Best program for JFK-FRA FF
 

My daughter is moving to Heidelberg, Germany (nearest airport FRA) and she will be coming back to New York to visit 3-4 times a year. She does not enjoy flying so she prefers nonstops. Star Alliance seems to be her best bet where she has the choice of UA, LH, and TP. Which airline's FF program would it make the most sense for her to join?

Economy, Premium Economy, or Business? JFK or EWR? Does she check a bag?

What doe she hope to gain from being in a frequent flyer program?

LH had been planning to revamp Miles & More to be much more appealing than it is today, but they've apparently suspended that effort. Getting any status level on UA requires four UA-operated segments per year, which means at least two round-trips to EWR rather than JFK. If she's flying in economy, four RTs on that route may not be enough to qualify even for UA Silver status.

You get the most out of a FF program when flying the carrier that uses that program. UA does not fly TATL from JFK.

Also, how long is this change, is it "permanent" or just a few years?

And what is the goal of being a part of a FF program? Which potential benefits?

What cabin will the regular flights?

There is a FT forum / thread specifically aimed at this query, https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/info...help-here.html

So will move your query to that forum.

WineCountryUA
UA coModerator

Mostly Economy, I would imagine. She will generally not check a bag if she has to pay for it, except for the first trip out.

She's not expecting much, just basic benefits such as avoiding the general public lines, possible standby privileges, avoiding involuntary bumps,and more consideration during IROPs.

EWR is equally as convenient as JFK. Won't 4 RTs get her ~32K status miles? I don't really know much about Star elite qualification.

Thanks. The move is for at least a few years and likely permanent. I answered the other questions in my response to jsloan.

UA MileagePlus qualification, for UA-operated or UA-ticketed flights, is based upon the amount spent, not the distance traveled. For flights ticketed and operated by a partner airline, there's a complicated calculation that's based upon distance traveled but designed to make it work out approximately the same as the fare. If they return to the same status table in 2022 that they initially introduced for 2020, pre-COVID, it would take $5,000 in spending (excluding taxes and government fees) to reach Silver with 4 RTs. (Under the current rules, if they're extended as-is, it'd be $3000)

LH Miles & More qualification is based upon distance traveled, but with a fare class multiplier that's not going to work in her favor. Deep discount economy tickets are worth 25% for status purposes; mid-tier economy tickets are worth 50%. The lowest premier level, Frequent Traveler, requires 35K status miles, and she's not going to get that on four economy round-trips between FRA and JFK.

You mention TP, but I don't see any indication that TP flies that route nonstop. SQ does, although it's currently COVID-suspended. However, SQ KrisFlyer is a similar story to LH Miles & More; she's not going to qualify for KrisFlyer Silver on four RTs.

Her best bet might be DL SkyMiles, which also flies that route, if she's willing to spend $25,000 per year on a SkyMiles Amex (which she'd probably need to get before she leaves the US). DL still offers 100% toward Premier Qualifying Miles for all economy fare classes. They also add a $3000 spending requirement, which she might not meet on four RTs -- but that's waived with $25,000 in credit card spending.

Thanks for the very comprehensive response!

One more question: If she sticks with LH, even if she doesn't earn any status, is there a credit card that would get her priority check-in, seat selection preference, free baggage, and/or similar benefits?

Probably a better question for the Lufthansa forum directly ( https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luft...iles-more-495/ ). It appears that their credit card offerings vary by country. I'd be surprised if you could get that level of perk from LH, though.

I should have added: either UA or LH status is not out of the question for her if she will be making other flights too. However, since you said she hated flying, I assumed she probably wouldn't be jetting off to Hong Kong or Singapore in between trips to New York. :)

Thanks. Yes, the chances of her taking more flights are nonexistent at this point. Since she developed a fear of flying about 10 years ago, she has taken maybe a total of 3 flights. But there's always hope that flying more frequently will cure her of the fear! 🤞

With only a few flights in (cheapest?) economy the chances of getting meaningful status (mid tier) are very low. And will earn few ff miles per year.
To me far better to go with the best price & schedule for each trip and treat ff miles as a bonus that may or may not be able to be used

A train from Heidelberg to another major city may have more flights/better prices/better schedule.. The closest airport may not be the best. EU is small
https://www.travelmath.com/nearest-a...lberg,+Germany
to USA A map from Great Circle Mapper - Great Circle Mapper
EU->A map from Great Circle Mapper - Great Circle Mapper

Consider expiry https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/mile...-t-expire.html
EU ffps are not as generous as USA ffp's. Do not expect much from low level status

Sadly, this seems to be the consensus. She got a great fare on LH (~$800 RT) so she'll go with them this time. It's probably the best way. Thank you.

UA and LH are the only non-stop options on Star Alliance right now. Soon enough, SQ will be back to flying JFK-FRA, too. Besides that, you also got DL.

Assuming your daughter is looking for value flights (booking out at least 6-8 weeks in advance), FF status is not really gonna happen unless she has other air travel going on. I'd mostly look for a program where the redeemable miles don't expire. The US-based programs UA and DL seem to be the main options.

I don't know why you mention TP. They don't fly NYC-FRA. And they are in financial difficulties. Unless for some rare special cases (TP status match), I wouldn't look more closely at them.

Put to the UA ffp if an eligible earning fare bucket. UA ff miles do not expire. LH ffp ff miles have a hard expiry: use them or loose them.
https://www.wheretocredit.com/lufthansa

My mistake. She had first put a TP flight on hold as it was the cheapest option, but it was not a non-stop.

Thanks, I will look into that.