dundeelawrence

Having finally concluded that flying Flex on AC is not worth the premium over Tango fares, I am now considering flying other airlines in the Star Alliance. How do you determine the number of status miles you get for the various fare categories on other airlines? I assume that just as AC gives only 50% status miles for Tango fares, other airlines do likewise or am I wrong on that. Thanks.

YULcookiemonster

http://www4.aeroplan.com/earn_miles/...r=StarAlliance

km101

It can be very tricky gathering miles with other partners, however it is totally doable.

First step is to learn what different airlines give you for miles. This will vary widely. UA is the simplest which offers 100% miles for any UA flight. Other airlines, not always so generous. Start off at www.aeroplan.com and click on "partners", Flights, then look at what each of the different airlines offer.

Then go to http://www.staralliance.com/en/services/timetables/
Download thier .pdf timetable. This will show all the flight options between where you are and where you want to go. It is a little old school, however I find it is the simplest way to figure out which other star alliance airlines fly between two points.

You will have to be careful of "codeshares". This is when you buy a ticket from one airline, and that airline uses a different airlines aircraft for a portion of the journey. For example, if you were to fly YYZ-ORD-FRA, and buy the ticket from UA thinking you will get 100% miles, you might be wrong. The YYZ-ORD might be on a plane with "UA" written on the side, however when you get to ORD, and board your FRA flight, you find it says "Lufthansa" on the side of the plane. The "fare basis code" for your UA ticket might be "W" (an economy fare), however between UA and Lufthansa, your "W" fare may translate into an "S" fare, which earns only 50% of the miles flown. Sometimes this can be OK, sometimes you will lose out on miles. There is no way to really know what different fare buckets translate into, so be careful. Try and stick with flying on the airplane of the company you book with.

When you pick a destination, and pick an airline to use, you will find that each airlines website is slightly different as to how it displays the "fare basis code" It is generally the first letter of the 6 letter fare rule. Some sites make this info easy to find, some do not. You may have to purchase the fare before you get to read the fine print. Be ready to IMMEDIATELY phone the airline to ask to fix your booking if you accidentally book a fare code that does not offer you the miles you crave.

Good luck

Symmetre

If you want to collect *A points, fly on United, where you will earn 100% mileage at every fare class. And as a *G, you'll almost always be upgraded to E+ seating at the gate as a courtesy and as a thank-you for your loyalty.

yeg2where

Never once had that happen on intercontinental, and only rarely in NA. YMMV.

junkievince

Good to know. Thinking of making the jump to United next year

Symmetre

It is very much YMMV. I have had pretty good success, but admittedly as a result of booking specific flights and routings with this option front-of-mind. This sometimes requires concessions ... I'll give up the nice new 777 with AVOD to fly the older 744 with the overhead CRT screen every time if I have a better chance of gaining some legroom. I can bring my own entertainment, but I can't pack an extra five inches of space.

It's 100% miles in either case, which addresses the OP's concern.