Originally Posted by
747-444
It also leaves me 3000 miles short of my EXP membership.
Originally Posted by
747-444
Does this routing suffice?
JNB-LHR-SFO-LAX(transit)-LAS-ORD-JFK-LAX(transit)-MEL-AKL-MEL-CNS-MEL-(ground transport)/SYD-JNB.
If I take the routing where I fly into SFO I will also make AA EXP, but if I fly into New York I will take BA001/003 which seems really cool. So my options are fly out of LCY or make AA Exp.
Which one should I take?
Well it adds around 4000 mi, so if that's what it takes for EXP, so be it.
However
JNB-LHR-xBCN-xLCY-JFK-SFO-LAX-LAS-ORD-LAX-MEL-AKL-MEL-CNS-MEL/SYD-JNB
adds another few hundred miles to that, keeps the LCY-JFK flight, and saves a bunch of money on UK APD since BCN-xLCY-JFK would involve a transit at London. You'd pay the low rate APD on the LHR-BCN flight, much less than the longhaul APD you'd pay on LCY-JFK. You could easily take a morning LHR-BCN flight, turn around and be back at LCY in plenty of time to make BA3, the later LCY-JFK departure, so you wouldn't even lose a day. I'm sure the same thing could work with other shorthaul destinations served by both LHR and LCY, such as AMS or FRA.