Originally Posted by
nickbaum
Ha, perfect!
Ok, so I know you think this thread was settled ... but any tips for how to optimize my buddy's itinerary?
I can't find a way to avoid booking through BA, so we'll have to eat the higher fees. Then the question is how to optimize his mileage/status remains.
Here's the itinerary: ARN(BA)-LHR(BA)-EBB//JNB(BA)-WDH//VFA(BA)-JNB(QF)-SYD(QF)-CNS(QF)-SYD(LA)-SCL(LA)-IPC(LA)-SCL(LA)-LIM(IB)-MAD(IB)-ARN.
I presume he would want to add a 16th segment somewhere to maximize mileage, maybe EZE after LIM like myself.
What would be the best FFP for him to use? AA is useful to him, but he doesn't have any AA flights. BA is good too, but they seem stingy with miles and points (am I wrong?). And then there's QF, LA and IB. Do any of these have a platinum challenge equivalent?
Cheers,
-Nick
I think BA is his best bet, by a mile. Assuming he lives in Sweden (or has a Swedish address) he'll qualify for BA's highly favorable treatment of non-UK (but European) residents.
One attains status with BA through accumulating "tier points" which are awarded as a function of distance x class of service. For your itinerary, for example, business class segments of under 2000 miles earn 40 tier points, while those over 2000 miles earn 120.
As a European resident, he only needs 400 tier points - and four BA-operated segments - to go from Blue status (entry) to Silver, the equivalent of Platinum with AA (both Oneworld Sapphire.) When he hits 400 points - and the 4 segments - his tier point total reverts to zero, and then he would need another 800 TP (and another 4 BA flights) to hit BA Gold, the equivalent of AA Executive Platinum, Oneworld Emerald.
(By comparison, UK/US residents need 600 TP for Silver, then another 1500 for Gold - quite a difference.)
Using his present itinerary (15 segs) it looks to me like he'd hit Silver on arrival at CNS, as he'd have all 4 BA segments (ARN-LHR-EBB, JNB-WDH, VFA-JNB) in the bag. It would re-set to 0 at CNS, then he'd be off toward Gold during the remainder of the trip.
If he ended by going LIM LP GRU BA LHR BA ARN, then by my calcs he'd be at 720 TP and 2 BA segments, so just 80 TP and 2 segments from Gold. A couple of quick BA round trips ARN-LHR-ARN in economy (around US$200 each, 20 TP per segment) or one in business class (40 TP x 2, $550) would net the needed 80 TP and 2+ BA segments for Gold, thus OW Emerald.
Major benefits - "cheap" mileage-based upgrades on BA flights, lounge access pretty much everywhere, expedited security, baggage allowances, good redemption rates... extremely well worth it IMO.