What is THE BEST FF program/status?
 

I've just been having a read through the details for Enrich, the Malaysian Airlines FF Program (guidebook here) and realised that it's a pretty darn fantastic program

Alas, it's not for me because routing etc just doesn't have me on Malaysian metal all that often.

I mean seriously, some of the perks available to certain teirs are awesome

• 100% Excess Baggage allowance
• Chef On Call Service (eg you pick your own menu)
• Points never expire
• Home Assistance

So the question is, if routing didn't matter, which FF Program/Status would be the best perks wise?

Not to answer but for myself I rather have a good earning/spending ratio.

The benefits are not really important to me as within one Alliance they are nearly the same anyways.

Right now I find that BMI Gold status is the best deal.

Miles within *Alliance, other partners like Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Clubhouse access...

The biggest feature:
One Way awards
Cash + Miles
from 55K status miles on, all status miles count as bonus miles on top !

I dont care about soft benefits ala service hotlines, concierge services etc.

LH HON. Amazing. Access to FCT/FCL in FRA/MUC/ZRH/VIE, and reward flights on LH/LX etc can be taken from C bucket - ie if a flight is C1 D0 Z0 I can get a reward in C at regular points!
Plus plenty of free gifts, great telephone service etc.

LH HON is great, of course, but it is only any good for people who fly very often, long-haul, in premium classes and on a limited number of LH partners (HON accrual and benefits are not across *A). Therefore a very limited target demographic.

My FFP is obviously better than yours :D , and I'll clearly nominate OK+ here.
200% miles for business, segment qualification in addition to the mileage one (great if you're a short-haul flyer), lounge access+guest, free systemwide upgrades (though the very cheapest fare class is excluded), extra luggage allowances, 24-hour multilingual call centre, 1000 mile minimum for transborder flights, and visible efforts from personnel to make your travel experience that little bit better.
Only real disadvantages are the absence of an award availability checker/booking tool and the way COS bonus is calculated (before Elite bonus is factored in- e.g. 1000 miles flight in C, 50% elite bonus and 100% COS bonus only nets you a total of 2500 award miles). Oh, and non-flying earning potential is rather poor unless you live in the Czech Republic; but that's a decent trade-off for good award availability!

I find LH HON benefits to be amazing too.
And now, one gets to be limoed from the plane to terminal if the plane is parked at the remote gate (it will be very useful in FRA).

The problem I have with non AF/KL & KE SkyTeam plan is that I cannot redeem miles for F travel on SkyTeam. Of course I could use DL miles for SQ F, but I can always redeem my UA miles for that :rolleyes:

I'm gonna have to agree with the LH HON crowd. I've only tasted that service once - flying LH F - and it was pretty amazing. Far beyond what most other carriers provide for their uber-elites or int'l F pax.

The only problem with the limo service to your plane is that it means you need to set down a glass of 21-year-old Glenfarclas to go meet it. Of course, you'll have a glass of Johnnie Blue in your hand a few minutes later, but that Glenfarclas is really, really hard to walk away from.

And yeah, of course all of these super-statuses are tailored to a narrow demographic - and it's precisely right that they want their int'l premium cabin paid pax to be members. Otherwise, they wouldn't be all that super. For a "mass market" kind of status, I always enjoyed AA Plat. Flying barely 50k in deep-discount economy, I thought those guys did a nice job of taking care of their Plats. (Of course, at the time, they had a bunch of city ticket offices that were awesome, plus Platinum Service Centers in the hubs.)

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But a status can't be good if it offers very little added value. Most HON status benefits (e.g. stellar ground service) are anyway included in the price of a F ticket. And the special terminals aren't everywhere, so it's not like you can always take advantage of them when flying in biz and/or short-haul. Which makes the actual target demographic even smaller. IMHO, in order for the HON status to really add value, you have to be flying LH etc. in C (but not F) longhaul very often AND be based/have frequent business in FRA/MUC.

Similarly, a status to which Y flying doesn't really contribute to attaining (e.g. with BA and, to an extent, IB) and offers the standard C benefits like separate check-in, priority luggage and lounge access is something that adds value only to people who fly the right fare mix (which obviously doesn't mean those who spend the most).

Sometimes asking this question is akin to asking what the best color is :)

I dont think these uber-status like LH HON, UA GS, AA ConciergeKey can really taken into consideraration.

It is something for the absoulut excessive or premium flyer when you see that LH HON requires 600K status HON miles. UA/AA have a selective system that isnt even connected to miles but some secret threshold level and the airline nominates you.

If there is a comparison it should be "What is the best upper level in a FFP" so you can look at LH SEN, Flying Blue PLT, AA EXP, QF WP etc.

And then again... everything is very individual :o