I am changing over to *A when my oneworld sapphire status is about to lapse as *A carriers seem much more affordable for places I usually go. My aim is to attain *G.

My travel plans every year include:
At least 3 trips to South east Asia (mixed economy/business), at least 2 of which are to SIN.
At least 1 long haul to Europe (usually business)
The occassional trans-tasman

I see myself mainly flying on SQ, TG or LH (there are good joint TG/LH deals to Europe). My amount of flying would put me just over the 50k mark needed for *G on most programs, but that is if I keep up my current level of flying.

I am in the midst of researching the different *A programs. The ones that I looked at include:

- UA. Reputed to be the best program around, but I wont be jumping onto UA metal anytime soon.

- AC. Easy to gain *G (35k miles, very achievable even if I fly everything in Y), which means I will be definitely getting *G even if my amount of flying decreases slightly below the 50k mark. This program was heavily promoted by a Canadian friend of mine. But I also won't be jumping onto AC metal anytime soon.

- TG. Generous benefits, the complimentary return upgrade sounds appealing. I will most definitely be flying this airline in business to Europe as they are so cheap. And maybe to Asia if the destinations are located at reasonable proximity to TG's BKK hub (ie no roundabout transits).

- SQ. This will be the airline I fly most for travels to Asia, a mix of business and economy class. However its program seems very stingy in the benefits KF gold members enjoy.

In none of the *A programs have I noticed any minimum sector requirements. Which works for me as I like trying out different airlines occassionally. Another reason to change to *A as it provides more of a choice.

Given the above analysis, I think I would on balance pick AC Aeroplan or TG Orchid Plus. It's easier to qualify for AC Aeroplan but as someone else pointed out all the elite benefits exclusively on AC would be wasted if I don't fly AC. TG Orchid Plus looks fantastic and I can see myself flying on TG, but I also hear they are in a devaluation process?

The prequisites of attaining TG Gold as stated on their website are also rather confusing:

"This top tier status is attained with Qualifying Miles earned during 3 evaluation periods.

50,000 Q Miles Miles from the date of enrolment up to December 31 of the same year, or 50,000 Q Miles during the first complete calendar year after enrolment.

80,000 Q Miles from the date of enrolment up to December 31 of the next complete calendar year.

40 international flown sectors on THAI within any 1 calendar year."

Do they mean any one of those methods will qualify? Or do I need to fulfill all 3 points? :S

But which should I eventually pick? Oh the decisions....Someone help!! I think I've already made a historic decision to dump QF FFP and jump to *A so this time I would hope to make the right choice.

Any advice from the *A gurus here would be much appreciated.

Cheers,
Keith