wmarek

...Cross-posted from American AAdvantage Forum...
I've done what I consider to be a reasonable amount of research on this subject but haven't really been able to find anything spot on.

My story so far...
Currently living in San Jose, CA and moving with my wife and family (all of which are aadvantage members, even the 3 year old) to Manchester, England in the next month. I will continue to make 3-4 trips back to the US, presumably on AA, per year over the next 3 years.

I could use some advice on whether to continue earning miles on AA or should I become a BAEC member on the assumption that I'll be flying BA often.
Any existing threads or FAQs on this topic? Any opinions on which program is stronger/better?

One thing I have learned from my research is that Star Alliance appears to be stronger in Europe (where I'll be doing a lot of business travel) than OneWorld, especially in light of the recent acquisition of Swiss by Lufthansa. Any thoughts on that topic from those that leverage the alliances?

One more...anyone been able to get a complimentary status on BA, based upon their AA status? Or does this even matter since I'm already OneWorld Sapphire?

Regards...

whmere

Well, I did it in the other direction (UK to US 5 years ago), but here's my 0.1 Euros worth

There are two key differences between AAdvantage and the EC:

- You don't get miles or status on BA for flying on discounted coach fares (and your miles/bonuses for flying full fare or premium are the same)
- It is a lot easier to earn status on BA provided you fly points-earning fares.

And a few minor (but still important ones):

- Status on BA gets you access to lounges. You can't buy access to their lounges like you can the AC.
- BA only does operational or booked miles upgrades. You don't get stickers or comps.

The choice is yours. I've maintained my BA Gold (OW Emerald) as it gets me free lounge access to the AC and FLs. I've worked in Plat status on AA so I get sticker upgrades etc. The thing is to figure out what works for you in terms of gaining/maintaining status as well as benefits when you fly. I have no strong opinion about which program is better for someone in the UK (AA is definitely better if you're US based).

Star Alliance has a lot of partners in Europe, but ex-UK BA can get you most places you'll need to go.

Finally: comp status is extremely unlikely, esp from Sapphire. BA is really stingy about this sort of thing. And AA wouldn't comp me from Emerald to their own Plat (I had to do a challenge). You'll have to earn it.

Celestar340

If you're going to fly transatlantic, AA will get you 100% of miles even if you buy an el cheapo ticket. You can't of course earn miles on AA if you buy a BA ticket for transatlantic crossings to the US. So if you join BAEC, you'd still only earn 25% of miles on some economy fare classes. Some fares don't even earn you anymiles.

Same for travelling within Europe.. if you maintain even a Plat level with AA, you have access to BA lounges, and some fares will earn you that 25% with BA within EU. But please be aware that some really cheap discounted fares do not earn you any miles on either BA or AA.

Holding BAEC is handy if you need to be waitlisted for full flights. But if your move is only temporary, then I'd stick with AA.

Raffles

It is also cheaper to redeem AA miles than BA miles for BA flights - eg F to India is 105k AA miles or 150k BA miles. I too would stick with AA.

Except ..... you can use BA Miles to upgrade from WT+ to Club very cheaply (25,000 miles per person). You may find this useful when flying back to the US on a regular basis.

You need to do the maths to work out whether this is a better deal than an AA upgrade with 'co-pay'.

tristan727

Soon as the Amex voucher with BA program finishes, I'll likely go over to AA - I even get PM's from people advising me to switch over, such is the way they apparently treat you.

Now, I've never flown on AA, or even any other U.S. airline - but I believe transatlantic they have 35' seat pitch in Y? Sounds good to me, along with 100% mileage - do you get free food & booze too?

wobbly wings

No free booze Tristan (5$ a shot) but I think taking all things into account (including cheaper redemption and the ability to get to PLAT level via challenge) I've decided to put all my flying miles into the AA account.

G-BOAC

35" is I believe More Room Throughout Coach (MRTC) which AA introduced a few years back...and are removing from their fleet so you'll be lucky to still get this by the time the AmEx voucher ends (if it does). No free booze in Y on any AA flight these days ($5 a pop for a can of beer/G&T/etc.). No lounge access on US domestic itineraries even for ExPlat (which is Emerald/equivalent to BA Gold - only other OW members get this with AA). 100% miles flown on an airline in Chapter 11? Great...not

Phil

Prospero

Its very difficult to recommend one programme over another without knowing your future travel patterns. You may not have a clear picture yourself of what this is yet.

I'd say, generally if your aim is to accrue mileage for redemption purposes then you may be best off continuing with your existing FF plan. If your travel plans in Europe involve travel in BA restricted economy then you'll still only get 25% Aadvantage mileage on those fares. Also, UK based Aadvantage partners are pretty thin on the ground - the not so generous RBS Aadvantage mastercard springs to mind.

If maintaining status and enjoying the benefits that comes with it is more important you then I think the BA Executive Club has the slight edge. BA's Silver (OW sapphire) status offers one very cushy benefit over AA Platinum such as access to OW Lounges when travelling on a OW partner airline, regardless of ticket restrictions. This includes access for yourself and one guest. Something you will appreciate when travelling on AA domestic. Also worth a note. AA domestic YUP fares are a fantastic source of status earning points at 60 tier points a sector or 180 tier points on transcontinental sectors. Oh, one minor correction to a point raised by an earlier poster: you earn BA Miles on all published fares: 200% on First; 150% on Club World/Europe; 125% on World Traveller Plus; 100% on fully/semi flexible economy; 25% on restricted economy. Check out the Ultimate BA Guide for more details.

Moving away from oneworld is another option. Although the Star Alliance does have a strong presence in Europe, its actually pretty weak in the UK. Most EU travel involves costly connections where you'll get badly stung in taxes/charges. Thats something you'll notice immediately - these levies are much higher in the EU particularly so at FRA and AMS.

Plenty of food for thought

wobbly wings

Greg, with AA PLAT you get OW Sapphire status automatically, hence the same benefit as BA Silver in terms of lounge access when flying OW + guest.

economyman

Not so on AA domestic flights. No lounge access with AA Plat! Whereas BA Silver gets you lounge access on AA domestic flights.

bagold

please tell us more on what is important for you? do you fly paid econ or business? you looking for awards, comps, lounge?

chalf

Unless you are purchasing paid full-fare tickets on BA (i.e., full-fare WT/WT+/CW/ET/CE) and/or plan to fly BA transatlantic, stick with AA. As some have noted, AA Plat will get you access to BA Terraces lounges when flying BA, and ACs when flying AA on an international itinerary (even doemstic connecting segments). AA is also much more generous with elite status mileage bonuses, and allows one to earn full mileage (not 25%) even on discounted (AA-metal) flights. This difference adds up quickly on transatlantics, and to me compensates for a LOT of $5 drinks in Y. AA also has a reasonable carry-on allowance, if that is a consideration.

One downside to you might be that AA does not serve SJC or SFO ex-UK, if that will be a frequent destination. From the UK so you would likely need to fly MAN-ORD-SFO/SJC or MAN-LHR-ORD/LAX-SJC/SFO. BA flies non-stop LHR-SFO.

With a family, a further conideration might be that BA permits household accounts, though at 25% of miles for discount Y on BA as compared to 100% for AA this could still be an advantage.

[BA board heresy] If you are flying in J you may also wish to consider MAN-LHR-SFO on bmi and VS, as possibly offering superior service to either AA or BA.

Disco Volante

I hope you have bought an umbrella.

wobbly wings

Oh yes. Thought we were talking about intra-europe and intercontinental (given the OP's intention to relocate). You and Greg are right: it's well worth pointing out. In addition though, it must be said that an AA PLAT flying quite a bit will have a lot of stickers to use for Biz upgrades on AA domestic.

chalf

AA Plat/ExPlat does provide lounge access on domestic flights as part of an international itinerary. Only travel on wholly-"domestic" (using the expansive US airline definitions of the term to include Canada and much of Latin America) itineraries does not include lounge access. This may not be important to the OP, however, if he/she lives overseas.