And if it is a non-full Economy fare, i.e. not in Y class, he should join QF and NOT BA.

On both he will now only get 25% of the miles flown, however if does it on BA EC he will get NO BA Tier Credits, but if he does it on QF FF he WILL get QF Status Credits.

The trip he is taking, plus a couple of other transatlantic/longhaul in his earning year (which starts the day he joins the programme), give him a good chance of getting Silver (OW Ruby) on QF (though he may have to fly QF at least once to get this), impossible for him to get Status if he puts it on a BA EC card.

And if he then flies QF he will get 100% of any miles flown even on cheapest ticket, while same flight on BA EC card would only get him 25%.

Put simply - If flying Economy a lot always pick QF FF over BA EC.

The only caveat I would put on this is that if he is not going to fly enough for status, and mainly flies out of Europe, he may wanna join BA as it is more local. But even then I might still go for QF myself.

See here for relevant QF FF programme details - http://www.qantas.com.au/fflyer/dyn/...ngPoints/index