Originally Posted by
DTCFlyer
I read all replies, but i dont now what to do.
Next year I will move to Ireland, I will fly to Brazil one or two times a year. The best rates are AA OW. Today I am *A Gold UA and ST Elite by Aerolineas. I need to focus on a program miles on OW just to have lounge access and extra baggage piece on flights. I dont care about ticket redemption. Travelers, any recommendations?
Thanks a lot!
Two trips from Ireland to Brazil (DUB-LHR-DFW-GRU) will give you 40,000 status miles which will get you to AA Gold/BA Bronze/OW Ruby status.
That level does not grant you lounge access. For lounge access you'll need to fly 50,000 miles in any OW program to achieve Sapphire status.
Due to Brazilian regulations, all airlines (have to) give you 2x32kgs baggage allowance for free. You'll need top-tier status (OW Emerald) or fly premium cabins to receive more than that on AA or any other OW airline.
Focusing only on those Brazil journeys on AA and your Irish residence, I'd choose either AAdvantage or BAEC.
BAEC Bronze/AA Gold OW Ruby status will allow you to reserve exit rows in advance at no charge on AA flights, something you'll appreciate on those 22+hour flights.
Here again, the 50,000 mile status (Platinum/Silver/OW Sapphire) will give you the added benefit of free MCE seating, which amounts to a $250 saving per trip over Gold where you'll get just a 50% discount on the $128 price per segment from March 2014 onwards (it's free until the end of Feb. next year). MCE on AA is totally recommended on these flights - the 10-across standard economy cabin seating on the 77W that serve the LHR-DFW and DFW-GRU routes is rather cramped. MCE has nine-across seating and 38 inches of legroom instead of 31 which makes for way better flight experience.
The BA program is the only OW program that'll let you earn miles via credit card spending in Ireland. You can convert Irish Amex MR points to BA Avios, but not to AA miles.
Use those Avios to upgrade those longhauls to business class. And here is where AA differs from BA: AAdvantage lets you upgrade from most discount economy to business with miles and a $700 co-pay (one way) which is a good deal. With BA, you'd need to purchase an expensive economy fare bucket or a premium economy ticket in order to upgrade using Avios (no co-pay required). Doing this with "T" class heavily discounted premium economy tickets is also considered a very good deal and pretty much the best use of Avios IMHO.