Originally Posted by
lincolnite
Hi - newbie(ish) question about registering with multiple loyalty programs. I have already plumped for the BAEC and have status there, from both BA and other OW flights. I have a couple of QR flights coming up, which I will also credit to BAEC.
The question is, is whether it is worth joining the Qatar Privilege Club? I can already manage my booking online, and see my trips on the QR app, but would joining the QR club make that any easier or better - eg for boarding passes etc? More importantly, would it confuse anything with where the miles get credited if I 'belong' to two programs?
Let me start by saying that only you can decide what's best for you, and that depends on a lot of different factors - e.g. what you want to get out of your FFP, where and how often you travel, in what class, etc.
That said, I would not generally recommend crediting to multiple loyalty programs particularly within a single alliance, for the simple reason is that your rewards (i.e. earned miles/points) get split across multiple programs - or currencies - and there really is not a reliable way to convert one to the other. For instance, if you were to credit a flight worth 15000 miles to one program and one worth 10000 miles to another (oversimplified and hypothetical example), you would have a modest balance in both, but no benefits from either. But you wouldn't have enough in either to earn status or (usually) redeem miles for an award flight..but if you had 25k in one program that could add some benefits.
Now if you fly a lot - enough to gain useful status on two programs in more than one alliance - now that's worth thinking about.
For what it's worth, and using me as an example, I belong to both American AAdvantage and BAEC - but I credit every flight to AA, and use my BAEC membership simply to be able to access BA's award search capability which I find superior to AA's. But keeping all my miles on AA helps me consolidate currency to redeem, and gives me status on AA which is (largely) reciprocated on other OneWorld carriers.
If you're not a frequent traveler, I'd suggest staying with BA and not opening another account with the intent to credit to that account.
To your other questions - if you have multiple accounts (as I do), there's no issue with confusing miles. When you make a booking, you can specify which account you want the flights to credit to. Note that this also sets your status for the purpose of the itinerary. For instance, AA offers "complimentary, space available upgrades" on domestic flights. If I credited my BAEC account on my booking, my AA status would not show up and I would not be eligible for these upgrades. Many carriers allow you to change which program you want to list/credit to even after the booking is made, usually up to the day of travel.
And you should be able to get a mobile boarding pass regardless of your FF status (but this can vary depending on the carrier). For instance I know I can get a mobile boarding pass on Lufthansa without having a Miles&More account. Not sure if QR offers this; I have not yet used (or tried to use) mobile BPs on QR.
Good luck, and happy flying!