Q-STO

Hi everyone,

currently based in Paris, I will soon relocate to Manchester UK.
I am trying to reduce my number of FFP memberships (too many now!)

My current memberships:
SkyTeam: AF FB Platinum
*A: LH M&M Blue / SK EBB Basic / TK Classic
OW: AA Basic / AB topbonus Classic / AY Basic /
Others: FlyBe / Malmö Aviation Basic (!)

(1) What is most important to you in a FFP?
Reply: Lounge access.

(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors?
Reply: <25000 but 50-60 flights (only intra-Europe)

(3) What types of fares do you usually buy?
Reply: cheapest (both for business and pleasure)

(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Reply: for business I must go for the cheapest fare. For pleasure, obviously I sticked to AF until now (to maintain Plat status).

(5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often?
Reply: CDG-MAN / CDG-ZRH / MAN-ZRH.

(6) What is your home airport?
Reply: will be MAN.

(7) Do you have FFP status of any kind in OW or other airline? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP?
Reply: see above

(8) Preferred Airlines? Most common Airlines flown on?
Reply: currently AF.

Thanks a lot for your feedback!

bhomburg

Being based in MAN, the logical program would be BA. There's really no other OW option from there, so you'll sit on their planes a lot.
You will need to achieve silver (OW sapphire) for lounge access, which you'd need to earn 600 tier points for. One MAN-LHR-CDG/ZRH return will now only award you 20 of them (five for each segment, earnings halved compared to pre-April 28!) when booked in the lowest three fare buckets, so you''ll get to Silver after 30 return flights or 60 segments - the same as qualifying for Silver on Airberlin with 60 segments.
AA would let you qualify after 50 segments, but seeing you say you aren't flying to the US they are out due to their four flights on AA metal requirement.

Tip: Apply for a status match with AB leveraging your FB status. They'll likely match it to Gold, so you'll get a head start on enjoying the BA lounges . BA doesn't do this normally.

.

Armodeen

To be honest you might as well stick to AF as you will have to connect via LHR anyway and at least on AF one of your 3 routes is direct. And you have the status already.

orbis

Im both MPC Green and EY Silver. Im thinking of shifting from EY Guest Program to QR Privilege Club in light of the recent changes in EY FFP. As much as I like CX, EY and QR fares are just more attractive hence the dilemma.

Travel habits mostly follow this pattern: Buy Business Class fare and upgrade with miles to First when available. I hardly redeem for full J or F fare.

Questions

(1) What is most important to you in a FFP?
availability of upgrade space with points>ease of upgrading>status recognition>lounge access

(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors?
25000-50000, usually paid in business and upgrade to first with miles. 2-3 long haul from Asia to Europe/America and maybe 8-10 short hauls intra-asia.

(3) What types of fares do you usually buy?
Business

(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
I can choose. Mostly work and pleasure

(5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often?

Reply: SE Asia to Europe, Intra Asia

(6) What is your home airport?

Reply: Currently MNL

(7) Do you have FFP status of any kind in OW or other airline? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP?

Reply:MPC Green: 160 k banked from CC, EY Guest around 120 k from flights but recently used half of it for upgrade before the planned devaluation

(8) Preferred Airlines? Most common Airlines flown on?
EY long haul Europe, CX long and medium haul (Australia/US), PR short haul

Would appreciate your help as Im deciding whether I stick with MPC or shift to QR and ditch EY altogether.

Thanks for starting this thread by the way... very helpful for newbies like me!

Gardyloo

Why not buy tickets on QR and credit them to CX? Full partners, equivalent earnings in business cabins. http://www.asiamiles.com/am/en/earn/airlines

Mwenenzi

The airline you fly and the airline ffp you credit those flights to does not need to be same. That is what ffp partner's are all about. But check earnings

EY, QR and CX are both partners of AA (EY is a non alliance partners)

Upgrades tend to be only on the airline you fly with that airlines miles (but there are expensive exceptions)

orbis

Thanks a lot for the suggestion guys!
Looked through both programs again and seems like better deal on upgrades (considering flight times on long haul from HKG are longer so you get more bang for your buck) and easier to search for availability with CX so Ill probably stick with MPC..

jonnny

Hi All,

Reviewing my FFP option this year with the recent devaluations, potential no more soft landing at BA.

Currently BA Gold ending in Sept based in TLV with the following upcoming flights:
TLV-JFK-TLV (business)
TLV-LHR-SEA-JFK-AUS-MIA-DFW-HNL-NRT-SIN-CMB-PVG-LHR-TLV (DONE)

Usually fly TLV-LHR / TLV-NYC (3/4 times a year in business).

Questions

(1) What is most important to you in a FFP?
redemption costs + Taxes and availability>status recognition>lounge access

(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors?
TLV-LHR and TLV-NYC 3 or 4 times a year in business/Economy and a DONE every year or two

(3) What types of fares do you usually buy?
Business long haul Economy short haul

(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
I choose mixture of both

(5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often?

TLV-LHR and TLV-NYC on BA/AA/IBERIA

(6) What is your home airport:

TLV

(7) Do you have FFP status of any kind in OW or other airline? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP?

BA Gold

(8) Preferred Airlines? Most common Airlines flown on?
BA/IBERIA/AA

Any help appreciated in considering AA over BA?

Thanks

J

bhomburg

given that you can satisfy the four-AA-segments minimum with your US flights and they now have service to TLV thanks to the merger switching to AA would be something I`d seriously consider.
AAdvantage has cheaper longhaul redemptions without scamcharges on most carriers (except BA...), way better earning than BA post-April28 devaluation, and you'll get eight systemwide upgrades upon qualifying for top tier.
Pretty much the only thing you'll miss are the RFS redemptions and lounge access on domestic AA itineraries.

With the ongoing "more EQPs" promotion, you'll easily qualify for Executive Platinum all the way through Feb. 2017 with just the DONE and the NYC flight you listed as upcoming (the flights need to be AA/US marketed to qualify, though!), should you make the switch now.

Long-term, AA might follow BA and the other two US legacies and massively devalue the program at some time in 2016. But this will still leave you with OW Emerald status while you can re-evaluate.

Gardyloo

Agree with this. Even though AA flies from TLV to PHL, the fastest connection through PHL (to LGA) will likely put you on the street in NYC quicker than the fastest LHR routing, counting time for border controls. And the US longhaul J product is pretty darned good.

jonnny

Thanks bhomburg and Gardyloo.

Looks like I will be investigating AA further.

J

ashokandseenu

Hi,

I'm trying to pick a OneWorld programme that is most appropriate for me. Need help, please.

(1) What is most important to you in a FFP?
Redemption and long validity (preferably no expiry)

(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors?
<50,000, spread across Star Alliance, SkyMiles, Oneworld and LCCs

(3) What types of fares do you usually buy?
Cheapest direct (or one-stop) fares.

(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Yes, I can choose my airline. I travel mainly for pleasure. Business for work, economy for pleasure

(5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often?
Asia (couple times a year) and Asia to Europe/US (once or twice a year)

(6) What is your home airport?
SIN

(7) Do you have FFP status of any kind in OW or other airline? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP?
Nothing much - SQ Krisflyer Silver (Star) and Delta SkyMiles Elite Silver (Skyteam). No OW membership yet.

(8) Preferred Airlines? Most common Airlines flown on?
No preference for pleasure - pick the most convenient airline that's reasonably priced. Mostly SQ for business.


Thanks a lot for your help.

robaj

Hi team,

Sorry for this.

I switched from AirNZ Airpoints after flying about 200,000 miles with that program in 2013, and barely made silver status. I'd been a FF since 1998 - but enough was enough.

I joined Aegean. I got to StarAlliance Gold within weeks. Very happy, even with their new program, as I fly Aegean 3-5 times a year anyway.

However, I decided to switch over to OW, as I've also been a QFF since 1999. Happily, I started earning well, as OW covered more territory.

Within 5 months I was Gold (up from an ambient Silver), and after another 5 months (May) I'd earned QFF Platinum.

However, Qantas is quite sloppy. If I travel more than three legs (as I frequently do), the first leg is ALWAYS "forgotten". It takes time to follow up, do phone ins, etc, and I'm ALWAYS pretty shocked that I receice so few miles and so few status points.

TODAY, I'm three days away from my year-end; and my account says "65 points to go" (of the 1400 target), still, yet to be recognised as Platinum.

However, I know I've flown at least 180 points that they are yet to credit, includiIng a trip from Athens to Doha (7hrs), and Singapore to Sydney (7hrs), a Doha to Singapore (6hrs) and a Sydney to Auckland (3hrs), plus a Business Class trip Nadi to Auckland (3hrs), economy AKL/KUL (9 hrs), and a second SYD/AKL... It's always a problem when I go to New Zealand!

So, I'm no mileage sloth. But I always feel I'm getting a raw deal. QFF always seeming to book me in Discount Economy, despite expensive fares, maybe because i generally book my tickets 3-12 hours out; yet I fly about 400,000 actual miles per year, and rewarded with maybe 250,000 'accrual' miles despite the "multipliers" - (flight spend is around $50k/year). So i feel very short changed, and frustrated.

My question: given I have gold (at least) for another year (OW*Saphire), plus SA*Gold; and will probably maintain the 300,000+ miles per year (yep, 20-90 hours per month, wheels up)....

Where should I place my loyalty ($$!) - (given I don't really trust the QFF programs ability to recognise my actual travel/value/use - just as I've previously moved off AirNZ?


(1) What is most important to you in a FFP?
Reply: Last minute check in. Consistent recognition. Good Operational upgrades. Large network.

(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors?
Reply: >400,000 miles & >100 flights per year (mostly cheapest available).

(3) What types of fares do you usually buy?
Reply: fastest connections.

(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Reply: cheapest available. My wife is increasingly coming with me on work trips.

(5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often?
Reply: Europe to Pacific. Asia to Africa, Asia/Europe. Pacific/US.

(6) What is your home airport?
Reply: Singapore, Auckland, London and Athens. A little SFO or Dulles/DC.

(7) Do you have FFP status of any kind in OW or other airline? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP?
Reply: 300K Miles in Qantas Gold/Platinum. 100k miles in Aegean Gold. Just started earning status in Skyteam.

(8) Preferred Airlines? Most common Airlines flown on?
Reply: Cathay has probably the best staff. Then prefer Fiji Airways, Singapore, Etihad, Emirates, Qatar, Qantas, Turkish, AirNZ, Aegean, BA, in that order, then the rest. Fly often (but less than the above) on Air France/KLM, Korean, United, American, Lufthansa, LLCs, and South African... Don't prefer Virgin as they gave me a ratty deal on an airnz codeshare for status/mileage LHR-SFO-AKL once. Although their Upper Class lounge was nice, I've not used them since.

Also... I'm not against buying access. Like the Chairman's Club at United (if they still call it that)...

bhomburg

The only major OW program that hasn't massively reduced earnings on cheapest tickets is AAdvantage - for now. However, that is valid only for their own flights, plus the transatlantic JV partners (BA,IB, AY). Most discount economy fares on Cathay flights earn zero, for example... But then, you say you usually book last minute, so "cheapest available" may well full-fare - and those earn quite well with all partners.
They also partner with Fiji, even with decent earning - but those miles aren't status-qualifying except on AA codeshares.

I'd also have a look at Qatar Privilege Club.
And as you say you like CX the most, why not Asia Miles? Beware they're apparently revamping the program and are scheduled to move to a spend-based system - which may not be all that bad for you after all.

Buying status used to be possible on US Airways until last year ($4,000 for top tier) but that has been discontinued. To my knowledge, there's no oneworld program that let you purchase top tier status outright currently.

Desiderius1980

Hello I would like to have your opinion if I should simply stay with MPO where I just became silver or if I should switch to another program to get to emerald status faster.

(1) What is most important to you in a FFP?
My Company travel policy don't let me fly J so being able to use the loung is important for me, then award access is important.

(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors?

I do CDG-HKG every two month with a lot of domestic flight in greater China. I will also soon often make CDG-VIE.
it should be around 80k to 100k
(3) What types of fares do you usually buy?
I can fly up to premium economy class

(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure:

I can choose the airlines when I travel for work.


(5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often?
I use CX for international and any airlines in china/Taiwan

(6) What is your home airport?

CDG

(7) Do you have FFP status of any kind in OW or other airline? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP?

I just got MPO silver. I also have 50k miles on FB from a previous life

(8) Preferred Airlines? Most common Airlines flown on?

I like cx because it's very efficient when I go to HKG.


Thank you in advance foir your insight.
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