Originally Posted by
EndlosLuft
I tend to buy discounted business class tickets on a variety of carriers between Germany and the US. American Airlines program isn't very useful to me because of the spend requirement so am thinking of crediting my miles to an Avios program for low level Bronze/Gold elite. Since I'm generally booking business Elite status doesn't have much value to me but I'd like to hear from you in the Iberia forum what is the intangible Elite treatment like from Iberia? Would this be your preferred Avios program vs BA or Aer Lingus?
Thanks!
I don't think it really matters - ground operations and IRROPS are handled by the operating carrier. If you mostly fly IB then it would make sense to be IbPlus, but likewise if you mostly fly BA, then BAEC. Avios is irrelevant because you can transfer them around between programs.
I think a better question should be: how easy-difficult is it to achieve something meaningful, tier wise. It is said that it's usually easier to obtain status with BAEC - but if you frequently fly from Germany to US via Spain, then it would make sense to check IbPlus, since business flights between Germany and Spain operated by Iberia earn a lot of Elite Points.