Henry III

Actually, all European business class fare buckets on AF or KL stock/codes (J, C, D, I & Z) earn 250% mileage.

-- Henry

Klmdwsq

Europe business class is an excellent way of collecting miles quickly. Doing DUS - CDG - MUC - CDG - DUS will earn you 7500 level miles for price of approx €880 (8,5 level miles/€). When you use the Amex plat card for payment you would again earn 1760 level miles adding up to 9260 level Miles for 880€ (10,5 level miles / €).

Doing long haul with transfer (eg. DUS - AMS - HKG - AMS - DUS will earn approx 18150 level miles for approx €2500. Again when paid with Amex plat earning 5000 +18150 = 23150 for the trip (9,26 level miles/€).

I have been fb plat twice based on segments but it's a ...... This year will get there by level miles.

I do however think that AFKL are missing out on an opportunity. The European lounge at ams is usually packed and I have the feeling that many are indeed achieving status by segments against very low fares. When prices for 50% - 100% earning tickets would not be so much more expensive I'm convinced lots of ffp would be wiling to pay the slight premium to earn the level miles... The current rules are only driving up pax volumes against lowest prices.

f0zzyNUE

currently one of the cheapest segment run route in europe seems to be to IST . NUE-AMS-IST-AMS-NUE is available for 149€.

Concerto

So it really is worth trying to bash a couple of extra sectors out of a long distance trip in business class, by wrangling an extra transfer through Paris and Amsterdam.

That really is great as far as deals go. I would be interesting in looking at an Air Europa run, but I believe a lot of the lower classes are excluded from mileage collection. I will be in Madrid in the Summer with a day or two free, all the same, and will have a look at it. Any ideas concerning Air Europa?

Henry III

And, combining the two concepts, DUS-CDG-IST-AMS-DUS in EBC gives 10,656 level miles for ~€947. (11.25 lm/€ )

-- Henry

Klmdwsq

I have looked indeed at IST but prefer the short flights which enable you to do 4 segments in 1 day and earn approx 9200 level miles...

SteamyUncle

There are actually a few SU routes in Z that could qualify for mileage run deals. I have seen a few CDG-SVO-PVG-SVO-CDG, works from BRU as well for EUR1200. or the D class on VN PVG-HAN-CDG-HAN-PVG. (both less comfortable then KL but refundable and around 15000 level miles). And generate a few segments as well.

it has been discussed before, but I find qualifying that way much more comfortable, while a tad more expensive, than segment running. and you are left with miles to burn too.

72 hours transit visa would apply in PVG. Shanghai is nice in the spring time.

orbitmic

You cannot get the transit visa if the place you are flying to when leaving is the same place you flew from.

Klmdwsq

Didn't know about the SU and VN options but certainly something to look into. Although I would prefer not to fly on SU as MH17 memory is still fresh and I lost 4 relatives thanks to Putin's war.. Vietnam sounds like a fun and exotic option to explore..

Concerto

Interesting options there. I really will look at these in the future. For this Summer, I booked the following:

MAD-ORY/CDG-AMS-XMN
Layover <24h
XMN-HKG
Destination 7 days
HKG-AMS-MAD

EUR1,182 including taxes and credit card fees, all in Business Class.

The first segment (MAD-ORY) is operated by UX with an AF flight number, but I am hoping that I will get the miles as per AF J-class (which at 250% is more than the 150% offered by UX).
CDG-AMS is operated by AF with a KL flight number.
XMN-HKG is operated by MF
All other segments are operated by KL.

Brilliant price, I think. According to the mileage calculator at Flying Blue, I should get around 32,000 miles for this in all. I didn't have to do anything, the figure was just staring at me when I opened the "my bookings" page.

Lastly, am I right in thinking that Gold members get a free ride on the bus between ORY and CDG?

EDIT to say that I think I tricked the reservation system into thinking that XMN is the destination and HKG a stopover, hence the low price for Business class. The booking was concluded on expedia.de.

Henry III

I've also noticed low business class fares on SU long-hauls out to the Far East (BKK and PVG come out as the best value); possibly, the collapse in the value of the Rouble has a lot to do with this.

But I also share the reservations expressed by Klmdwsq - I'm not entirely happy about supporting the Putin Regime (even indirectly) just now.

Vietnam also appeals to me, but visas can be a bit expensive and potentially troublesome; however, I think that wouldn't actually put me off a trip to Hanoi or Saigon (sorry, Ho Chi Minh City).

Personally, I want my segment/mileage runs to be a bit more than pure "in-out" flights: I want to enjoy my trip and discover interesting and/or pleasant places around the world (or even around Europe). But adding an extra segment or two to increase 'yield' is fine!

-- Henry

SFO777

I made FB Silver on segments in two weeks. $1,300, all in DL domestic First.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...-premiere.html

Irelandflyer

You are correct about the free bus ride. However with traffic it might be best to take the train between the two airports.

KL803

Glad you found a way to work out a week in HKG! Be aware of schedule changes of Xiamen Airlines (check your reservation regularly), they killed my stop-over in XMN so I had to re-route through SHA to avoid a stay over 24 hrs in XMN.

Maj95m

A stunning airfaire indeed! ^ Can I ask you what data you entered to obtain such a price, as I tried a few combinations for the same routing that all resulted in fares above 3,300 € Thank you!