pandaperth

ADL-KUL-LHR-KUL-ADL is 20,234 miles according to gcmap

According to the MH Earning Chart
Elite Qualifying Miles will be 1.25 times base miles = 25,292
Elite Qualifying Points will be the same (for some reason only a 25% bonus for MH business class; with all(?) other airlines the bonus is 50% (and is 50% for full fare economy))

Redeemable miles will depend on your AA status and Class of Service:
Base Member in Z: RDM = Base Miles + 25%
Gold Member in Z: RDM = Base Miles + 25% + another 25%
PLT or EXP in Z: RDM = Base Miles + 25% + 100%
(I don't see how you calculated 60K RDM)

One return trip will get you GOLD status (>25K EQM or EQP)
A second trip will get your PLT status (>50K EQM or EQP)
A fourth trip will get you EXP status (>100K EQM or EQP)

AA is regarded as having a much better earn/burn rate that other OW airlines
As an example, I recently redeemed a flight AKL-PER (via BNE) in Business
Cost was 17,500 AA miles
With Qantas it would have cost 60,000 points (!!)

Microwave

As AAdvantage is still operating as a distinct programme, this question is being moved over to the relevant thread in the pre-merger American Airlines forum.

As this question has come up so recently and appears coupled with the QF devaluation, I've retitled the extant thread linked by Mwenenzi (and removed the circular link), so we can now engage in a broader conversation along these lines here.

Please note the sticky at the top of the consolidated thread which is titled Welcome to the New American Airlines Forum! PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING. With all of the changes about, it is important to know where to post, and reading that thread before posting (as the title suggests ) will help get you in the right place.

~Moderator

wtcmor

Thanks very much for this, I clearly made an error. Given I usually do one J class trip a year to Europe, maybe I should consider crediting to MH instead? The other consideration is I will lose my plat status on QF as I doubt AA would status match

Dave Noble

With 1 trip a year together with other travel, maintaining platinum is likely to be easy ; do the 1st trip on BA and take the AA Platinum challenge and can get to AA Platinum on a oneway trip to UK

I would suggest that Platinum status is a pretty decent one with the same earnings as Executive Platinum. Other than 1st lounge access , platinum isnt that much worse than top tier

The redemption rates of AA can make it most worthwhile

bhomburg

Just two cautionary points here:
- AAdvantage has a published rule about needing 4 AA-operated-and-marketed segments per year to achieve or retain status on AA. Historically, this was never enforced (unlike over at e.g. BA), though and one can earn status on AA even when flying partners exclusively. But there's no guarantee this will remain the case in the post-merger combined AA/US FFP.

- AA is currently in the process of merging with US. As of today, there's no official announcement or roadmap as to combining the FFPs or how the new, post-merger AAdvantage will look like, but it is widely expected that there will be changes.
Looking at 'enhancements' the US competition (DL, UA) has implemented in their FFPs lately, QFF members switching now might find themselves in an 'out of the frying pan and into the fire' situation come 2015 as the trend to revenue-based accrual, spend requirements for status, devalued award charts and decreased partner earning seems an industry-wide one that might well catch up with AA.

With this in mind, I'd be careful with putting all my eggs in the AA basket as an Australia-based flier.

Mwenenzi

Have you looked at MH even a little? You would get more value from your flying and non flying miles/points with QF than MH. But for earn/burn & award copay fees hard to go past AA
From http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/onewo...help-here.html
Many saying they will leave QF FFP for another FPP have not done a detailed analysis

UA Fan

You're right. Keep forgetting that the earn part improved recently. Still AS could be better since it earns 100% miles.

Dave Noble

I think it would be hard work to find many schemes worse than Qantas's

tom911

Although not discussed much here, there are small fuel surcharges on IB award redemptions, too. LINK

JonNYC

Well put!

wtcmor

Yes I did look -but the QF earning tables are deceptive, even when flying in business on MH QF flyers only get .75% points. If you did exactly the same on QF you would get 1.50 ++ depending on your status. The problem is QF doesn't fly internationally as much anymore so its gets harded to find QF. Anyway, it looks like AA is the go for now, keeping in mind all ff programs will get harder and harder to find value from.

SeriouslyLost

Salt in the wound, salt in the wound.

SeriouslyLost

NZ is trying to compete very, very hard.


IMO, anyone outside Oz that flies primarily around or across the Pacific, AA or AS are the obvious choices to consider. AS is particularly interesting as a potential option for US based people - especially for those worried about AA devaluing in the next twelve months.

Mwenenzi

And IMHO Air NZ win easily.
But after AA many of the OW FFP's are a poor in comparison. Before the upcoming changes with the QF FFP is was relatively easy to get/maintain high status if flying at the pointy end.

aussielori

I am an AAdevotee only thing is that one has to fly at least 4 AA to maintain status.
That's going to be hard if we don't go to USA.