Originally Posted by
aircrashsurvivor
That's my whole point. Flying economy to Europe at 10 tier points each flight will take 30 round trips to attain silver and THAT is a frequent flyer
It would be 25 round trips, not 30 (50 flights gets you silver) - although not much of a difference I agree.
But the same points can be attained in ONE CW trip to North America plus a domestic return. THAT is not a frequent flyer so the status one can obtain on BA has almost ZERO to do with "amount" of flying as only 4 qualifying flights are required and more to do with type of flying.
One CW flight to North America would be 280 TPs, so doesn't get you anything. Even with domestic connections it would be 320 TPs so just Bronze. 30 round trips to Europe is 600 so you would not get the same points. Btw, why are you comparing J in long haul to Y in short haul? Compare Y in long haul to Y in short haul.
I would suggest long haul flights are more profitable per trip in CW than a Y trip to Europe, especially if you get a hand baggage only fare.