Other Asian, Australian and South Pacific Frequent Flyer Programs - Where to collect China Southern miles?

My brother will be flying China Southern from the US to China. Where should he collect those miles? He has UA and AA accounts, is based on the West Coast, and is not elite anywhere (and likely won't be).

My brother will be flying China Southern from the US to China. Where should he collect those miles? He has UA and AA accounts, is based on the West Coast, and is not elite anywhere (and likely won't be).

Much depends on his fare class because some classes that earn squat in CZ's program count for a bit more in other programs. CZ is part of Skyteam so DL, KL, AF, etc are all fair game. BTW, LAX-CAN RT might yield enough miles for some type of award in CZ's own program (e.g. short one way flight in China) that could be traded on Coupon Connection.

Unless his brother will be flying within China often, it's better to keep the miles with U.S. carrier (given his active travels is in U.S.)

It's unlikely he'll visit China again. On the West Coast, Delta has pretty poor coverage so I'm also reluctant to throw the miles into a Delta account as he won't have nearly enough for an award. In general, is it better to bank miles in DL, AF, or KL?

If it turns out that it can be redeemed for a domestic award under the CZ program, I'll shove it there.

DL is still better than AF/KL's Flying Blue - probably among the worst FFPs in the world.

Again, I think much hinges upon his fare class. Following are the earning ratios for Sky Pearl Club (CZ) and Sky Miles (DL):


Y, T, K, H, M Statute Mileages×100% 100% 1
G , S, L, Q, U, E, V, B Statute Mileages×40% 40% 0
Other Class P4, I, Z, O, N, R, J, X 0 0 0

Economy: Y, H, K, T, W 100% 100% 100% Yes
Discounted Economy: *G, M 40% 40% 50% Yes
Class Exclusions: B, E, I, J, L, N

Noteworthy differences:
-M accrues at 100% on CZ, but 40% on DL.
-B is an excluded class on DL, but not on CZ
-DL awards 100% for W class, which CZ doesn't mention

Moving on, LAX-CAN is 14,463 miles round trip, or 23,276 km. Even in one of the discounted (40%) fare classes, this amounts to 9,310 km, which is enough for a <800 km award ticket in business class and almost enough for an 800-1700 km flight in economy class. Meanwhile, the full 23,276 is enough one PEK-SHA ticket in Y (10k) and a second in C (12.5k). All of the above refers to one way flights.

BTW, LAX-CAN RT might yield enough miles for some type of award in CZ's own program (e.g. short one way flight in China) that could be traded on Coupon Connection.

I did not see any CZ mile traded on CC. Besides, CZ will soon have redemption list policy so it is not easy to trade any more

I did not see any CZ mile traded on CC. Besides, CZ will soon have redemption list policy so it is not easy to trade any more

I now regret clouding this topic with the CC tangent, as I think most FTers are capable getting from loyalty schemes without resorting to trading on the internet. What's more, if anyone I knew was contemplating a one off transpac on CZ, I'd help them create a redemption list of people in our circles that have a frequent need for intra-China tickets.

Back on topic, I have a hard time valuing less than 20k DL miles at even a penny a piece (because you need DL Amex in order to "pay with miles"), but will do so here for the sake of comparison.

Assumptions:
-OP's friend flies on one of the 100% earning fares
-has no interest in flying DL or CZ again in the foreseeable future

DL Scenario:
-14,463 miles = $145

CZ Scenario:
-23,276 km
-CAN-TSN x2 (I'll use 30% discount fare because IME it's usually possible to squeeze award inventory at 7折 and below) = Y2380 = $350
-while I may be guilty of using the longest flight I could think of inside 1800 km, I'm ignoring the fact that one of the two tickets can be in business class (business class isn't necessarily more valuable than economy IMO, but it's often possible to snag business class award inventory on planes that are full fare in the back, which gives the extra miles a bit of a silver bullet quality).

One more note to the OP, if your friend ends up crediting to CZ, you should advise him that the miles have a (bit more than) 2 year shelf life, which can't be extended.

moondog, thanks for your calculations! This is very helpful.

Are their awards strictly distance based? i.e. could I use this for HKG-TPE or HKG-BKK, even though neither are fully in China? If so, this could be very useful as a connecting flight after getting into HKG.

Also, are mileage awards based upon actual distance flown or the distance between Origin and Destination?

Based upon what I'm hearing so far, it sounds like crediting to CZ might not be such a bad idea. Thanks!

moondog, thanks for your calculations! This is very helpful.

Are their awards strictly distance based? i.e. could I use this for HKG-TPE or HKG-BKK, even though neither are fully in China?

They have a separate chart for international (including regional) which is generally more expensive. It's all on their web site in English.

Ahh okay. It looks like the real value is flying within China. Thanks.

http://skypearl.csair.com/en/index_3-2_en.html

-M accrues at 100% on CZ, but 40% on DL.

I hope this does not mean I will only earn 40% for CAN-CDG and AMS-PEK (I found out just now that they're booked in M class, not G class).