pgra572, welcome to FT!, good to see another Sydney local on here.

In choosing a *A program, you'll need to take into a/c whether their need is for status (ie to get into lounges in future, priority boarding, biz class checkin on all flights, etc) or for maximum accrual of miles and low priced awards will then affect which program you should join.

If doing it purely on for miles I would suggest:

1/ UA Mileage Plus - generally 1 mile for each mile earned, awards are very cheap. AU-NZ is 20k (Y), AU-US is 60k (Y), AU-Indian Sub Continent 40k (Y), AU-SE Asia 50k (Y) these are the cheapest fares in all *A programs. Min 500 miles on short sectors. Local sydney office

2/ Mexicana Frecuenta - a generous sign up bonus will put you on your way to an award quickly. AU-NZ is 25k (Y), AU-US is 70k (Y), AU-Asia 60k (Y). Mileage earned is 1 for 1, but no min mileage for short flights (ie no min 500 miles). Drawback - no Sydney office. (*G requires 50k, lasts exactly 12 months from achievement to requirement for renewal)

3/ Varig Smiles - min 500 miles on all flights. Low priced awards. AU-NZ 20k or 25k (Y), AU-US 70k (Y), AU-Asia 50k (Y). Ticketing office in Sydney. Program is similar in structure to UA. Threshold bonus of 5,000 on *S, 7,500 on *G. (*G requires 50k or 60 segs, last for 2+ years)

4/ Asiana - allows you to pool family mileage. If they are all part of one family, you can accrue all miles towards an award. Awards are much more expensive than many other *A programs though, but worth considering for the unique pooling option. Local Asiana office in Sydney. (*G requires 100k, but then only 40k each 3 yr period ongoing)

5/ Lufthansa M&M - awards are generally pricier compared to other *A programs, including AU-NZ (30k) (Y), but miles are earned 1 for 1. And some neat awards, including Fly Smart - SYD-KUL or MEL-KUL on Lauda for (40k) (Y). (*G requires 100k, lasts for 2+ years)

You mention the NZ program. Many of us which have been previously loyal to NZ have found their recent changes to the program to be poor. Included is an increase of companion awards from SYD-LAX from 60k to 70k. However, of note is miles travelled are earned in KMs (airnz airpoints). However, flights on discounted Y, only earn 0.7 points, so in the end it works out the same. But as the flights are in Biz, it could be worth considering, but I feel there are better choices out there. Overall *A awards on NZ are extremly expensive.

If achieving status, quickly is important, I would then suggest AC Aeroplan. As mentioned earlier, it only requires 35,000 miles. Miles earned at 1 for 1, with exceptions of AC domestic, and awards are fairly priced AU-NZ (25k) (Y), AU-US (75k) (Y). Status only lasts on a 12 month rolling cycle. There is an AC office in Sydney.

Also, as they are flying SQ, I wouldn't discount the opportunity to consider accruing to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, there are some nice benefits to the program, but I can't profess to know that much about it, I'd suggest you ask the folks on the Virgin board further about the program before choosing to accrue to a *A program. From what i'm aware, awards on VS are also quite reasonable. AU-NZ (20k) (Y) and PER-SIN (30k) (Y) and SYD-SIN (50k) (Y). There is a Virgin Atlantic office in SYD, but VS do not fly here just code share through MH. The VS program for AU is administered out of HKG. The VS program has a generous 1,000 miles for each car rental partner on their program which could be helpful in achieving miles for an award quickly. They also have a wide array of airline partners which makes earning mileage easier, particularly from down under, including Singapore Airlines, Lauda, Air NZ, Malaysia Airlines ... and from LHR, Gulf Air, British Midland, Austrian Airlines, etc.

[This message has been edited by kawoh (edited 06-21-2003).]