Indeed, stargold, there are many things to consider. To be honest, I don't fly that much. Even though this will be my 3rd flight in 5 months Also, I've only flown business once on Qatar and tend to fly premium economy if available; so that shouldn't affect my earning rates too much. TG do restrict some of their budget *A economy fare earning rates compared to other FFPs. Their burn rates aren't too hot either, but they do offer upgrades on their own cheap economy tickets. I think for me, the gold upgrade on reaching and maintaining gold balances out the poor earn/burn rates. I suppose the question is whether I can do 50k in 1 year or 80k in 2 years.