arcticfox

Hi,

With my current job & soon new job, when my BA or LH/LX flights get cancelled between LHR & STR or ZRH, I frequently end up rerouted on Air France or KLM via Paris or Amsterdam. To date I haven't bothered to join a SkyTeam FF programme, but as I will now be travelling much more regularly, thought I might as well get some miles/points for the inconvenience. Can anyone recommend which partner programme would be best to join? Flights normally in economy (usually full when re-routed), so looking to maximise miles. I doubt I would end up with enough longhaul distance or total segments to get any higher level status, though as each re-route normally means 2 sectors a shot, it would be useful to know if any of the partners use segments for qualification. I may do the odd long haul to the US our of BRS which I think may qualify also.

Thanks,

J

dvs7310

NW and CO both count segments for elite qualification purposes, however NW is tricky.
For CO: Full Y fares will count as double on KL/AF, so that's going to mean 4 segment credits each way for an AF/KL round trip. You'll also earn 150% of your miles flown toward elite qualification using either of these programs.
For NW: AF Y fares will earn 150% EQMs but NW isn't clear about segment count (1 I think), however KL Y fares will only earn at 100% EQMs and no segment count (the way I read the NW page)

DL is also good for KL/AF fares but no segment count, miles only for elite qualification. Same 150% EQM credit for Y fares as CO.

The tricky part is going to be deciding which program is best for you.

If you are always using full Y fares, then Flying Blue might be just fine for you. If you find yourself on Skyteam carriers on lower fares then DL & NW are best (CO still gives full mileage credit but only 50% elite credit on cheaper fares). If you know you won't qualify for any eilte level then NW, DL, and CO would be about equal for flying around Europe and trans-Atlantic.

Next delima:
-NW won't let you sign up online with a European address. You would need someones address in North America or Asia to use (you really don't need any of the mail they might send you).
-DL has absurd fees for award tickets originating in Europe.
-CO is considering leaving Skyteam, so your earning potential may be limited depending on what the outcome is. Details will probably be released soon on which alliance they decide on.

-DL & NW have agreed to merge. If the proposed merger actually makes it through government approval later this year then NW & DL frequent flyer accounts will get merged and become DL accounts. This will likely mean losing the advantages that the current NW account has over the DL account.

One further option I might suggest is look at OK Plus. I think its a decent program, however they don't publish a Skyteam earnings chart anywhere that I can find. If you fly to/from PRG then they have free upgrades for elites.

arcticfox

Hi,

Thanks for the info & advice - from your response, it is still a bit unclear which would be best or rather "least inconvenient" - all the options you mention have downsides for my particular situation. Re OK Plus - this looks worth a closer inspection, though I still can't find details of which Skyteam flights would qualify for segments. I did find info on the mileage earning (I think!) in the OK Plus handbook pdf file at:

http://www.czechairlines.co.uk/en/po..._guide_pdf.pdf

My initial guess would be that flights qualifying for miles may also qualify for segments at similar rates (is this a sensible assumption?), but will perhaps contact them to check. It would be great if someone could advise how good this scheme looks in terms of mileage earning/spending & qualifying segment rates against other partners.

Will also have a look at the other US carriers - CO sounds pretty good, though the risk of leaving Skyteam is a pain. Any ideas when a decision is expected or on which forum I should look for updates? Apologies for my newbie questions - I'm still getting my bearings!!

Many thanks,

J

cfischer

If you are talking about Y as in full Y you should go with AF-KL FB. 200% miles and 750 min. so with one connection you get 6000 miles return!

dvs7310

I only see that applying to AF flights (I'm assuming full Y is "Tempo Challenge" ??, website isn't clear), not KL flights. KL flights will only earn at 100%. In addition, I also don't see where Flying Blue says it has a double segment count (correct me if I'm wrong, its not clear how segments accumulate on the Flying Blue website)

Lets say one uses all AF flights (probably not ideal since CDG is far less desirable than AMS) then it would take 25,000 miles or 15 segments to make silver. At 6,000 miles per round trip it would take 3.75 trips (assuming 1 segment credit per flight flown) to make Silver on segments when you begin to earn a 50% elite mileage bonus. You would be looking at 7, in your case I don't know what your ratio of AF vs KL flights are but this will change the time it takes to earn any status.

If you use CO using the double credit then it will take 30 segments to make Silver will take the same 3.75 Round trips, but that will also apply to KL flights not just AF. Same 50% elite bonus.

Now if you keep flying another 3.75 round trips then you'll make Gold which on CO is a 100% mileage bonus where FB is only 75%. FB has a huge benefit over CO at this point however, FB Gold is Elite Plus in Skyteam while CO, NW, and DL are not Elite Plus until you make platinum.


As to your other questions:
Not all skyteam airlines use segments for elite qualification. I don't know if OK does or not.

You can watch the CO forum for updates on a decision of whether to stay in Skyteam or go elsewhere.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=488

There isn't a perfect answer to your dilemma. Most Skyteam carriers don't give any more than 100% mileage credit for Y fares (EQM or RDM). To take advantage of this you'll probably need to use Flying Blue or one of the 3 American programs.

As far as redemption goes, with CO fees and taxes are MUCH cheaper than with FB and most mileage redemption rates are the same or similar in the two programs.

Earning rates are fairly similar for RDMs in both programs. CO is bad for EQMs on cheap fares, you're safe on most mid-upper priced Economy fare classes. FB is really bad for KL & NW V fares (common for cheap trans-atlantic flights) but CO gives no credit at all for KL V fares (though it does for NW).


You'll have to assess how many segments and miles you'll likely put on. If you'll only make silver or lower then I'd lean toward CO or an American program. If you will make gold then AF would look really good just because of Elite Plus (free lounge access when on same day international Skyteam itineraries).

bwilson831

I could be out of date here, (but I'm sure someone will point it out if so ) but I moved from CO to FB because redemption opportunities if you're Europe-based are minimal. If you regularly travel to/within the USA then CO's fine but if you're predominantly travelling elsewhere then I'd go with FB.

Having loads of points is no good if you can't burn 'em

dvs7310

Well you may scratch CO off your list now. Announcement has been made to go to Star Alliance. It will take some time to make the move and will likely be sometime next year.

cfischer

no double segment count with FB and 200% is on full Y with AF and KL. Tempo Challenge is also 200%.

dvs7310

I wasn't able to find that on the website. I saw the 200% for AF, but couldn't find anything for KL. Can you provide the link(s) for this?

layz

KL is 100% for any economy ticket except for the 25% earning N and V. 200% is for KLM Europe Select which is a premium economy product similar to Tempo Challenge but this books into the business fare classes.