Originally Posted by
kglavimans
Dave,
Thanks for your insight. For me status would be important, as I will be flying a lot of caoch throughout Australia and use of lounge and upgrade opportunities are better when having highest status. ALso, since I will be flying mostly QF and BA I think the premium you get on flights (mileage wise) are better as opposed to being AA Advantage member. With regard to the longer travel when taking BA? I think I can survive and extra three hours in FIRST and the extra mileage is good too.
Trip will be with stopovers in BKK (depending on political situation) so I will ensure maximum SC / TP can be earned.
Kenneth
The extra time is 6 hours since the 3 hours spent heading away from Australia could be spent heading towards Australia .
QF rarely gives involuntary upgrades, so don't be mistaken into thinking that status will give you probable upgrades when travelling on Qantas. For lounge access, Qantas Club membership can be purchased. On mileage earning, on the short hops, if you get AA Platinum status, then mileage earning is fairly similar on the key east coast domestic routes. If you buy economy tickets then expect to fly in economy class
Before committing to a scheme, I would recommend having a look at the earning and redemption rates of the various schemes and figure the best option.
If going to head via London, if the routing in Asia is less important, I would consider CX via HKG for a much nicer 1st class product
Dave