Hey all, it's my first post at FlyerTalk, having lurked in the background for some time! You guys are all very helpful, but the knowledge is a bit intimidating So, here goes - I hope I've posted in the right place!

I plan to fly to Australia in a few months, and I'm trying to pick the best airline/alliance to go with. I'm a poor student and will, as ever, be flying discount Y. I'm currently an AAdvantage & bmi DC member - both general (although I nearly made AA Gold last year!).

My two thoughts are:

- OW: I like BA service a lot (particularly world traveller), and they tend to be my airline of choice on LHR-EDI (where I go to uni). However, on the long flight to SYD I want to be sure to get the best mileage benefits. BA give 25% and QF 50% for discount Y - not great.

or *A: I can fly NZ/SQ (or even UA through LAX/SFO) and get 100% miles. Also, I can't really believe this is true, but my understanding is that with this one return trip I'll get DC Silver, and be well on my way to DC Gold for the year -- is that right? Are the miles too high a price to pay to miss out on BA Y service?

What do you folks think?

[This message has been edited by jamespvg (edited Jan 06, 2004).]