<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by alect:
And for that matter, why don't we earn status bonus miles on all OW airlines?</font>
If that were the case, nobody would be a member of the program with the least benefits (which ever that one is). Status bonuses are only to encourage loyalty - and that's what it's all about - loyalty to one brand.