oneworld - Need advice on Malév Duna Club vs. Finnair Plus

Hi you oneworld fans out there :p

I have Gold status on *A, which I am quite happy about, but 2011 qualification being already secured, I am now scheduled to take a RT C trip on AY BUD-HEL-BKK.

I am hesitating between crediting this to either MA Duna Club or the AY Finnair Plus program. Would need any expert advice on which one to choose. I thought it would be easy after reading a bit about both programs, but actually there are advantages on both sides. I am slightly leaning towards MA for the following reasons:

- I am based in BUD and MA Silver would be enough for BUD lounge access when travelling on oneworld.
- Better award redemptions. I am mainly looking for intra-Europe Y awards ex-BUD. This upcoming trip would already get me a BER or WAW award ticket vs. nowhere with Finnair Plus.

Finnair looks better for one important front:
- More miles earned, quicker status (37K on AY Finnair Plus vs. 25K on MA Duna Club for this trip, almost Silver in one go!)

I need your expert advice if I have missed something, e.g.
- better YQ or other additional award ticket charges on Duna Club or Finnair Plus
- longer status or earning period on one or the other program (both conditions look quite chaotic but I understand this does not really differentiate between them)
- etc.

Thanks in advance. Any advice is much appreciated.

I have real experience only with Duna Club, but I hope some Finnair Plus experts might be able to provide the equivalent info for that programme.

- I am based in BUD and MA Silver would be enough for BUD lounge access when travelling on oneworld.

MA Silver only gives you BUD (and other MA) lounge access (http://www.malev.com/dunaclub/benefits/lounges) in the following cases:

only when travelling on Malév scheduled flights operated and marketed by Malév. G P S E Z N Q O T U booking classes are excluded

So no lounge acess for MA Silvers if you fly non-MA oneworld or if you travel on discount economy ticket. The excluded booking classes cover all non full-fare economy tickets except for redemption tickets (in Y they book into class X).

As you are BUD based, however, I would suggest applying for a MasterCard Gold (or higher level) credit card from any Hungarian bank, since this would give you louge access at BUD T2 regardless of the airline you fly. More info in Hungarian on the MasterCard website (http://www.mastercard.com/hu/personal/hu/premium/mastercard-lounge.html). In some aspects (especially in terms of food) this lounge is a bit better compared to the Malév lounge next to it.

- better YQ or other additional award ticket charges on Duna Club or Finnair Plus

In case of Duna Club:
An award ticket on a Malév operated flight costs ca. 10000 HUF/direct flight or ca. 16000 HUF/connecting flight each way besides the advertised number of bonus points. I have no info on oneworld/partner awards.
Availability seems to be pretty good: presently I could book an award ticket on the very next flight to practically any MA destination.

- longer status or earning period on one or the other program (both conditions look quite chaotic but I understand this does not really differentiate between them)

In case of Duna Club both the status and earning periods are generally calendar year, extended to the end of next February. Club points and segments are calculated at the end of each calendar year and status is granted for the next year based on the number club points or segments (whichever is better) at that time. Each segment or club point is valid for one year after it is POSTED on the account - you can therefore deliberately shift year-end points or segments into the next earning period if you want by not inserting your FF number in the booking, but claiming the points retroactively. Also, you can attain status based on the number of points or segments posted in the previous 12 months, regardless of the calendar year. If you reach status this way in year X, your status will be valid through February in year X+2.

As you are based in Hungary, another benefit of the MA programme might be interesting for you: a Duna Club elite can travel in 1st class on all domestic InterCity trains for the price of a 2nd class ticket and even the compulsory seat reservation is free of charge.

And beware if you plan to fly Finnair not only in C but on cheap Y tickets as well: E R Z A G O W booking codes are excluded from earning and most cheap tickets book into them (however Q and S fares for intra-European and long-distance flights, respectively, are not that much more expensive).

In case of Duna Club both the status and earning periods are generally calendar year, extended to the end of next February. Club points and segments are calculated at the end of each calendar year and status is granted for the next year based on the number club points or segments (whichever is better) at that time. Each segment or club point is valid for one year after it is POSTED on the account - you can therefore deliberately shift year-end points or segments into the next earning period if you want by not inserting your FF number in the booking, but claiming the points retroactively. Also, you can attain status based on the number of points or segments posted in the previous 12 months, regardless of the calendar year. If you reach status this way in year X, your status will be valid through February in year X+2.

Thanks a lot for all these clarifications.

Actually, it's this issue with the 12 months vs. calendar year that still gets me confused. So I have this BKK trip next week, but I will not reach any status by the end of year. I understand my points will not be reset on Dec 31, 2011 and I can continue collecting my points for status for 12 months. The only advantage for retroactive mileage credit would be that the 12 months start a bit later. Is that correct?

Also, I am aiming for a MALÉV flight sometime in Q1 2012, just to have my *G matched to MA Gold in the status match promotion, so I might actually reach Gold before Silver :)

As for the CC, I am just about to apply for a Mastercard Gold card, the co-branded LH card from MKB Bank that's free for LH Senators :)

Actually, it's this issue with the 12 months vs. calendar year that still gets me confused. So I have this BKK trip next week, but I will not reach any status by the end of year. I understand my points will not be reset on Dec 31, 2011 and I can continue collecting my points for status for 12 months. The only advantage for retroactive mileage credit would be that the 12 months start a bit later. Is that correct?

Yes, that's correct. Such a shift could be more important if you are to requalify for a given status level (e.g. after you attain Gold by matching your status), since in that case always the calendar year is the earning period.

As for the CC, I am just about to apply for a Mastercard Gold card, the co-branded LH card from MKB Bank that's free for LH Senators :)

That must be a nice card. :-) I always wonder whether I should have chosen that one over the Malév-Citibank card. However, I am happy with my present card since soon I will have enough miles to book a really long haul flight in F on some decent carrier, like Cathay.

And one thing about status that I forgot to mention: you have soft landing, so even if you don't requalify for Gold, you will have Silver in the following year. And even Silver can have useful benefints: business class check in, extra baggage allowance (MA, AA, AY and maybe others as well) and once it was enough for an OpUp on a packed holiday flight back from Varna.

I In case of Duna Club both the status and earning periods are generally calendar year, extended to the end of next February.

Very useful and detailed post!
I'm Malev Gold based in Italy but soon I will be Silver because of not enough flight this second part of the year.
I have however a precise question: where did you find that status is valid until the END of next February?
In fact on the card it is just written expiry on February 2012 and last week in BA lounge in London (ok, BA people...) they told me that's valid until end of January and not valid anymore from 1st February (when I will have to fly there...:( )
Do you have some link I can print and show them during my next flights there?
I'm sure I wouldn't have such problems in BUD...

Thanks

By the way I can also add that it is quite easy to redeem points on Malev flight (a lot of available dates on every route). I just don't know how will be easy/expensive to redeem on other OW airlines.

Does anyone by the way ever had any experience in booking OW Award Tickets using Malev miles?

Yea just booked two return award J tickets on BA TIA-LGW for beginning of Feb 2012, plenty of availability and all for 100 Euro, good deal I think ! ;-) Duna Club Platinum here so not sure if that altered availability or not.

Very useful and detailed post!

Thanks.

I have however a precise question: where did you find that status is valid until the END of next February?
In fact on the card it is just written expiry on February 2012 and last week in BA lounge in London (ok, BA people...) they told me that's valid until end of January and not valid anymore from 1st February (when I will have to fly there...:( )
Do you have some link I can print and show them during my next flights there?
I'm sure I wouldn't have such problems in BUD...

It is not stated exclusively in the Terms and Conditions, but common sense dictates this - credit cards are labelled in a similar fashion and in all cases I could use them till the end of indicated month. Also, I have repeatedly been told by MA Service Centre that cards should arrive within approximately 6 weeks after the order, and in my experience it is generally true (even in Hungary). It means that one's new card simply won't arrive before 1st February. Something similar is mentioned in the T&C, but it is only for new applications:

Malév shall send the frequent flyer identification code of the Duna Club member to the new member within 8 weeks of receipt of the documents indicated in above paragraph.

I have had very bad general experince with London-based BA staff and MA status, so I'm not sure if you can get in the lounge in February. Sometimes they seem to treat such pax as second class pax (compared to their own same-level elites).

One thing, however, can be useful: BAEC cards (http://press.ba.com/wp-content/uploads/BA_B_CARD_FRONT.jpg) are labelled in the same fashion. And as BA staff can be pretty unknowledgeable about non-BA rules, they might confused your question with one of their (BAEC) rules:

Your card expires one month after your membership year ends, which gives us time to send you your new card.

If your OW Gold is secured by the status match, than I'd say stay with MA Duna Club - especially as you're BUD based.

I am HEL-based and biased against AY+, but as you said yourself - MA redemptions are better, the MA Gold card gives you lounge access system wide, so why bother with AY? The only scenario I'd say you are better off, if you fly a lot on AY metal and need the perks they give their own elites, but not to other OW elites (luggage rules, etc)

Also you can have MA miles earning credit card in HU, making redemptions much easier. No AY earning CCs outside FI (except one available in SE)

EDIT - I just came across this http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/oneworld/1288426-ow-bankruptcies-may-continue-malev.html so MA may not be along for much longer. True, it's been on the brink of bankruptcy for the last 20 years

As you are based in Hungary, another benefit of the MA programme might be interesting for you: a Duna Club elite can travel in 1st class on all domestic InterCity trains for the price of a 2nd class ticket and even the compulsory seat reservation is free of charge.


I didn't know this - might be useful someday. ^