Originally Posted by
Soros
I am deciding among BA, Cathay, and AA. What's the best option for me given that I live in HK? I am inclined to do Cathay but I hear that the diamond service is not as good as before (low prob for opup, poor redemption, etc).
1. What is most important to you in a frequent flyer program (FFP)?
Reply: Comp upgrade; good award redemption rates (within Asia and long distance)
2. How many miles do you usually fly each year? How many flights/sectors?
Reply: >140,000 miles and >50 flights
3. What fare class do you usually buy?
Reply: Business (Oneworld RTW business tickets) or economy (intra-Asia; most likely not full fare)
4. Are you able to choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Reply: Yes within Oneworld - work
5. Which routes do you fly most often
Reply: HKG --> JFK --> LHR --> HKG (RTW) AND intra-Asia routes
6. What is your home airport?
Reply: HKG
7. Do you have status in any FFP? What is it? How miles do you have banked in a FFP, if any?
Reply: UA 1K banked zero miles (I burned them already)
8. What are your preferred airlines, if any?
Reply: Cathay Pacific (although I heard its FFP is not as good as before), British Airways, and AA.
Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you!
That's really a toss-up. You'll easily make top tier in any program.
With your flying pattern (Europe by way of the US), AA has the eight SWUs you'll get annually upon qualifying for EXP going for them, in case the AA 77W F cabin appeals to you (in a nutshell: top hard product, mediocre soft product). You'll qualify for top-tier EXP very quickly and would be able to put them to good use by upgrading eight TPAC/TATL flights into F (you can upgrade HKG-DFW and JFK-LHR with one SWU when on the same PNR). Those flagship suites have a ton of space and a very comfy bed.
AA miles are very versatile to use and the award chart hasn't devalued as much as other programs - intra-asia redemptions aren't too bad at 15k/22.5k/30k for Y/J/F. They have eliminated Oneworld RTW Explorer awards a few months ago, though.
That said, I'd still go with CX if most of my travel would be on them - every airline treats their own top FF better than those of alliance partners. For example, having AA EXP status hasn't done much for me when traveling on BA or CX so far. Only one op-up in a bunch of BA flights, nothing on CX.