Regarding the LH (and Austrian Airlines including Lauda, and LOT) miles&more program.

How fast, flying paid business (on any StarAlliance carrier), will you make Senator with miles&more?

For paid business flights you get credited (regardless with what StarAlliance partner you fly), starting with 0 status miles on LH per jan-1-2003:

from 0 to 35'000 miles&more status miles:
*100% 'basic' flight-miles, counting as status miles
* + 100% (business-) class bonus, counting as status miles
* total of 200% status miles

you need 17'500 flight miles (200% of 17'500 = 35'000 status miles) to reach Frequent Flier status

from 35'000 (Frequent Flier status) to 100'000 status miles (Senator-status) you get credited, again for paid business:
* 100% 'basic' flight-miles, counting as status miles
* + 50% status miles bonus, counting as status
* + 100% (business-) class bonus, counting as status miles
* total of 250% status milesmiles

you need another 26'000 flight miles in business-class to get the other 65'000 status miles credited (250% of 26'000 = 65'000).

In total you need (17'500 26'000) = 43'500 flight-miles in paid business, between jan-1-2003 and dec-31-2003, to get miles&more Senator status. That Senator status is than valid more than 2 (TWO) years, until feb-2006! (For requalifying afterwards you have to do, either in 2004 [b]or[b/b] 2005, 40'000 flight miles in paid business again (250% of 40'000=100'000 status miles).

The above get's even better, if you can include some paid business in UA-two-class flights. Such flights will be credit:
* before Frequent-Flier-status: 300% status miles
* after Frequent Flier status: 375% status miles

and minimum miles on short UA flights get, with miles&more (before / after Frequent Flier status):
1'000 / 1'250 in paid eco, 2'000 / 2'500 in paid business, 3'000 / 3'750 in paid first (= paid business on UA 2-class-flights).