Originally Posted by pinniped

If I were flying paid J, I'd probably just stick with lowest fare assuming all of the J products are adequate, as the four you list are. The benefits of "loyalty" (status) come into play most when you're flying Y. If you're in paid J, you already have access to the elite queues, a lounge, etc. Status gives you a few other nice-to-haves like better phone support and a few bonus miles, but I'd never buy a $4000 ticket if a satisfactory $2500 ticket was available just because of miles/status.

I've flown U.S.-India J on BA and Emirates. It was about the time I started doing this that I discovered that Alaska Airlines (AS) was a nice place to dump the miles. They have pretty solid class-of-service bonuses, although I do not intend to redeem J awards to India - I'll use the awards for elsewhere in Asia. (I don't know what their India award chart looks like and I know they're *not* a good option for redeeming EK.)

Part of me wants to try Etihad on my next trip just because, but I'm sure in the end I'll book Emirates again.