anythursday

It's embarrassing to ask, as a lot of people as mileage run to reach Diamond.

I recently got bumped back to Green. I'll be based in HKG for two years at least and it's nice to have the option of lounges. Not sure if it's WORTH it at the end of the day. So, I figured, I'd ask you all for your opinion.

I don't fly a whole lot in a year. But within the year, I usually always fly 1.5 times from HKG to Toronto. Over the next two years, I foresee trips to Europe and New Zealand. With the new Club Points system, it obviously is more expensive to acquire the points.

Over Christmas period, I saw a flight to Vienna for 10080 vs. 8600 or something. The miles earned would be like 11000 vs. 2700 (approximately). Seems to me a no brainer for the 10080 tickets?

Any advice on trips to maximize the club points? Or should I abandon Cathay? There are some really good deals flying Emirates/Qatar and Eitihad from HKG to Europe.

sxc

Do you normally fly Y class? How far off do you think you'll be to get 300 points?

ashsong

Do you mean that the Vienna ticket priced at 10080 is a J class ticket, given the miles of around 11000?

Which airline in OW is it with?

Sheun

ashsong: I believe it's a CX Y ticket HKG-Europe round trip with a connection on either BA, AB, IB or Niki. I'm guessing because I'm similarly flying HKG-DUS-VIE in two weeks booked on CX website. If similar to my case, the miles would be granted on the CX HKG-Europe round trip only and not on the intra-Europe sectors.

anythursday:
I was in a similar case when I booked mine. I value miles at 1 mile = 0.1 HKD and knowing I wouldn't renew anyways I took the cheapest option.

In your case, it's extra 1480 HKD for extra 8300 miles and supposedly more points. Did you calculate the points difference between the two fares? And as sxc mentionned, how far off you may be at the end of the membership year? If this trip ONLY is enough to make a difference and renew for a whole year I'd say why not go for 10080. But if not enough and you'll have to pay up again when you book your next YVR, NZ and Europe tickets you might want to give up on SL. Personally it has opened to me to many other great airlines.

fakecd

forget it. silver in old scheme (30k for lounge access) was boarderline acceptable. in new system its not worth the cost. if you are flying econ longhaul once a year or twice just spend the savings to PEY to have a better 15hr instead of 30minutes at a cx zoo prior to ur flight.... or better yet move to other airlines.
a thread about where to move is available with comprehensive analysis.

anythursday

Well, I usually fly Y or PEY.

So, I foresee two trips to Europe, which will get me about 80 points on the V fares.

I'll be about 40 points short of SL.

For, 10,068 I get 11,677 and 80 club points. For 8068HKG fare, I get 2,919 miles and virtually no club points.

fluffydot

If you only need 40 TPs, you can consider starting your trip to Europe from TPE.
You can also consider buying PEY fare from Ex-TPE, which is often only marginally more than V fare from HKG.

anythursday

Ouch! I just looked. It cost 6000USD. That's 2-3 times the cost of flying Econ from HKG.

QRC3288

that isn't right, or it's some crazy routing which nobody in their right mind would pay. PEY from TPE should be about the same price as V fare from HKG. Of course this refers to E or R fare, definitely not W. But it should be available. Absolutely nobody pays 6k ex-TPE for PEY tickets (most don't even pay that much ex-TPE for J tickets).

It sounds like you already made up your mind, I'm not 100% sure what you're asking. Miles are worth different to everyone. The fellow above gives you a decent barometer of Asia Miles value, perhaps 0.1-0.2 HKD cents/mile. (1.25-2.5 USD cents).

As for the elite value, you have to consider how much you'll use it and what is the value. We can't tell you this answer black and white. Only you know a.) how much you'll really use it, and b.) how much you value each use. These are more personal value things than something we can tell you.

garykung

Just dump it.

The general consensus @ FT is it is not worth the money for chasing the lowest tier.

Beside - you may earn more TP if you credit to BAEC.

meremale

As you're based in HKG, get the American Express CX Elite card. I believe that would get you lounge access at the Plaza Premium lounges + MPC Green status.

gpia

Only 4 entries to PP lounges per year and min spent of 150K HKD p.a. to avoid charge which cannot be waived otherwise. Would recommend the very insightful credit card thread for more details

triplefives

Being also based out of HKG, I've found that *A flights tend to be much cheaper out of HKG.

To answer your question, I think it would really depend on what type of benefits you're looking to get. Not to snub at MPC Silver, but you're at the bottom of the barrel compared to GO and DM. Also, Lounge access is only limited to 1 whereas *A gold will allow a guest.

However, your chances of being upgraded on a *A flight as a *A gold member are slim to nil (can't comment on OWR but perhaps others can).

Regarding flying patterns, if going to EU, you have competition between OS, LH, TK, CA, SK, and BR (CA and BR have been offering some good deals). Fares tend to be more expensive on the OW airlines (Qatar, CX, BA)