Randy Petersen

Question
I fly between the U.S. and Europe in paid business class very often. I want to be able to redeem miles for business/first-class travel throughout the world. Which frequent-flyer program(s) should I concentrate my earnings on -- European or American ones? They seem to have different fee structures and award availability.
-- Plover

Answer
A very good question and one that can be complicated to answer. But there are some simple comparisons that might help.

Generally speaking, it’s best to stay with American programs -- although the best answer could be different depending on where you originate from and your most common destinations in Europe. And, how much other travel you do domestically. You might live in a metropolitan area where you can catch non-stop flights to Europe or you might have to rely on flying through hubs both in the U.S. and Europe. It might be better to be able to fly point-to-point without having to hop across the U.S. and Europe on a less desirable itinerary than to worry about the frequent flyer program.

The advantages for U.S. programs are typically in the area of domestic travel. No matter what your status in British Airways or Air France’s program, you are likely not to enjoy the same benefits of upgrades and other types of amenities when you are not flying business class to Europe. As well, and I admit this is likely not a problem for you now based on your activity, but European programs have far more restrictive rules concerning expiring miles. And they generally have more restrictive rules concerning the miles you earn from discounted fares.

Here’s some of the other differences. The American AAdvantage program will award you a 50 percent bonus when flying business class, whereas the British Airways program awards only a 25 percent bonus. And while Delta SkyMiles members earn a 50 percent bonus on business class flights, Air France/KLM Flying Blue members earn from 25-200 percent bonus for variations of business class. Moving to the other popular alliance, United Mileage Plus members earn a 25 percent bonus for business class, although when flying discounted business class they earn no extra business class bonus, just the base flight miles. Lufthansa Miles & More members on the other hand earn a 100 percent bonus on business class flights. There are additional bonuses when flying business class based on your elite status and vary from program to program.

These differences on business class bonuses can be substantial based on your flight activity to Europe, but must be balanced by other considerations. It is likely you easily achieve top elite status so let’s do a comparison. If choosing between Delta SkyMiles and Air France/KLM Flying Blue, you’ll see no difference in the elite bonus, both offer a 100 percent bonus for their top-tier members. There is a difference, however, when comparing the British Airways Executive Club top-tier bonus of 50 percent to the American AAdvantage top-tier bonus of 100 percent. The most striking difference is comparing United’s Mileage Plus top-tier elite bonus of 100 percent to that of Lufthansa’s Miles & More (Senator-level) at only 25 percent.

Upgrades generally are more generous from U.S.-based programs with all the major programs’ top tiers having some sort of unlimited upgrades, with standby or other. European programs also have upgrades, but are more limited.

And for European programs, you must consider the partner mix. Business class miles are great, but over time you’ll need to consider what the partners look like and your ability to count on their use to add to your growing mileage bank. Programs like British Airways and Lufthansa have American-issued credit cards which can add miles to those programs. But others, such as Air France/KLM don’t have a direct credit card for U.S. residents; however, you can still earn miles by participation in programs such as American Express Membership Rewards and Diners Club Rewards whereby you can convert those points into Flying Blue miles. Generally speaking, all enjoy relationships with the major hotel chains and car rental companies, something to consider if those types of partners are important to you.

Where European programs typically stand out is their lounge benefits. Most programs in Europe offer airport lounge access as a standard benefit to their top-tier elite members, whereas the U.S.-based programs do not. That may not be important to you however based on the business class travel you refer to since you will have lounge access because you bought a business class ticket. But lounge access might be important for anytime you do not travel in business class.

Another factor of comparison which is often the lightning rod of comparison is the propensity of European programs to attach heavy fees and taxes for award redemption. If you are still on the fence on the differences, then it might be worthwhile to visit FlyerTalk.com and in particular the forum for British Airways and read some of the reports of the fees associated with redemption from that program -- and compare with what you may know of the American AAdvantage program. This will often make you glad you belong to a U.S.-based program.

Honestly, I’ve only scratched the surface on the general differences. And you can continue to compare specifics based on details such as city pairs and frequency. But overall, it is likely that you will be better served by staying with a U.S.-based program.