Originally Posted by
zdeneksme
Reaching for 5k TPs and related perks could be very good option for many people (especially London-based) but not so much for me, I guess. I try to keep my flight times as short as reasonably possible: this is in fact the main reason I have chosen BA as the preferred airline on my main business route. Considering WAW-ATL I have about 1hr of lounge time each way so the visits are frequent indeed but rather too short to be a decisive factor. Other than my new biz-route I make LHR layover 2-3 times per year so this is hardly something to be concerned about.
Right now I have barely 1800 lifetime TPs so going for 35k is rather not an option - I would have to drastically change my travel patterns in order to make it work and this would too much of a hassle. Possibly I will think about if I ever move from PL to UK, as many of my fellow citizens ;-)
If you don't value CCR enough to push for 5kTP then your BA-AS option may make sense. I would also seriously consider crediting your BA flights to AA, though. You'll be earning 125% miles (and 150% EQMs) flown on business class fares and will easily meet the EQD requirements for Executive Platinum based on that mileage of business class flying. You'll then receive SWUs and complementary upgrades when flying in the US, as well as status perks on AA and AS. AS has higher earning on certain business class fare codes, but also isn't an alliance member and it wouldn't offer you any status perks on BA, KLM, or AF. You miss out on the 2.5k and 3.5k BA bonuses, but you would anyway if you were crediting to AS after 1.5k. The only real downside to this strategy is no AA lounge access on domestic AA flights, but it doesn't sound like that would be an issue for you.