Originally Posted by
Andy82
Talking about benefits, HON appears to be definitely better, though the requirements are roughly 50% higher than Ultimate - simply impossible to reach for me. That's all.
Ultimate is closer since I'm already Platinum with FB with a significant amount of Level Miles at the moment. I have no reason to switch to LH just to become - at most - senator.
Makes absolute sense in your situation. Don't torture yourself with Lufthansa's 2-2-2 config when you can have AF Best instead.
Just one thought: life as a HON on LH/LX is markedly better than that as a SEN, whereas life as an ULTI is not that much greater on AFKL than as a "normal" Plat (as a LPT I now also get the very personal treatment and extra attention, the chit-chat and request for feedback, the first choice from the menu, etc. All I am missing is the TA - not so useful apparently - and the escort at CDG through immigration and security, which I would love to have).
But again, if your tradeoff is status-less AF Best vs. Lufthansa then Air France is clearly the better product (unless you really care about things like WiFi on board or more choice on the menu). If your choice is AF NEV or KL vs. Austrian or Swiss, then OS/LX is the better choice. For you it seems to be the former, so by all means stick with AF. They are getting better by the day on their longhaul premium product, and sometimes I wish they just had more money to roll out their BEST product to more planes, install internet connections, and work a bit on the food, and it would be without competition the best Business product out there West of Baghdad..