Originally Posted by
Cyzei
Well, in fact, no matter which ffp you choose, miles earned toward that specific program cannot be transfer to another.
In my opinion, you can get A3 Gold first, which requires 20K miles in 1-2 years, depending on how you manage your trips. A3 Gold gives you access to all Star Alliance lounge, which I guess it's the most important thing to you. Also, after you get A3 Gold, you only need to have one account activity in 36 months (or 24? I forget) to maintain your Star-alliance Gold status. A extremely short haul flight counts, as long as it is eligible to A3.
After you get A3, I think you can place your miles into UA, which is the most rewarding program. UA does not cost you much when redeeming miles. You can still enjoy *A Gold benefits (which A3 gives you) even if you are earning miles to UA's ffp.
The only problem of this is that you do not know when Aegean would chance their t&c...lol...And you may need to print your boarding pass twice to have this done. (Typing in A3's ffp number first, and this gives you *G status, and then reprinting your pass with UA's number, which your *G status would still be shown, agents can help you with that)
I have followed the advice above but am looking for some additional advice based on my new situation as below. I am already qualified for *G on Aegean/M&B for 2016. To be clear, I achieved gold status first in Nov 2014. This expires in Jan 2016. I just received and email from M&B that I have already accumulated enough miles to stay in Gold tier for the next year as well. Does it make sense to accumulate miles in the same M&B account after achieving gold status for the next year?
(1) What is your home airport? Primarily BRU
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ? (C, F, Y, etc.) Y
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k) 25K
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it? (UA Premier, M&M Senator etc) Miles and Bonus Gold *G since Nov 2014; I just received notification that I already qualify for *G Status through 2016 as well
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? (Frequent upgrades on travel, priority services when flying the airline, good award redemption rates, free lounge access, etc.) Lounge access
(6) Which routes do you fly most often (US Domestic, Transpacific etc) BRU to Eastern/Central Europe/Turkey mostly (Moscow, Kiev, Sofia, Vienna, Prague, Istanbul)
(7) Preferred Airlines - Brussels Airlines
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? (Can you chooose your airlines, class of service) Work, cannot choose class of service