Scallywag72

Some background first....

My membership year ends the beginning of March. I have requalified for Gold already and thus have this until March 2017 now. I have 800k Avios. With the travel I have lined up for the rest of my membership year, I am on track to attain GGL status and therefore also get my hands on a CCR card - 5,000 BA tier points required to qualify for both now of course.

I have zero status with AA today but with their special offer on now which gives some good points bonuses until the beginning of August (and having another couple of transatlantic Business Class flights coming up before then), I am considering switching from BA to AA loyalty in my upcoming bookings. My principal thought is how few AA miles one needs to get redemption bookings with the likes of Cathay than compared with BA.

I would be grateful for your thoughts and opinions.

Half of me wants the experience of being one of a relatively small number of people globally to be BA GGL + CCR (if but for a year!) but the logical half of me is thinking that AA status could actually bring more real benefits in the mid-term.

All the best and greetings from HNL,

James

flibbly

I can't offer any advice sorry Scallywag, I'm just commenting that I have been harbouring similar thoughts for a while now.

I have just restarted my year on 8/6, and currently have 0 TP, so in some respects now is the time to alter my FFP policy if I'm going to.

Typically I get about 3000-3500 TPs per year, so I will lose GGL if I divert more than the odd flight to AAdv. If I just credit 1500 TPs to BAEC and the rest of my OW flights to AAdv then I would probably only scrape Plat with AA, and would earn perhaps 50-100K AAdv miles per year (figure plucked from thin air so may be totally wrong).

Currently those 50-100K AAdv miles will get me more than the Avios I would be foregoing, but what I need to consider is :

- The consensus seems to be that a big devaluation is heading AAdv's way.
- If I drop GGL status I am unlikely to regain it as I have never had more than 4000TP in a single year.

It seems to me that I am probably risking losing GGL for the sake of one cheaper F/J long haul redemption (as AAdv will be devalued before I can earn enough miles for any more than one), so for now inertia wins again and I will continue to credit everything to BAEC.

corporate-wage-slave

A lot will depend on your precise travel configurations now, in terms of both earning and redemptions. AA may need fewer miles, particularly on connecting services, but how will your mileage collection stack up? It depends a lot on what sort of flights you make since 1 Avios isn't directly 1 AA mile. You also need to think about whether you are using RFS or Iberia services. Also note the lack of soft landings between AA's levels.

I would be a bit wary of trying to double hat AA and BA. Even at my level I didn't find it sensible or practical in terms of outcomes, it takes a lot of work to make it happen, more time than I've probably got. So I stick to one scheme per Alliance, though I do run IB (which all BAEC members should do). Also when Lifetime GGL was introduced I wasn't immediately able to take advantage of that due to the fact that I had shoved too many trips to AA. You may take the view that Lifetime Gold or GGL is unobtainable, but maybe your future travel plans will change.

BillyBleach

Also if you reach AA Executive Platinum (BA Gold equivalent) you get 8 one way upgrade vouchers, that can be used on American metal.

wemyss

The 8 system wide upgrades are tempting if you reach Exec PLT; also get them as you go through each 'million miler' threshold with AA, and IMO, you are recognised and treated very well, especially if changes needed, delays etc. The 500 mile 'stickers' come in handy too...
The rumour is that AAdvantage will change /devalue but not yet...but only needing 120,000 miles to redeem a FIRST award (round trip), from Europe to OZ is such good value (with QANTAS, Emirates (as a codeshare), or Etihad now allowable. What are your travel plans?

Dave Noble

AA points can be worth so much more than BA points that I would be jumping in a heartbeat. 1 transatlantic return can get you to Platinum status via the challenge and be getting 100% bonus thereafter.

If you want to redeem for travel to Asia / South PAcific particularly , the redemption rates are very low compared to BA - plus of course, none of those fuel surcharges if you avoid redeeming on BA

If you can get to Executive Platinum status ( which if travelling business class may need only 50,000 miles now ) and the 8 systemwide upgrades are a great deal

Not entirely true. You can do 60k oneway with QF , CX, MH, QR , JL, BA ( if you fancy paying surcharges) and maybe some others, but not Emirates (codeshare or otherwise). Etihad is valid for redemption but would cost 75k since it would require 2 awards

You can earn miles for travel on Qantas codeshares on Emirates

wemyss

Thanks!

Scallywag72

Thank you wemyss and indeed all who have commented. Indeed it is the 8 system wide upgrades that are very tempting added to the requirement to use far less miles for redeeming premium class long haul travel to Asia exactly as you wrote wemyss. I have signed up with Iberia as well!

My booked travel is as follows:

- mid-July: DUB-LCY-JFK-MIA-SJU and back...
- early August: DUB-LCY-JFK-LAS and back...
- mid-August: DUB-LCY-JFK-SAN and back...
- end of November: DUB-LCY-JFK-LAS-DFW-LHR-DUB

I am tempted to sign up for the AA booster miles offer in the coming several days and switch to AA for all of the above. I am less than a quarter of the way to lifetime Gold with BA but could potentiall be a third of the way there or more come the end of this BA year for me. That is the only nagging litle thought at the back of my mind. A first world problem I know and not something I should dwell on loads.

Cheers,

James

Dave Noble

That looks like it is over 60,000 flown miles

Assuming business class, do some if it on AA and can get Executive Platinum from it.

Would suggest doing the Platinum challenge too to get some extra miles

Scallywag72

Hello Dave. Indeed all the transatlatic legs are in Business and First within the USA.