Originally Posted by
RobDBA
Well you are correct that I meant return flights but I said 1-2 meaning an average of 3 legs per month, so 36 flights per year plus 2 or 3 long haul returns which unfortunately doesn't get me to the magical 50.
All true, though if the OP/anyone else are looking for OW status, and if you travel with any regularity to Asia or Australia, then you should most def. look at the QF FF option.
With QF FF
all BA fares count towards status, even all those on codeshares flown on non-OW partners, and earn miles (at 25% on Disc. Econ. [though 100% on Disc. Econ. on the flights to BKK, SIN and Australia]).
So if you do a lot of flying on BA in economy its a great option for earning status - QF Silver (which gets you Business check-in and miles bonuses, plus one or two other things, but
not lounge access) is stupidly easy to attain, and its not even hard to earn QF Gold (BA Silver equiv.) if you fly quite a bit in economy.
However, they are now enforcing the
'4 flights a year on a QF flight number to earn status' rule, so you need to fly QF to get and keep status, but if you do go to Asia or Oz once or twice a year this is easily achieved.
The travel pattern described by
RobDBA - 36 shorthaul flights plus 2 or 3 long haul returns per year - would in most cases earn you, and in vast majority of cases retain you, BA Gold-equiv. status with QF. (You need 700 Status Credits to earn, and 600 to retain, QF Gold [350SCs and 300 SCs for QF Silver] : a one way London-Paris in Disc. Econ. gets you 10 SCs, one to Rome or Barcelona etc 15 SCs, one to NYC or CAI 25 SCs, to HKG 40 SCs, to SYD 70 SCs [
http://www.qantas.com.au/fflyer/dyn/...status-credits]).
There have been a few years with a lot of Disc. Econ. flying on BA when I have comfortably made QF Platinum (BA Gold equiv.) but when - if I was with BAEC - there is no way I would have made BA Gold.
Indeed a friend of mine made QF Platinum (BA Gold equiv.) one year with flights that would only just have made him BA Silver if he had credited them to BA due to all the economy flying he did.
Oh, and remember that you can always follow this tactic - do all your flying on OW, earn QF Gold or Platinum, and then use that status to get status matched to *A Gold for a few years when ever you need that status too ! (bmi one year, United the next, US the next....).
All worth considering anyway
.