Jan 20, 2016, 10:53 pm
Last edit by: jtet
A number of threads have been started with members asking for guidance on which mileage programme they should join. In order to help users I have started this thread to allow people to post their requests for information here and to allow people to offer assistance.
For members asking for information please help people to assist you, can you provide:
(1) What is your home airport? (SFO, LAX, MCO, etc.)
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ? (C, F, Y, etc.)
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it? (UA Silver, M&M Senator etc)
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? (Frequent upgrades on travel, priority services when flying the airline, good award redemption rates, free lounge access, etc.)
(6) Which routes do you fly most often (US Domestic, Transpacific etc)
(7) Preferred Airlines
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? (Can you chooose your airlines, class of service?)
GENERAL INFORMATION:
If you fly less than 50k miles per year: it is almost guaranteed that your choice will be between Aegean Airlines, Turkish Airlines, and Asiana Airlines. Please look up these airlines' frequent flier programs, and make a decision as to which best suits your needs.
Some considerations to take into account:
Airlines tend to treat members of their own frequent flier program better than members of other frequent flier programs. If you fly one of these airlines, it is recommended that you choose that airline.
Some airlines have better earning/redemption charts for your pattern. For example, if you fly on cheap fares on a certain airline often, Turkish might give you miles for it, while Aegean might not. However, Turkish Airlines might charge much more for the redemption that you want to make than Aegean.
Asiana Airlines offers lifetime Star Alliance Gold for 500k miles over life. The other 2 airlines do not offer this benefit.
Asiana Airlines has a credit card in the USA and some other countries. If you are interested in credit cards, check to make sure that the program that you join has a credit card in your country.
If you still aren't sure which frequent flyer program is for you after looking these up, feel free to ask on this thread.
For members asking for information please help people to assist you, can you provide:
(1) What is your home airport? (SFO, LAX, MCO, etc.)
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ? (C, F, Y, etc.)
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it? (UA Silver, M&M Senator etc)
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? (Frequent upgrades on travel, priority services when flying the airline, good award redemption rates, free lounge access, etc.)
(6) Which routes do you fly most often (US Domestic, Transpacific etc)
(7) Preferred Airlines
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? (Can you chooose your airlines, class of service?)
GENERAL INFORMATION:
If you fly less than 50k miles per year: it is almost guaranteed that your choice will be between Aegean Airlines, Turkish Airlines, and Asiana Airlines. Please look up these airlines' frequent flier programs, and make a decision as to which best suits your needs.
Some considerations to take into account:
Airlines tend to treat members of their own frequent flier program better than members of other frequent flier programs. If you fly one of these airlines, it is recommended that you choose that airline.
Some airlines have better earning/redemption charts for your pattern. For example, if you fly on cheap fares on a certain airline often, Turkish might give you miles for it, while Aegean might not. However, Turkish Airlines might charge much more for the redemption that you want to make than Aegean.
Asiana Airlines offers lifetime Star Alliance Gold for 500k miles over life. The other 2 airlines do not offer this benefit.
Asiana Airlines has a credit card in the USA and some other countries. If you are interested in credit cards, check to make sure that the program that you join has a credit card in your country.
If you still aren't sure which frequent flyer program is for you after looking these up, feel free to ask on this thread.
Need advice on which *A FF scheme to join? - please post here
Nov 25, 2016, 6:11 pm
#1846
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: American Airlines ExecPlat, Asiana Diamond
Posts: 127
(1) What is your home airport? (SFO, LAX, MCO, etc.)
LAX
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ? (C, F, Y, etc.)
Usually discount Economy or Business.
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
I would say around 125K-150K
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it? (UA Premier, M&M Senator etc)
AA Executive Platinum. Had Aegean but wasn't able to keep the *G renewal this year due to lack of *A travel (mostly was on AA, the amount of flights I would have had to book for a mile run to keep Aegean was a bit expensive), but next year should pick up.
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? (Frequent upgrades on travel, priority services when flying the airline, good award redemption rates, free lounge access, etc.)
Just *G lounge access and priority boarding.
(6) Which routes do you fly most often (US Domestic, Transpacific etc)
For *A, mostly international.
(7) Preferred Airlines
Usually only fly United, Air Canada, South Africa for *A
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? (Can you choose your airlines, class of service?)
Work, so a majority of the time it's either I pick Economy for domestic or International, or have PE or Biz booked for me international.
I'm leaning to OZ since the 40k over two years seems pretty doable, especially since I can have down years where I fly less *A. Turkish seems to earn a bit more mile % but one year might be difficult.
LAX
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ? (C, F, Y, etc.)
Usually discount Economy or Business.
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
I would say around 125K-150K
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it? (UA Premier, M&M Senator etc)
AA Executive Platinum. Had Aegean but wasn't able to keep the *G renewal this year due to lack of *A travel (mostly was on AA, the amount of flights I would have had to book for a mile run to keep Aegean was a bit expensive), but next year should pick up.
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? (Frequent upgrades on travel, priority services when flying the airline, good award redemption rates, free lounge access, etc.)
Just *G lounge access and priority boarding.
(6) Which routes do you fly most often (US Domestic, Transpacific etc)
For *A, mostly international.
(7) Preferred Airlines
Usually only fly United, Air Canada, South Africa for *A
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? (Can you choose your airlines, class of service?)
Work, so a majority of the time it's either I pick Economy for domestic or International, or have PE or Biz booked for me international.
I'm leaning to OZ since the 40k over two years seems pretty doable, especially since I can have down years where I fly less *A. Turkish seems to earn a bit more mile % but one year might be difficult.
Dec 19, 2016, 12:00 pm
#1847
Join Date: Dec 2016
Programs: EgyptAir, British Airways, Delta Airways
Posts: 5
Any recommendations
(1) What is your home airport? DCA, IAD
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ? Y or lower. Usually lower.
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? 25k-50k
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it? EgyptAir Silver, but I will lose it in a couple of weeks. British Airways, Bronze.
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? Travel rewards.
(6) Which routes do you fly most often? Similar amount of US domestic and International. Decent amount of traveling from/to Middle East (specifically Egypt, Kuwait, UAE, and Jordan)
(7) Preferred Airlines? None.
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? Pleasure and usually economy.
Also, Do you think that I should switch from BA to AA?
Thank you in advance for your time and effort in helping me.
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ? Y or lower. Usually lower.
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? 25k-50k
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it? EgyptAir Silver, but I will lose it in a couple of weeks. British Airways, Bronze.
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? Travel rewards.
(6) Which routes do you fly most often? Similar amount of US domestic and International. Decent amount of traveling from/to Middle East (specifically Egypt, Kuwait, UAE, and Jordan)
(7) Preferred Airlines? None.
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? Pleasure and usually economy.
Also, Do you think that I should switch from BA to AA?
Thank you in advance for your time and effort in helping me.
Dec 21, 2016, 10:29 am
#1848
Join Date: Jul 2016
Programs: United MileagePlus
Posts: 6
(1) What is your home airport?
LAX
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ? (C, F, Y, etc.)
Almost always business or first (J / A)
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
I earned 150K United Award Miles this year
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it?
UA Premier Platinum (currently 6K PQM's away from 1K)
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP?
Priority Services. Award Redemptions
(6) Which routes do you fly most often
US to Europe roundtrip at least 6 times a year. Next year it will be more like 10 roundtrips.
(7) Preferred Airlines
I love flying on Lufthansa
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure?
Pleasure
LAX
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ? (C, F, Y, etc.)
Almost always business or first (J / A)
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
I earned 150K United Award Miles this year
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it?
UA Premier Platinum (currently 6K PQM's away from 1K)
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP?
Priority Services. Award Redemptions
(6) Which routes do you fly most often
US to Europe roundtrip at least 6 times a year. Next year it will be more like 10 roundtrips.
(7) Preferred Airlines
I love flying on Lufthansa
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure?
Pleasure
Dec 21, 2016, 10:37 am
#1849
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: MEL CHC
Posts: 21,019
(1) What is your home airport?
LAX
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ? (C, F, Y, etc.)
Almost always business or first (J / A)
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
I earned 150K United Award Miles this year
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it?
UA Premier Platinum (currently 6K PQM's away from 1K)
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP?
Priority Services. Award Redemptions
(6) Which routes do you fly most often
US to Europe roundtrip at least 6 times a year. Next year it will be more like 10 roundtrips.
(7) Preferred Airlines
I love flying on Lufthansa
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure?
Pleasure
LAX
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ? (C, F, Y, etc.)
Almost always business or first (J / A)
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
I earned 150K United Award Miles this year
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it?
UA Premier Platinum (currently 6K PQM's away from 1K)
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP?
Priority Services. Award Redemptions
(6) Which routes do you fly most often
US to Europe roundtrip at least 6 times a year. Next year it will be more like 10 roundtrips.
(7) Preferred Airlines
I love flying on Lufthansa
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure?
Pleasure
Why change??
If buying business or first class, ffp's do not do that much for you.
The grass in not always greener on the other side
Dec 23, 2016, 6:00 pm
#1850
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania
Programs: Milege+, SkyMiles, AAdvantage, HHonors Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,685
(1) What is your home airport? ABE or EWR
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ? First
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? 36,000 miles
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? No status. Always have miles banked with UA.
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? Good award redemption
(6) Which routes do you fly most often? 80% US Domestic and at least 1 trip EWR to Europe
(7) Preferred Airlines UA
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? (Can you choose your airlines, class of service?) Always for pleasure. Yes I choose both airline and class of service.
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ? First
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? 36,000 miles
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? No status. Always have miles banked with UA.
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? Good award redemption
(6) Which routes do you fly most often? 80% US Domestic and at least 1 trip EWR to Europe
(7) Preferred Airlines UA
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? (Can you choose your airlines, class of service?) Always for pleasure. Yes I choose both airline and class of service.
Dec 24, 2016, 3:13 am
#1851
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BOS/EAP
Programs: UA 1K, MR LTT, HH Dia, Amex Plat
Posts: 32,040
(1) What is your home airport? ABE or EWR
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ? First
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? 36,000 miles
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? No status. Always have miles banked with UA.
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? Good award redemption
(6) Which routes do you fly most often? 80% US Domestic and at least 1 trip EWR to Europe
(7) Preferred Airlines UA
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? (Can you choose your airlines, class of service?) Always for pleasure. Yes I choose both airline and class of service.
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ? First
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? 36,000 miles
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? No status. Always have miles banked with UA.
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? Good award redemption
(6) Which routes do you fly most often? 80% US Domestic and at least 1 trip EWR to Europe
(7) Preferred Airlines UA
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? (Can you choose your airlines, class of service?) Always for pleasure. Yes I choose both airline and class of service.
if you fly 36k miles a year in F mostly on UA ... why do you not have status? What am I missing here. From your travel pattern you should stick with UA with 200% PQM on premium fares and miles per dollar. If somehow you just get incredibly cheap A fares then perhaps consider LH if you are looking for domestic UA redemption.
Dec 24, 2016, 3:16 am
#1852
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BOS/EAP
Programs: UA 1K, MR LTT, HH Dia, Amex Plat
Posts: 32,040
(1) What is your home airport?
LAX
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ? (C, F, Y, etc.)
Almost always business or first (J / A)
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
I earned 150K United Award Miles this year
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it?
UA Premier Platinum (currently 6K PQM's away from 1K)
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP?
Priority Services. Award Redemptions
(6) Which routes do you fly most often
US to Europe roundtrip at least 6 times a year. Next year it will be more like 10 roundtrips.
(7) Preferred Airlines
I love flying on Lufthansa
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure?
Pleasure
LAX
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ? (C, F, Y, etc.)
Almost always business or first (J / A)
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
I earned 150K United Award Miles this year
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it?
UA Premier Platinum (currently 6K PQM's away from 1K)
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP?
Priority Services. Award Redemptions
(6) Which routes do you fly most often
US to Europe roundtrip at least 6 times a year. Next year it will be more like 10 roundtrips.
(7) Preferred Airlines
I love flying on Lufthansa
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure?
Pleasure
Dec 24, 2016, 9:22 am
#1854
Join Date: Nov 2016
Programs: UA*S, AA Plat, HH Diamond, Bonvoy Gold, Hyatt Explorist
Posts: 256
Hi all, I'm inquiring for a family friend -- I've tried to provide as much info as possible and please feel free to ask for clarification 
Thanks in advance!
(1) What is your home airport?
PEK (China), GRU/GIG (Brazil), this may change every few years due to work.
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy?
C for work, mostly Y for pleasure.
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
~50k.
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it?
ST E+: FB Gold, *A: CA *S (used to be *G but did not fly enough on *A to requalify this year).
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP?
Award redemption -- we'll mostly redeem *A tickets for the South American region for now, but due to work, this may change significantly (say to the Europe or Asia region) and we'd like to be able to redeem awards as easily as possible on many *A carriers at a good mileage price.
Also lifetime status would be a bonus so we can enjoy the elite benefits after retiring
(6) Which routes do you fly most often:
Right now the preferred route is via AF (so GIG-CDG-PEK and back) but this has to change and we're looking into switching to *A. This would put us flying either via FRA on LH or JNB on SA (or YYZ on Air Canada, but never tried before)
(7) Preferred Airlines
LH, CM, TP. Open to any choice though.
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure?
Work. Full flexibility on routing, carriers, etc. as long as it's a C ticket.
Thanks in advance!(1) What is your home airport?
PEK (China), GRU/GIG (Brazil), this may change every few years due to work.
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy?
C for work, mostly Y for pleasure.
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
~50k.
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it?
ST E+: FB Gold, *A: CA *S (used to be *G but did not fly enough on *A to requalify this year).
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP?
Award redemption -- we'll mostly redeem *A tickets for the South American region for now, but due to work, this may change significantly (say to the Europe or Asia region) and we'd like to be able to redeem awards as easily as possible on many *A carriers at a good mileage price.
Also lifetime status would be a bonus so we can enjoy the elite benefits after retiring
(6) Which routes do you fly most often:
Right now the preferred route is via AF (so GIG-CDG-PEK and back) but this has to change and we're looking into switching to *A. This would put us flying either via FRA on LH or JNB on SA (or YYZ on Air Canada, but never tried before)
(7) Preferred Airlines
LH, CM, TP. Open to any choice though.
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure?
Work. Full flexibility on routing, carriers, etc. as long as it's a C ticket.
Dec 24, 2016, 3:30 pm
#1855
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: London
Programs: Thai Royal Orchid Plus Gold, BA Silver, Alitalia Freccia Alata
Posts: 348
No longer allowed to fly J for work...
Hi everyone,
I'm about to requalify for TG Gold in Jan 2017 so I'll have *A gold until at least 2019. But now that my company is enforcing PE/Y only for paid flights, I will be migrating away from TG as it has no PE for the routes I fly. I'm also considering an alternative FFP for crediting my A* flights, if there’s a possibility of getting better earn/burn rates and more free upgrades. Many thanks!
(1) What is your home airport?
LHR (LGW possible but not preferred)
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy?
PE if possible, otherwise Y
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year?
45,000-5,5000 miles
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present?
TG Gold until Jan 2019. My other statuses are BA Silver (which I think I could maintain from flying CX PE) and Alitalia Freccia Alata (from status match, will let it expire in a couple of months)
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP?
- Free upgrades to J (which I get each time I attain/requalify for TG Gold) will be essential now that I can no longer fly paid J.
- Reasonable burn rates on *A partner airlines with flexibility for one-way or stopovers.
My main complaint with TG ROP is the poor earn and burn rate, especially for one-way award flights and *A partner award flights (which have a very poor, i.e. excessively high award chart that only allows round trips). The annual 'birthday gift' of 50% miles discount on TG award flights is nice, but I would rather have a less crazy redemption chart with lower YQ in the first place.
(6) Which routes do you fly most often?
Mostly ex-LON to various parts of SE Asia (BKK, HKG, PEK, HAN, CGK, TYO), but on occasions transatlantic.
(7) Preferred Airlines
On A* TG has served most of my needs up to now (with the occasional TK, NH). Now I can see most of my paid flights going to SG as I’ve heard good things about their PE. TK unfortunately don't have PE on my routes.
For my routes, I could also quite easily shift all my business to Oneworld (CX and JL being obvious contenders) but it’s good to diversify.
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? (Can you choose your airlines,
class of service?)
Work, with some flexibility in choice of airlines. For longhaul flights I can choose PE or Y, but the company policy is also funny about refundable/flexible fares so I’d like to avoid Y if possible (I don’t want to end up with 0% mileage earning Y tickets!)
My thoughts:
At the moment I’m considering Aegean: reasonable partner award chart, relatively easy to redeem; but with no longhaul flights on its network to Asia I won’t be able to take advantage of its free upgrade vouchers?
Is there any advantage for me to credit to SG KrisFlyer, given I’ll likely be doing most of my paid *A flights there? I heard they give more award availability to own members.
I have considered a status challenge to TK Elite, but I wouldn't get free upgrade vouchers until I reached Elite Plus (difficult - at 80,000 miles in 12 months). And from their FT forums, redeeming *A partner awards seems impossible unless I go in person to their ticket office at Heathrow.
How about Asiana as a way of getting a longer lasting *G status?? But I have no idea how easy they are for partner award redemptions.
Thanks all!
I'm about to requalify for TG Gold in Jan 2017 so I'll have *A gold until at least 2019. But now that my company is enforcing PE/Y only for paid flights, I will be migrating away from TG as it has no PE for the routes I fly. I'm also considering an alternative FFP for crediting my A* flights, if there’s a possibility of getting better earn/burn rates and more free upgrades. Many thanks!
(1) What is your home airport?
LHR (LGW possible but not preferred)
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy?
PE if possible, otherwise Y
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year?
45,000-5,5000 miles
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present?
TG Gold until Jan 2019. My other statuses are BA Silver (which I think I could maintain from flying CX PE) and Alitalia Freccia Alata (from status match, will let it expire in a couple of months)
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP?
- Free upgrades to J (which I get each time I attain/requalify for TG Gold) will be essential now that I can no longer fly paid J.
- Reasonable burn rates on *A partner airlines with flexibility for one-way or stopovers.
My main complaint with TG ROP is the poor earn and burn rate, especially for one-way award flights and *A partner award flights (which have a very poor, i.e. excessively high award chart that only allows round trips). The annual 'birthday gift' of 50% miles discount on TG award flights is nice, but I would rather have a less crazy redemption chart with lower YQ in the first place.
(6) Which routes do you fly most often?
Mostly ex-LON to various parts of SE Asia (BKK, HKG, PEK, HAN, CGK, TYO), but on occasions transatlantic.
(7) Preferred Airlines
On A* TG has served most of my needs up to now (with the occasional TK, NH). Now I can see most of my paid flights going to SG as I’ve heard good things about their PE. TK unfortunately don't have PE on my routes.
For my routes, I could also quite easily shift all my business to Oneworld (CX and JL being obvious contenders) but it’s good to diversify.
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? (Can you choose your airlines,
class of service?)
Work, with some flexibility in choice of airlines. For longhaul flights I can choose PE or Y, but the company policy is also funny about refundable/flexible fares so I’d like to avoid Y if possible (I don’t want to end up with 0% mileage earning Y tickets!)
My thoughts:
At the moment I’m considering Aegean: reasonable partner award chart, relatively easy to redeem; but with no longhaul flights on its network to Asia I won’t be able to take advantage of its free upgrade vouchers?
Is there any advantage for me to credit to SG KrisFlyer, given I’ll likely be doing most of my paid *A flights there? I heard they give more award availability to own members.
I have considered a status challenge to TK Elite, but I wouldn't get free upgrade vouchers until I reached Elite Plus (difficult - at 80,000 miles in 12 months). And from their FT forums, redeeming *A partner awards seems impossible unless I go in person to their ticket office at Heathrow.
How about Asiana as a way of getting a longer lasting *G status?? But I have no idea how easy they are for partner award redemptions.
Thanks all!
Dec 28, 2016, 12:54 pm
#1856
Join Date: Dec 2016
Posts: 19
(1) What is your home airport? YVR, also CAN if I happen to be in China.
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ? Y, F when paid for by business
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? ~50K a year
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it? WestJet Gold
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? Lounge access, priority boarding, extra luggage.
(6) Which routes do you fly most often: Canada>Europe/Asia international
(7) Preferred Airlines: Whatever is the cheapest and gives the best service
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? I travel a lot for both work and pleasure.
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ? Y, F when paid for by business
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? ~50K a year
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it? WestJet Gold
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? Lounge access, priority boarding, extra luggage.
(6) Which routes do you fly most often: Canada>Europe/Asia international
(7) Preferred Airlines: Whatever is the cheapest and gives the best service
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? I travel a lot for both work and pleasure.
Jan 1, 2017, 6:26 am
#1857
Join Date: Jan 2017
Programs: Aeroplan, Etihad
Posts: 1
(1) What is your home airport? (SFO, LAX, MCO, etc.)
MLA (Malta)
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ? (C, F, Y, etc.)
Business or first
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
25-50k
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it?
Aeroplan silver, Etihad gold
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? (Frequent upgrades on travel, priority services when flying the airline, good award redemption rates, free lounge access, etc.)
Good redemption rates
(6) Which routes do you fly most often (US Domestic, Transpacific etc)
Various international routes
(7) Preferred Airlines
Lufthansa, Etihad
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? (Can you choose your airlines, class of service?)
Mostly for pleasure, but a small amount of work related flying too
Thanks for any responses.
MLA (Malta)
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ? (C, F, Y, etc.)
Business or first
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
25-50k
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it?
Aeroplan silver, Etihad gold
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? (Frequent upgrades on travel, priority services when flying the airline, good award redemption rates, free lounge access, etc.)
Good redemption rates
(6) Which routes do you fly most often (US Domestic, Transpacific etc)
Various international routes
(7) Preferred Airlines
Lufthansa, Etihad
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? (Can you choose your airlines, class of service?)
Mostly for pleasure, but a small amount of work related flying too
Thanks for any responses.
Jan 3, 2017, 2:48 am
#1858
Join Date: Dec 2016
Posts: 20
(1) What is your home airport? LHR/LGW
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ? Y full-fare/flexible economy
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? <50k on Star
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it? OW Sapphire
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? Priority check-in, security, and boarding
(6) Which routes do you fly most often: London Africa, Europe, and Middle East
(7) Preferred Airlines: BA, I know nothing about Star
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? Work and I can choose
I am just looking for a catch-all for the random trips I will make that undoubtedly aren't serviced by OW. After three years I will likely be moving back to the States.
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ? Y full-fare/flexible economy
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? <50k on Star
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it? OW Sapphire
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? Priority check-in, security, and boarding
(6) Which routes do you fly most often: London Africa, Europe, and Middle East
(7) Preferred Airlines: BA, I know nothing about Star
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? Work and I can choose
I am just looking for a catch-all for the random trips I will make that undoubtedly aren't serviced by OW. After three years I will likely be moving back to the States.
Jan 5, 2017, 8:42 am
#1859
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 1
(1) What is your home airport? ZRH/BSL
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy? Economy, lowest prices typically S,T,K, sometimes M,L,U and Y
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? 50-80k
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it? I just lost Aegean Miles&Bonus Gold (now have silver), Silver Miles & More
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? Lounge access, priority services, award redemptions. Upgrades would be nice (never tried!)
(6) Which routes do you fly most often Transatlantic. Some domestic Europe or US.
(7) Preferred Airlines Lufthansa, Swiss
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? Work (mostly) and pleasure (2-3x/year). I can choose airlines, routes. Can't book business though.
I should note that I'm just coming out of a frustrating stint with Aegean Airlines' Miles & Bonus program. I've had Star Alliance gold status with them for two years now, and I am aware of the changes they made in 2015 to their program (upping the difficulty of getting and keeping gold status). Still, last year I qualified for gold status without any trouble or thought.
However, after flying transatlantic 8-10 times this year, to Asia twice, and on many domestic European and US flights, I just discovered that all but 1 or 2 flights this entire year were ineligible for *any* miles whatsoever. This is because several flights were booked in classes T and K. I am used to getting only 50% for my miles when flying on a cheaper economy fare, but it seems in the past year either more fare classes were diluted, or many airlines have switched to selling more of these discounted (and ineligible) fares. All I know is that I had kept an eye on my fare classes in the past and almost 100% of flights I booked would earn me at least 50% miles. I don't know what happened in the past year–I flew a ton, but I have almost no miles to show for it.
For the amount I fly (~60-70k miles this year), and the amount of torment and stress I'm put through by airlines, I have to say that I'm quite angry that I've only been credited for 8k miles, total. Lost my gold status.
Is there anything out there that's better than Miles & Bonus for Star Alliance elite status?
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy? Economy, lowest prices typically S,T,K, sometimes M,L,U and Y
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? 50-80k
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it? I just lost Aegean Miles&Bonus Gold (now have silver), Silver Miles & More
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? Lounge access, priority services, award redemptions. Upgrades would be nice (never tried!)
(6) Which routes do you fly most often Transatlantic. Some domestic Europe or US.
(7) Preferred Airlines Lufthansa, Swiss
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? Work (mostly) and pleasure (2-3x/year). I can choose airlines, routes. Can't book business though.
I should note that I'm just coming out of a frustrating stint with Aegean Airlines' Miles & Bonus program. I've had Star Alliance gold status with them for two years now, and I am aware of the changes they made in 2015 to their program (upping the difficulty of getting and keeping gold status). Still, last year I qualified for gold status without any trouble or thought.
However, after flying transatlantic 8-10 times this year, to Asia twice, and on many domestic European and US flights, I just discovered that all but 1 or 2 flights this entire year were ineligible for *any* miles whatsoever. This is because several flights were booked in classes T and K. I am used to getting only 50% for my miles when flying on a cheaper economy fare, but it seems in the past year either more fare classes were diluted, or many airlines have switched to selling more of these discounted (and ineligible) fares. All I know is that I had kept an eye on my fare classes in the past and almost 100% of flights I booked would earn me at least 50% miles. I don't know what happened in the past year–I flew a ton, but I have almost no miles to show for it.
For the amount I fly (~60-70k miles this year), and the amount of torment and stress I'm put through by airlines, I have to say that I'm quite angry that I've only been credited for 8k miles, total. Lost my gold status.
Is there anything out there that's better than Miles & Bonus for Star Alliance elite status?
Jan 12, 2017, 6:37 pm
#1860
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Boston area, US
Programs: FB (platinum for life), AAdvantage (exec platinum), Aeroflot Bonus (gold)
Posts: 258
(1) What is your home airport? BOS as of now
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy? Tend to fly W (premium economy) on trans-atlantic flights, sometimes J if there is good promo, Y to South America (US government fares)
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? >120k
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it? Flying Blue Platinum (in fact, lifetime but not official yet); AAdvantage Platinum
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? Upgrades, lounge access, access to reasonable seats
(6) Which routes do you fly most often: US>Europe and US>South America
(7) Preferred Airlines: Sometimes I can't chose if it's a travel for work and there is a US gov contracted carrier, otherwise AF, KL, SU, BA or AA.
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? Mostly for work
I would like to get a status in *A with the lounge access, availability to upgrade with Miles on UA and with an easy way to re-qualify if I have to occasionally fly UA on gov fares. Will consider switching to LH/LX/TK for flights to Europe. Now I can match my AF status to TK Gold. But the Asiana lifetime Gold for 500k sounds very attractive. I would like to balance between *A and OW to have premium status on both of them without flying too much. Any suggestions?
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy? Tend to fly W (premium economy) on trans-atlantic flights, sometimes J if there is good promo, Y to South America (US government fares)
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? >120k
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it? Flying Blue Platinum (in fact, lifetime but not official yet); AAdvantage Platinum
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? Upgrades, lounge access, access to reasonable seats
(6) Which routes do you fly most often: US>Europe and US>South America
(7) Preferred Airlines: Sometimes I can't chose if it's a travel for work and there is a US gov contracted carrier, otherwise AF, KL, SU, BA or AA.
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? Mostly for work
I would like to get a status in *A with the lounge access, availability to upgrade with Miles on UA and with an easy way to re-qualify if I have to occasionally fly UA on gov fares. Will consider switching to LH/LX/TK for flights to Europe. Now I can match my AF status to TK Gold. But the Asiana lifetime Gold for 500k sounds very attractive. I would like to balance between *A and OW to have premium status on both of them without flying too much. Any suggestions?