Originally Posted by
cegmondiale
Let me re-frame this.
According to the AA website, flights on all OW partners are devalued to 50-75% (for economy fares). If the majority of my international flights with AA/OW are on QR, then it would be a massive loss. This is the primary reason I am questioning using AA as my FFP.
Does anyone know how this works practically speaking? Do you truly lose that much in terms of status/points by flying OW partners through AA FFP?
The Privilege Club (QRs FFP) earning table practically mirrors what you would earn on QR when crediting to AAdvantage. Discount economy earns a measly 25% there as well:
http://www.qatarairways.com/Privileg...arn_chart.page.
Privilege Club has a point system for earning status similar to BA's program - it's not 100% miles-based. Use their calculator with the routes you fly most to check on if it's worth it:
http://www.qatarairways.com/sites/Pr...alculator.page
Workaround: If you buy QR flights as AA codeshares on aa.com, you will earn AA miles according to the AA earning chart, which gives 100% miles for even the cheapest fare - for now. Price differences for codeshares vary greatly - do some research for the routes you fly most often.
Nobody here knows if and when that will change, but everyone around here is certain AAdvantage will see a major devaluation rather soon. Check this thread for where this may well be heading:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...-2015-a-2.html
Collective wisdom around here says it's usually preferable to credit to/gain status in the FFP of the airline that one uses most.
In your case, crediting to QR will get you low or maybe mid-tier status with QR, and only by crediting to PC will you be able to use miles for upgrades on QR flights. Also, status in PC MAY LIKELY give you better shots at operational upgrades.
Crediting to AA, you cannot upgrade QR flights with AA miles if that is what you're after.
However, especially for a US citizen, AA miles are - for now - much easier to obtain (think cc use) than QR miles and better overall well due to their generous redemption chart. And AA miles practically do not expire (especially when you have and use a co-branded cc), while QR miles do have a hard expiration date of 36 to 41 months after earning. When you only fly discount economy, you need to collect for a long time before having enough for an award or an upgrade, so keep this in mind.
Personally, in your situation I would credit to AA (and get their cc) and decide what to do in a few months after the AA devaluation has been announced.
For oneworld status - wait until you have your UA platinum card and then status match with airberlin. This will give you OW Sapphire status for a year (incl. lounge access).