splitting miles across FF programs?
 

I travel for work on all paid J from NYC to Europe 1x/month (1/3rd to LHR, 1/3rd to ZRH, 1/3rd other) and possibly 1 paid J to Asia. I am EXP on AA (highest level) and will requalify for 2006 based on this travel but AA's J flight to Europe are among my least favorite. Would it make sense to split my miles to get the 2nd highest elite status on 2 airlines (say BA for example for that lovely J-class seat ^ )? What I value most is priority check-in and boarding, the most comfortable seat in long-haul, and best service (in-flight and on the ground). I have about 400K AA miles, 50K on BA, another 50K on CO and have never redeemed a mile in 10 yrs of travel.

I have debated this with another FTer who thinks I'm crazy to split miles b/c of the 8 system-wide UGs I lose by not being EXP but the only time I would miss them is on the 1 or maybe 2 int'l trips i do for personal (i could always UG with miles+co-pay).

Should I split miles and attain the 2nd highest level on 2 airlines (or possibly 3)? or stick with one? If i split miles, which airlines should I use?

Thanks,
AASigMan

I'd go for BA and its great J seat to LON and other European destinations. If you want to split your miles, it would make sense to go for BA Silver (better than most other lower status levels). However, regarding your flights to ZRH there is not much choice: LX is not bad, but definitely not on par with regard to seat comfort. However, you could book LX as AA codeshare and have the miles credited to AA.