Originally Posted by
ChrisLi
I believe it's their chart issue that they do not have a seperate tier for longer range. For the 140 TP I mean round trip 4 sector (note the "RT" in my original post, which is 35 TP per sector in discounted Y) , do not get confused. For J I would say yes it is definitely a fast track to BA Gold.
Thanks for the clarification.
Originally Posted by
ChrisLi
It really depends on your flying pattern. If you envision your flying to slow down after your school time, it definitely worth the investment. I think I did it 5 years ago and didn't regret it at all (but now with my current job I opt to aim at BA lifetime gold).
If JAL didn't announce the change in rules of retaining JGC membership, then, of course, I will probably do a mileage run for JAL.
Originally Posted by
ChrisLi
If you tend to pay high fare subclass / full fare / PY, then BAEC is no-brainer and the added bonus if you are ok to transit in DOH. DOH itself is a good airport and quite smooth with priority transit, plus cheap tickets (but often quite restrictive, I recall finding 18K RT to LON but ask for 5K change fee and no cancellation). I won't recommend you to do ex-PEN due to complexity but do ex-LON holiday during the year. Note that IB coded and operated flight also count so if you do IB on LON-MAD-XXX, it still counts towards the sector requirements which may be cheaper way to fulfill it. I did a weekend trip on LCY-EDI-LGW last year which is cheap weekend getaway as well.
Well, I don't mind taking a Business RT with Qatar (LHR-HKG), and take 2 SH with BA to have OWS status. I admit this is the easiest way to do (my current research shows that + you guys' suggestions
Thank you) Unfortunately, now I'm a bit unwilling to take Qatar because the flights travel in the Iraq/Iran Airspace...
Originally Posted by
ChrisLi
For HKG ICN 3 times in Y, I would say forget about OZ unless you have many other Star Alliance flight during the year. OZ is especially bad in award redemption ratio as well (I am OZ Diamond - *Gold but i only step on OZ flight 3 or 4 times only). It's good if you consider you can have lifetime membership after 500K status miles but I would say you are too far from there.
Well, when is comes to OZ, what attracts me is it is somehow easy to get Diamond status. You can enjoy the benefits when travelling on *A airlines.
After reading quite a lot of threads, I think choosing which FFP to join is somehow a long term investment, particularly, those who offers lifetime memberships. This brings out a question whether it is worth to pursuit one, as this will take a long time.
triplefives However, I won’t worry about this because it’s a bit uncertain in the future.
Originally Posted by
triplefives
The age of question of "which FFP is best" really only has one answer: "it depends". Many of these factors are dependent on the individual (i.e., fare classes (financial constraint), preferences (airline/seat/countries/perceived safety), duration (routings non-stop vs layovers). Then there's the question of what one values the most in a FFP - is it OW status? baggage allowance? availability of award space? complimentary upgrades, etc.? the answer is completely dependent on the individual.
I agree. This depends on the individual. For me, or at least currently, OW status and baggage allowance matter me most. For my parents, a good back-up office is crucial. MPC is excellent. There is a toll-free number you can call at any time, any place. You can easily speak to the manager quickly if the front line can't solve the issue. If the manager can't solve it, the Senior manager steps in. Since we are Chinese and we both betterunderstand our culture, speaking to them just saves us a lot of valuable time. In some ways, MPC is a bit mean, but they are willing to listen to what you want, and always try to find ways to assist you. This is something that I appreciate most. I rarely see an airline provide such
professional customer service, and this struggles me when I am thinking of switching to BAEC. They may just ignore you because of I’m Chinese. Many of my Chinese friends were not treated nicely, and that's part of the reason why I am a bit against BA and AA.
I am thinking FinnairPLUS.
What attracts me to Finnair is they credit points based on distance travelled in kilometers. If we take Finnair flights, we can get bonus tier points based on tier. I always take Cathay flights and based on the OW award chart, I always get 100% tier points.
I travel 3-4 times HKG-LHR in economy with Cathay. Since I always travel during peak seasons, the price of AY business is 450 euros more than CX economy. I think it is a good deal to have OW status if I take AY Business and reach Gold or even Platinum.
Many thanks, Neo.