Moving to Hong Kong soon. Is CX my only practical choice?
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: PEK, AUS, WAS, HKG
Programs: CX Gold
Posts: 1,130
Moving to Hong Kong soon. Is CX my only practical choice?
I am currently a Star Alliance captive (*G status with UA) living in the US. Next year my job will take me to Hong Kong. I am wondering if I can survive within Star Alliance network. I think the biggest gap in the network would be flights from HKG to mainland China, but other than that, my impression is that there should be sufficient *A flights for me to choose. Am I right? Or should I switch to CX for the best flight schedule?
Moreover, if I end up flying with CX, which OW program should I credit my flights to? (I heard that it is not easy to attain Gold status/OW Sapphire with Marco Polo Club). I find JL's Global Club membership (which guarantees OW Sapphire status) attractive. Is it actually a good choice?
Thanks in advance!
Moreover, if I end up flying with CX, which OW program should I credit my flights to? (I heard that it is not easy to attain Gold status/OW Sapphire with Marco Polo Club). I find JL's Global Club membership (which guarantees OW Sapphire status) attractive. Is it actually a good choice?
Thanks in advance!
#2
Suspended
Join Date: May 2006
Location: HKG
Programs: A3, TK *G; JL JGC; SPG,Hilton Gold
Posts: 9,952
I am currently a Star Alliance captive (*G status with UA) living in the US. Next year my job will take me to Hong Kong. I am wondering if I can survive within Star Alliance network. I think the biggest gap in the network would be flights from HKG to mainland China, but other than that, my impression is that there should be sufficient *A flights for me to choose. Am I right? Or should I switch to CX for the best flight schedule?
Moreover, if I end up flying with CX, which OW program should I credit my flights to? (I heard that it is not easy to attain Gold status/OW Sapphire with Marco Polo Club). I find JL's Global Club membership (which guarantees OW Sapphire status) attractive. Is it actually a good choice?
Thanks in advance!
Moreover, if I end up flying with CX, which OW program should I credit my flights to? (I heard that it is not easy to attain Gold status/OW Sapphire with Marco Polo Club). I find JL's Global Club membership (which guarantees OW Sapphire status) attractive. Is it actually a good choice?
Thanks in advance!
that said, if u want ow status then yeh. besides the 25000 jl status miles and 5000 redeemable per year, its quite a decent way to fix ur ow status.
nothing stops jal from stopping the program or changing it tho
Last edited by kaka; Oct 17, 2018 at 7:49 pm
#3
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: ORD (formerly SAN)
Programs: Hilton Diamond; IHG Platinum; Bonvoy Gold; AA Platinum Pro and United Premier Silver (DH = AA EXP)
Posts: 1,929
I prefer CX over other airlines so I would definitely seek out OW status. However, if you will be traveling a lot from HKG on CX, being OW Emerald with another airline does not necessarily equate to the same benefits as top tier Marco Polo, particularly with upgrades.
#4
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: BA Gold, JGC Sapphire, OZ Diamond, AF Silver, CX GR, Marriott Lifetime SL
Posts: 3,598
What will be the main travel you will be doing when you mention HK - China is the biggest gap?
KA / CX is convenient for China and cannot be matched by mainland carrier, but then it's only a short ride to China so I am not particular worry about the service (I start to skip plane food these days unless I am flying Business).
As KK mention you have TG / SQ for the South East Asia and NH / BR for North Asia so you should be OK. I won't count on CA for China / AI for India though. Agreed you may want to look at JGC to cover up for OW Sapphire and can share more if needed. If you can't hit CX Diamond I would believe JGC OW Sapphire is a very attractive alternative
KA / CX is convenient for China and cannot be matched by mainland carrier, but then it's only a short ride to China so I am not particular worry about the service (I start to skip plane food these days unless I am flying Business).
As KK mention you have TG / SQ for the South East Asia and NH / BR for North Asia so you should be OK. I won't count on CA for China / AI for India though. Agreed you may want to look at JGC to cover up for OW Sapphire and can share more if needed. If you can't hit CX Diamond I would believe JGC OW Sapphire is a very attractive alternative
#5
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Join Date: Sep 2009
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If some of your travel is for business, start by reading your (new?) employer's travel policy carefully. They might require CX or they might make it difficult to pick CX flights. You might also want to investigate whether any relevant credit cards will be available to you, either airline affiliated or the bank cards in Asia that give lounge access, sometimes combined with discounts in restaurants etc. (for example in Singapore).
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: PEK, AUS, WAS, HKG
Programs: CX Gold
Posts: 1,130
ca tg sq nh br ai all fill the asia gap, and lh lx os go to europe. you’ll be fairly ok
that said, if u want ow status then yeh. besides the 25000 jl status miles and 5000 redeemable per year, its quite a decent way to fix ur ow status.
nothing stops jal from stopping the program or changing it tho
#7
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Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: ZOA, SFO, HKG
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I am currently a Star Alliance captive (*G status with UA) living in the US. Next year my job will take me to Hong Kong. I am wondering if I can survive within Star Alliance network. I think the biggest gap in the network would be flights from HKG to mainland China, but other than that, my impression is that there should be sufficient *A flights for me to choose. Am I right? Or should I switch to CX for the best flight schedule?
Beside - a major difference from the U.S. market - many flights do not actually earn anything. So unless your company pays high to full fares, be expected that you may lose your status.
And don't forget the UA PQD waiver as well.
Moreover, if I end up flying with CX, which OW program should I credit my flights to? (I heard that it is not easy to attain Gold status/OW Sapphire with Marco Polo Club). I find JL's Global Club membership (which guarantees OW Sapphire status) attractive. Is it actually a good choice?
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: PEK, AUS, WAS, HKG
Programs: CX Gold
Posts: 1,130
I prefer CX over other airlines so I would definitely seek out OW status. However, if you will be traveling a lot from HKG on CX, being OW Emerald with another airline does not necessarily equate to the same benefits as top tier Marco Polo, particularly with upgrades.
#9
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2004
Programs: CX Green, QF Platinum, BAEC Silver, Hyatt Glob
Posts: 10,780
You can also consider a AA status challenge. They have a standard status challenge, but also one for HK residents - you need to contact AA HK to see if you qualify for the AA HK status challenge.
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: PEK, AUS, WAS, HKG
Programs: CX Gold
Posts: 1,130
You are both right and wrong. In the past, the biggest gap in the network was HKG-TPE. But this gap has been closed when BR joins *A. Also, even CA may not have as many HKG-Mainland flights as CX, there is an alternative - ZH @ SZX. You should be fine with *A for now.
Beside - a major difference from the U.S. market - many flights do not actually earn anything. So unless your company pays high to full fares, be expected that you may lose your status.
And don't forget the UA PQD waiver as well.
If you can meet the AA's EQD requirement, AA would be the best. Other than that, BA would be the second choice.
Beside - a major difference from the U.S. market - many flights do not actually earn anything. So unless your company pays high to full fares, be expected that you may lose your status.
And don't forget the UA PQD waiver as well.
If you can meet the AA's EQD requirement, AA would be the best. Other than that, BA would be the second choice.
I also recognize that ZH is a very good option. Is it difficult to get to SZX from Hong Kong?
Yes, I also recognize that many flights on Asian carriers (SQ, BR, TG, ...) do not earn full PQM on UA. However, NH comes to rescue here, as most NH fares earn 100% PQM on UA. Given that I will travel to the US several times a year, I am confident that I can maintain *G with UA. And yes, the PQD waiver is very handy to me!
Your comment re AA and BA is very interesting. I agree that the AA option is quite interesting and useful, as I do need to travel to the US. However, why is BA's program superior to JL's? I thought JL's quasi-lifetime Sapphire status is quite nice to have. Any downside to the JL's program?
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: PEK, AUS, WAS, HKG
Programs: CX Gold
Posts: 1,130
Oh, thanks for this info! I am not aware of it at all. I will definitely check it out, but could you please briefly explain what is special for HK residents about this challenge?
#12
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For the standard AA platinum challenge, you can find out more details here, or in the AA Flyertalk forum pages: https://thepointsguy.com/guide/airli...es-challenges/
#13
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: LHR
Programs: BA Silver/ows, CX AsiaMiles (not even GR anymore!) missing my GO days
Posts: 1,581
BA is unlikely to be a good option here unless OP travels to London/Europe a few times a year. There's a 2-segment minimum on BA metal/codeshare for bronze/ruby and 4-segment for the sapphire and emerald tiers. If you can hit that (two round-trips to LHR each year or one round trip to anywhere else in Europe connecting through LHR) it's a decent program for earning status especially if you generally fly any class higher than economy.
For living in HKG OP also should think about redeemable miles. It might be worth doing the CC game for asia miles even if flying *A for status.
For living in HKG OP also should think about redeemable miles. It might be worth doing the CC game for asia miles even if flying *A for status.
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: PEK, AUS, WAS, HKG
Programs: CX Gold
Posts: 1,130
What will be the main travel you will be doing when you mention HK - China is the biggest gap?
KA / CX is convenient for China and cannot be matched by mainland carrier, but then it's only a short ride to China so I am not particular worry about the service (I start to skip plane food these days unless I am flying Business).
As KK mention you have TG / SQ for the South East Asia and NH / BR for North Asia so you should be OK. I won't count on CA for China / AI for India though. Agreed you may want to look at JGC to cover up for OW Sapphire and can share more if needed. If you can't hit CX Diamond I would believe JGC OW Sapphire is a very attractive alternative
KA / CX is convenient for China and cannot be matched by mainland carrier, but then it's only a short ride to China so I am not particular worry about the service (I start to skip plane food these days unless I am flying Business).
As KK mention you have TG / SQ for the South East Asia and NH / BR for North Asia so you should be OK. I won't count on CA for China / AI for India though. Agreed you may want to look at JGC to cover up for OW Sapphire and can share more if needed. If you can't hit CX Diamond I would believe JGC OW Sapphire is a very attractive alternative
I agree with you that the trip from HKG to mainland China is relatively short, so probably I can take these trips with a Marco Polo Green card (and also put ZH into the mix, as suggested by garykung), and put my other longer trips on *A carriers.
Yes, indeed I wouldn't hit CX Diamond in the foreseeable future, so I will probably jump ship to JGC OW Sapphire if I don't like what *A offers me in HKG.
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: PEK, AUS, WAS, HKG
Programs: CX Gold
Posts: 1,130
So the HK status match may have expired as it was an offer during 2017 to try and attract people whose status with CX may have expired. But if you contact them with your circumstances, they might still have a special offer for you. [email protected] with subject "Status Match".
For the standard AA platinum challenge, you can find out more details here, or in the AA Flyertalk forum pages: https://thepointsguy.com/guide/airli...es-challenges/
For the standard AA platinum challenge, you can find out more details here, or in the AA Flyertalk forum pages: https://thepointsguy.com/guide/airli...es-challenges/