Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus - Start Thai FF or United FF

Should I join the Thai Airways FF plan or just use my United FF number? Any extra benefits?

Situation - I will be traveling roundtrip JFK - BKK (appr 16k miles, econ H class). In addition, I will be relocating to SE Asia this fall (potential one way tix on Thai). I will purchasing my own tixs, while exploring SE Asia (purchases primarily based on cost). In addition, I will be returning to the USA for a visit once a year.

Status - None :o no miles flown this year on United. However, I have sign. number of miles from prior years on BA, Continental, Delta and United.

Thanks for your help!!

Explore SE Asia

It depends on the benefits you want. Each program is different. Also the amout of miles per year... and most importantly WHICH CARRIER you're flying. It's always nice to have status on the carrier you're flying. There are a few exceptions though.

If annual miles are low, I'd make sure you get STAR GOLD status. That could mean AC, OZ, TG, UA or another carrier's mileage plans

have you ever looked at the comparisons at www.WebFlyer.com ? http://www.webflyer.com/programs/ratings_and_reviews/

Also, in my opinion. It's a waste to collect UA miles for non-UA flights. No bonus miles, or other benefits. I like collecting my non-UA flights on another program.

Only time I'd say it's good is if those miles would help you to the next tier of Premier, PremEx, or 1K status.

PS, welcome to Flyertalk... hope you like it here:-)

If you know for sure you will be flying 50K qualifying miles this year, I would highly recommend THAI (TG) ROP Account for 2 very good reasons.

1. You will automatically receive TWO One-Way Upgrade coupons used on any flights TG flies (including BKK-JFK). These 2 coupons are equivalent upto 60-80K miles depending on which flight you will upgrade, which makes up for the elite bonus miles you normally will get from other programs (which is more difficult to redeem) but not get on ROP.
2. Your StarAlliance Gold Status will be valid for 2 full years from the month you reach Gold Level.

Once you get Gold on Thai, then next year, enjoy being Gold on any Star Alliance airlines and you can start accruing another 50K on UA account to get Premier Executive...starting at 25K level, you will start earning Elite bonus miles on every UA flight you fly. Do not renew your Gold status on ROP on this new year since you will receive only one upgrade coupon for renewal. Wait for another year when your Gold is about to expire, then fly another 50K and get 2 coupons.

How does that sound? The TWO upgrade coupons and 2 yrs validity as Gold are really the highlights. :cool:

If you know for sure you will be flying 50K qualifying miles this year, I would highly recommend THAI (TG) ROP Account for 2 very good reasons.

1. You will automatically receive TWO One-Way Upgrade coupons used on any flights TG flies (including BKK-JFK). These 2 coupons are equivalent upto 60-80K miles depending on which flight you will upgrade, which makes up for the elite bonus miles you normally will get from other programs (which is more difficult to redeem) but not get on ROP.
2. Your StarAlliance Gold Status will be valid for 2 full years from the month you reach Gold Level.

Once you get Gold on Thai, then next year, enjoy being Gold on any Star Alliance airlines and you can start accruing another 50K on UA account to get Premier Executive...starting at 25K level, you will start earning Elite bonus miles on every UA flight you fly. Do not renew your Gold status on ROP on this new year since you will receive only one upgrade coupon for renewal. Wait for another year when your Gold is about to expire, then fly another 50K and get 2 coupons.

How does that sound? The TWO upgrade coupons and 2 yrs validity as Gold are really the highlights. :cool:


TG ROP was one of the best programs around but since the latest "enhancements" I'm not sure!If you pay attention to the last threads on this forum you will realize tha if you are a price-based ticket buyer(and OP said he'd be one) you might be disappointed cuz some fares are now non-earning.See discussiand OPon on V,W fares.Somobedy says no mileage accrual,somedoby else says it is 50%....let's see

Cheers

I can't believev I forgot to mention ONE VERY BAD thing about TG ROP that really bothers me.

Miles expire after the 3rd calendar year !!!

MACH81, V and W fares now earn 50 % miles on TG after a 'change of heart! Not sure about other *A carriers though.

I can't believev I forgot to mention ONE VERY BAD thing about TG ROP that really bothers me.

Miles expire after the 3rd calendar year !!!

Same as UMP, but all you need to do with them is either earn or redeem miles once every 36 months to maintain your balance. Would earning miles at a participating restaurant or store count?

Same as UMP, but all you need to do with them is either earn or redeem miles once every 36 months to maintain your balance. Would earning miles at a participating restaurant or store count?
My impression is that miles actually expire in addition to an activity requirement.

Explore SE Asia

Agreed that UMP allows qualifying acitivities to renew the mileage for another 36 months BUT TG ROP expires your miles at the end of the 3rd calendar year no matter what status you are and how many flight/non-flight activities you have. This is what I meant when I said ONE VERY BAD THING ABOUT TG ROP.

Once TG ROP eliminates this restriction, then it can be one of the best programs available within Star Alliance.

I see - thanks for the clarification.

I will soon have the Starwood AMEX card, and it can transfer points to miles for several different airlines. Most are 1 point:1mile, such as Thai, SQ, NW, DL, etc. But United is 2 points:1mile. What I thought of doing is converting points:miles into either Thai or SQ, then using them for travel on United, since it seems that *A points can be used on any other *A airline - correct me if I am wrong. So since the standard domestic US ticket is 25k miles, then 25k SQ miles could be used to buy a UA ticket. So... since Thai has the 3 years expiration clause, I thought about transferring them to SQ - do they have the same clause? Any other recommendations for a *A airline to convert miles to for travel on United? TIA.

To attain a Star Gold Status, both programmes require 50,000 miles per year.
And it is valid for one year on MP, but two years on ROP.
In ROP, you can reach a Gold Status by either earnimg 50,000 miles in a calendar year, or 80,000 miles in two years.
After you have reached a Gold Elite Level on ROP, you will receive a free upgrade voucher that you can use easily on any TG operated-flights.
But, the disadvantage of joining a ROP is that it requires significant more miles than MP. So, it you are thinking of burning your miles on other Star Alliance carriers, I think MP is the programme for you.
One thing we have to take into account is that the future of UA and of course MP is quite uncertain. I am afraid that it may disappear in a matter of time. With current financial situation, UA can not survive in the end.
I am pretty sure other U S carriers will be quite happy to see UA disappear.

One thing we have to take into account is that the future of UA and of course MP is quite uncertain. I am afraid that it may disappear in a matter of time. With current financial situation, UA can not survive in the end.
I am pretty sure other U S carriers will be quite happy to see UA disappear.

I would have to disagree. I believe that the US government does not want to see UA go and thus will do what they can to help. Also, if you've been on UA recently, you will notice the many positive enhancements on the planes, in-flight service, and amenities. I don't think UA is going anywhere. UA MP program is the most generous in STAR Alliance.

Now for the OP's question on the programs. If you will not make *GOLD (and hence get the THAI upgrades for your long hauls), go with UA!!! You will then be able to redeem very few miles (20,000) to travel within SE Asia (EX: between Bangkok and Bali/Singapore/Colombo/Hong Kong/Ho Chi Ming City/ETC.)

Hope that helps!