Originally Posted by
GRUflyer
(1) home airport - GRU - São Paulo
(2) miles flown each year & in what class? - 250k all in C
(3) types of fares bought - Only fly business, unless it is unavailable. Book the cheapest J class fare available.
(4) choice of airlines/cabins. work and/or pleasure? I own My business so I can choose, whether for business or pleasure. I would say 80 per cent of My travel is for business and 20 per cent for leisure.
(5) routes flown most often - GRU - XXX - HKG/PVG and GRU-CDG.
(6) current FFP status - LH *G, JJ *G and FB silver
(7) What is most important to you in a FFP? Good rates, since already get most of the other Perks for flying J anyway.
(8) Preferred Airlines - SQ LX CX TK
Originally Posted by
GRUflyer
Help anyone?
Interesting. If you already have status with JJ (*G, right?) it probably would make sense to see how the Lan/Tam merger ends up with regard to alliance. If LATAM stays with Oneworld, then presumably you'll have your status matched - either to Sapphire or Emerald levels (Silver or Comodoro respectively) in which case you'd probably want to stay there.
Otherwise, I think it's hard to beat AA in terms of redemption rates - IF you fly in business class, where flights on most Oneworld members will earn 100% redemption mileage bonuses in addition to usual class-of-service bonuses. It really adds up.
Judging from your described routes and preference for cheap J fares, you really sound like a candidate for Oneworld RTW products - maybe a couple at a time - one eastbound and one westbound. The Oneworld Explorer has unlimited mileage unlike the Star RTW products, and prices are generally better than on Star (often MUCH better) so the combination - low price per flown mile and no mileage cap (but like Star a 16-segment overall cap) might be just the ticket. Certainly it bears some scrutiny on your part - a little homework on this board will be time well spent. Combined with elite status, RTW products can be major mileage cows, and they're nowhere nearly as "inflexible" as many people think.
So short answer, maybe join AA, but wait to see how LATAM shapes up before making a push for Oneworld elite status.