)
- BA: British Airways (member of Oneworld Alliance)
- CO: Continental Airlines (merged with United Airlines, member of Star Alliance)
- DL: Delta (member of Skyteam alliance)
- FTF: Foreign Transaction Fee (most USA cards charge around 3% for the “privilidge” of using your card in EITHER a foreign currency or foreign country (even in the case when a travel agent or website operating in the US in US dollars uses a processor outside the US without your knowledge); if you are leaving the US, make sure to take a “No FTF” card
- HHonors or HH: Hilton HHonors (includes Waldorf Astoria, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn among other flags)
- k: thousand
- KLM: KLM Royal Dutch Airlines’s Flying Blue (linked with Air France, member of Skyteam alliance)
- MR: American Express Membership Rewards (MR Points transfer to Delta, British Airways, Jet Blue, Continental, El Al, KLM/Air France and various other domestic and international airlines, they also transfer to hotels, but usually at conversion rates that don’t make sense, e.g., )
- SPG: Starwood Preferred Guest (includes Westin, W, Le Meridien, Sheraton, St. Regis among other flags)
- UA: United Airlines (merged with Continental Airlines, member of Star Alliance)
- USAir: US Airways (member of Star Alliance)