The problem is now my dad is MPC silver, and he still need miles inorder to stay in silver. But one thing im afraid about is the new seats in CX, its the first time ive tried the new seats in long haul. Ive tried it once when they have first released their new Economy seat from Osaka to Hong Kong in October 2008... 4 hrs flight... it was bearable i guess, but not sure if i can bear it long haul. The only Star alliance card my dad has is Lufthansa M&M which is kinda useless because you would probably need to buy a higher class ticket in order to earn miles.