Originally Posted by djsteve

Background:
I have been a BA Gold on and off for several years, although not anywhere near lifetime Gold under the BA scheme.
I am now resident of New Zealand and hold my BA Gold via a UK address.
I have recently applied for and received QF Gold (via NZ gold card).
I am now contemplating in setting my sights on QF WP and quietly dropping my BA Gold status.
The main issue being having difficulty achieving the minimum 4 BA flights.

So, I have carefully crafted a truly epic status run to coincide with a trip back to the UK this July / August. This involves flying around Asia and India / middle east in three chunks (taking in QF, UL, MH, QR, BA, CX mostly in J). By the time I get back to NZ after my holiday, I will have achieved QF WP and attained the required 1400SC's and 4QF flights.

I just want to consult you all on whether I am doing the right thing and shouldn't direct my flights to another OW airline's FFP? I thought of an AA challenge and still would struggle with the min 4 AA flights (I cant see a way around this and travelling to the States just for the 4 flights is potentially excessive!)...I do however buy substantial AA miles to pay for premium travel for the whole family between SWP-Europe as this is currently excellent value.

Any thoughts or suggestions? Am I missing other FFP's? I figure that QF is the easiest to attain Emerald status with (after BA).

Questions
(1) What is most important to you in a FFP?
Reply: Status and lounge access is the most important aspect for me. I am also keen on securing a good earn/burn ratio (thus torn on QF versus AA!).