Originally Posted by
cpoon1
2/ Regarding CX (not CS), I've had mileage from CX be accredited to my AA account before along with Dragon Air (CX owned) although it does have a significant time lag.
Also keep in mind that many of the discounted tickets earn NOTHING, time lag or not.
3/ I will likely keep AsiaMiles and AA. This leads me to the next question of what frequent flyer programs would help to cover the majority of the routes throughout the world. Since most of these programs accrue balances over lifetime I figure it would be best to start early
Since you don't fly that much (3-6 times per year) I would suggest it's better to focus your attention on a couple of programs, when possible, rather than trying to spread yourself across a ton of programs. OW airlines cover the entire world and so there should be few instances where you absolutely cannot find a OW airline to fly a route if you want to take it. Perhaps pick one program from each major alliance?
4/ Is there any way to permanently qualify for programs? and if the threshold for a program is exceeded, do those miles ever role over? EX: program requires 100K, flyer earns 200K. 100K rollover to next year's qualification?
Some programs do allow for "lifetime" elite status but AA is the only one I know that doesn't require at least 1 million Butt In Seat miles to achieve it. On AA, as mentioned, you need 1 million miles but credit cards, bonuses, etc. all count for the million.
There is no program that I know that allows excess EQM to be rolled forward. Either you qualify for a year or you qualify lifetime. BTW since you only fly 3-6 times per year I am not sure how you plan on earning 200K EQM anyway unless you fly around the entire world every time you go.
Originally Posted by
cpoon1
One additional question
Can someone point me to the appropriate thread for OneWorld versus AAdvantage? I understand one is alliance and one is individual carrier but can my AA status contribute to OW?
I am not sure what you mean by "contribute to OW". OW is not a program, it is an alliance of various airlines, each of which has its own program. But there is no centralized OW "program" you can join.
Perhaps you are asking whether your AA status can get you upgrades on other OW carriers? That would be a question for the carrier you are wondering about. The best place to find an answer is the carrier's website. You could also check and see if status on a different OW carrier (ie CX) would get you similar or better/worse benefits on other carriers.
Originally Posted by
Efrem
This has not been my experience, nor have I ever heard of it. In my experience, hotel reservations made through travel booking sites such as Expedia, hotel booking sites such as hotels.com, and the few human travel agents who still do that sort of thing, count for full credit: hotel points and/or airline miles as applicable, plus stay credit toward status. Bookings made on opaque sites such as Priceline, where you don't pay a published rate, don't earn credit (though you may occasionally get it by mistake).
I think it depends on how the reservation is handled. If it's just a reservation, without prepayment, then yes, you may earn points (though some programs do specify you must book on hotel's website to earn max points). However, if it's a prepaid, which is the MAJORITY of Expedia/Travelocity/etc hotel offers, (i.e. your credit card is charged by agent, not hotel), then in almost all cases I know you do NOT earn points. Just my experience.