Hi all,

I will soon be moving to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. I have been a member of *A programs (TG, SQ, UA) for years, and -- especially with the prospect of Ethiopian joining *A -- would like to stay with a *A FFP (though I'm also wondering if ST would be better for that part of the world). But the question: which *A program would be best? TG (where I've been Gold for the last several years) doesn't seem to make sense, since their benefits are only really good if you're living in SE Asia.

I expect to travel to Europe a couple of times a year, to the US (West Coast) probably once a year, and will probably have some regional travel around east Africa and perhaps down to southern Africa. Swiss and EgyptAir are both possible for flying Dar-Europe, but I'm not convinced that either program is the best bet.

The things that matter to me in an FFP: ease of getting and maintaining elite qualification (I'm usually at or around 50K miles per year); lounge access, excess baggage allowance and priority waitlisting; upgrades and redemption for regional travel (for the time being, around Africa).

Any advice would be welcomed....

Thanks,
Michael

PS I posted a similar query in MilesBuzz, but then I realized I was better off posting it here....