Originally Posted by
CptnBarrySeal
Hello all! Trying to figure out the best Program to focus on for my upcoming situation. My work allows me to live anywhere I want and I was planning to spend a couple of years in Japan. My work will buy me confirmed tickets once a month from japan to the U.S. and back to japan after work. So it is essentially 1 RT trip once a month. pretty much 1 leg every 2 weeks. Now, I could fly zipair lie flat seats, or I can fly JAL/ANA/AA or any other carrier from TYO to the U.S. While zipair might make sense if i'm not flying enough to earn status, I would rather just bear through economy for a while to earn top status. My main priority would be to get free business class upgrades. Which program would allow me to get upgraded to business class most frequently? Preferred airport to fly into from TYO would be LAX, but any airport would really be fine.
Really appreciate any insight.
If your company is guaranteeing you lie-flat seats on ZipAir, I would just take that and forget the FF earnings, if you really do want to be comfortable flying back and forth on every trip. Otherwise, you will end up in economy most of the time, or paying out of your pocket for in-app or day-of-flight upgrade buy-ups which can be anywhere from $300 to over $2000 per flight on the legacies, and, again, these are not even always guaranteed.
EDIT: Getting status on a legacy (AA, JAL, US, ANA, DL, etc.) will cost you comfort (more economy less lie-flat) and your own money (buy ups to business). Status is not worth sacrificing your comfort and money. Indeed, it's probably a poor investment decision.