lifetime top status by alliance - attempted summary
Hello everyone. I see that there are numerous threads on lifetime top elite FF status, for example a very useful one here.
So, I will attempt a brief summary to see if I got this right - so, please go ahead and correct me ! I may then edit this post on the basis of the info received in later posts. I will do this only for the three major alliances, as I guess this is what most of us are in for. I will also only focus, in a concise manner, on the highest attainable tier by alliance, i.e. Elite Plus for ST, Gold for *A, and Sapphire for OW (on the understanding that OW Emerald is not available for lifetime in any manner).
Sky Team (to attain ST Elite Plus status)
* AF/KL: Lifetime Platinum after 10 consecutive years of membership at the Platinum level
* DL: Lifetime Platinum after 4M "Medallion Qualifying Miles", i.e. from any ST flights
* KE: Lifetime Million Miler after 1M miles on any ST flights
My assessment: If one does plan to qualify for AF/KL FB Platinum for 10 years, that's best. If not, KE is also very good.
Star Alliance (to attain *A Gold status)
* BM: Lifetime Gold after 10 consecutive years of membership at the Gold level
* CA: Lifetime Platinum after 1M kms on CA-coded flights only
* CO: Unclear, since CO is joining *A just now...
* MS: Lifetime Platinum after 1M miles on MS flights (or all *A flights ??)
* OZ: Lifetime Platinum after 1M miles on Star Alliance flights
* SA: Lifetime Platinum after 6 consecutive years of membership at the Platinum level
* UA: Lifetime Premier Executive after 1 million miles on UA only
My assessment: If one plans to fly enough for 10 or 6 years, BM and SA are good. Otherwise, OZ is the most achievable. We should watch out for clarity on CO and MS though, as that may also bring something good.
Comment and question: It should be noted that many of the above however are not flagship carriers (e.g. BM, CO, OZ, UA), while some are (e.g. MS, SA, not sure about the status of CA). The way airlines are going, I would rely more on the flagship carriers, e.g. MS and SA have a higher chance of continuing to exist, than BM, OZ, or even CO and UA. What do you think ?
Question: does anyone know whether *A plans to introduce anything higher than *A Gold, since so many *A members have two or more tiers that are equivalent to *A Gold ?
One World (to attain OW Sapphire status)
* AA: Lifetime Platinum after 2M miles from any source [However, NB: as AA Platinum, you get no lounge access in AA lounges when travelling on AA domestically, while you would get access as OW Sapphire with another airline]
* QF: Lifetime Gold after 14,000 status credits
Assessment: AA is amazingly easy to achieve. QF is good for those down under.
Question: Am I correct that there is no way to attain lifetime OW Emerald ?
Last edited by welltravelled88; Oct 28, 08 at 8:00 am..
Reason: clarified info on DL as per input received
Thanks a lot kiwiflyer. I did indeed look at that thread and other ones for my summary, but I am trying to do something different: only alliance airlines, only published programmes, and in very concise format. Plus, I added briefly my own assessment and some questions. So I guess I am not duplicating what is done on other threads.
Furthermore, the first post above would be changed as/when I get new information in later posts.
The above information is in fact somewhat repetitive, misleading and/or wrong. Did you mean PLATINUM or TOP lifetime status? I ask because you have included no such tiers (DL has lifetime Silver, Gold AND Platinum available for 1MMMQM, 2MMMQM and 4MMQM respectively - oh, BTW, don;t know where you got your info, hardly any partner flights count other than SKYTEAM partners in which case they all count - unless you are talking about some obscure bargain basement travel agent consolidator fare on Alitalia for example).
The above information is in fact somewhat repetitive, misleading and/or wrong. Did you mean PLATINUM or TOP lifetime status? I ask because you have included no such tiers (DL has lifetime Silver, Gold AND Platinum available for 1MMMQM, 2MMMQM and 4MMQM respectively - oh, BTW, don;t know where you got your info, hardly any partner flights count other than SKYTEAM partners in which case they all count - unless you are talking about some obscure bargain basement travel agent consolidator fare on Alitalia for example).
Thanks a lot hfly ! I have modified the info on DL, to clarify that all ST flights count. So, it's not bad, if you can fly 4M miles. It's still a lot though, when you compare to KE and OZ requiring just 1M flown on the relevant alliance, or AA requiring 2M from any source (including non-flights). However, it's good that all alliance flights count, unlike UA and CA (and MS ?) where only flights on the airline's metal count.
On your question on whether I mean top or platinum, I meant the highest tier which is attainable for lifetime, by alliance, i.e. Elite Plus for ST, Gold for *A, and Sapphire for OW (as I gather that OW Emerald is not attainable for life in any way). I clarified this at the top of the original post too.
AA offers lifetime GOLD status for those who accumulate 1MM, then lifetime PLT at 2MM.
Right, but in order to be concise, I am just focusing on the highest achievable tier for each alliance, which in the case of OW appears to be Sapphire (sadly not Emerald, though). Instead AAdvantage Gold, which is indeed available for 1M miles, means OW Ruby.
Programs: AA Ex Plt, 2.1MM, BMI Diamond, HH Diamond, Hyatt Diamond, SPG Plt
Posts: 6,290
Quote:
Originally Posted by welltravelled88
Right, but in order to be concise, I am just focusing on the highest achievable tier for each alliance, which in the case of OW appears to be Sapphire (sadly not Emerald, though). Instead AAdvantage Gold, which is indeed available for 1M miles, means OW Ruby.
Sorry I skimmed right over that part.
As for the issue of lounge access; AA PLT (OW Saph) members traveling internationally in any class of service get lounge access. So flying SFO-JFK-LHR-VCE, a PLT could visit the Admirals Club in SFO, JFK, and then the BA lounges LHR-VCE.
Continental's Million Miler Program. 1MM = CO Silver = *A Silver. 2MM = CO Gold = *A Gold. 4MM = CO Presidental Plat = *A Gold. Includes EQM from flying on Partner Airlines (i.e. *A now, was SkyTeam). Most of the other *A lifetime statuses are BIS, not EQM. EQM bonus on Full Fare Economy/Business/First is 150% or 200% depending on residency.
