Originally Posted by
AngelicLiar
Hey guys... I started going over some of the guides, but there's just so much to read!
I think I'm trying to decide between AA and BA; leaning a bit toward BA because I already have a plan with United for inter-USA flights, but I don't like the fact that you can't get upgraded from Econ to Business in BA's FFP... Would appreciate input.
(1) What is most important to you in a FFP?
Reply: Upgrades by a large margin, then priority services while flying the airline.
Welcome to FT!
Upgrade-wise, you fare better with BA if that's primarily what you'd use your points for.
You cannot upgrade anything with AA miles except TATL sectors and domestic US flights, whereas you can upgrade all those intra-European flights with BA Avios - TLV-LHR is a five-hour flight!
No matter which OW airline you choose, you should make mid-tier sapphire status with two revenue business class TLV-SFO return flights alone. On both BA and AA, this tier comes with 100% bonus points and alliance-wide lounge access.
With AA, you'd qualify on EQP (you need to fly only 33.334 miles in business for 50k EQP), with BA two TLV-SFO trips will net you 560 tier points, just 40 shy of silver/sapphire status. A connection in LAX on one of the flights will net you the rest
You can upgrade from Y to J with BA, it just costs twice the points compared with upgrading from Y+. In fact, buying cheap 'T' class discount WT+ premium economy fares and then using Avios to upgrade to CW (business class) is considered a real bargain in the FFP world. In case the upgrade not clearing, you have a way better flight experience than if you were sitting in economy. This is especially true on the new WT+ cabin in the A380s and B787.
And upgrades on AA are not guaranteed to clear - quite the contrary. . Especially on AAs 777-300 routes, mileage upgrades into the much-sought-after business cabin are notoriously hard to come by with virtually no advance clearance. Expect this to be more of a lottery than anything. I've had EXPs sitting next to me in Economy as our systemwide upgrades didn't clear on LHR-DFW and LHR-LAX, and those would come far far ahead of a Platinum member requesting a miles+copay upgrade.
Wander over to the AA forum and read a bit about how advance upgrade availability has been restricted lately and how long the upgrade lists have become. It is not uncommon to see 50+ passenger names on the airport upgrade list for LAX-LHR.
AA charges a $350 co-pay on its TATL flights. More often than not, especially on leisure travel you can plan far out and take advantage of sales, BA's cheapest WT+ fares are about the same or just minimally more than an economy fare plus the mileage upgrade co-pay on AA.