We are making aliya, and I will be flying from Israel to New York and back around every two months for work. El Al and United are the two airlines with flights at times that work for me.
Which of those airlines would have a better frequent flyer program for me (in terms of ability to get free tickets, free extra legroom seats, other perks)? Other factors that I should choose based on?
Thank you for any advice!
If your goal would be to redeem miles just on NYC <-> TLV nonstop, Elal will have much better availability, albeit with a fuel surcharge. Elal also flies to JFK and EWR, whereas UA is EWR only, so depending on your destination, UA might be annoying.
UA has way more partners, no fuel surcharges, and would give you the ability to credit flights to airlines that accrue miles more favorably if that's what you want. However, UA is relatively stingy with Saver awards NYC to TLV on their own metal, but having the UA credit card would increase availability on coach but J is still pretty tough to get at Saaver level. Most people prefer the on-board experience on UA vs Elal.