Irafan Welcome to FT
Originally Posted by
Irafan
Hi All
I’ll be flying regularly now from UK to Chicago and to European destinations usually in economy. Currently got some flights booked for BA and AA so wondering which one to use
1) Status is important to me
2) lounge access, upgrades and booking better seats is important to me
3) I think I will fly enough to get to the next level by end of July but not to too end in a year
4) not interested in topping up unless it was to get to real top end or to keep points but ideally not pay at all
5) mainly AA to chicago
6)business traveller
7)no other way of topping up points as I am using Barclaycard platinum for foreign spend as it has 0% transaction fee and cash advance at 0% and business card for business
AA is a revenue based ffp. BA is a distance based ffp.
AA is calendar year based. BA is based on the month you join.
It may be hard with AA to meet the AA revenue requirements with economy flights. But just do the calculations. Will depend on if you fly AA or BA flights, how many flights, what you pay, etc.
Lounge access comes with mid level status or class of travel (business first). You may not get to mid level status.
Upgrades USA Eu/UK are hard to get. A lot of people with high status wanting the same. Low priced fares may not be eligible to enter the upgrade contest, Just expect to fly in the seat you buy.