Hi everyone I've been United 1k for the last several years. I'm moving to SYD with limited *A so I need to switch. Who has the best economy to business upgrades? I'm going to miss my GPUs.

(1) What is your home airport? (SFO, SCL, London LHR, HKG, Singapore SIN etc.)
Reply: SYD
(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
Reply: 100k
(3) What types of fares do you usually buy ? ( First, Business, Economy etc.)
Reply: Economy
(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or, class of service?. Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Reply: both but I try for flex when work pays
(5) Which routes do you fly most often (US Domestic, Transpacific, Kangaroo, in Asia etc)
Reply: Asia, inter-OZ and OZ-US
(6) Do you have FFP status of any kind of OW or other airline at present? What is it? (AA Executive Platinum, QF Gold, UA 1K, LAN Comodoro, etc)
Reply: UA 1k for past few years
(7) What is most important to you in a FFP? (upgrades on travel, priority services when flying the airline, extra baggage allowance, good award redemption rates, better award access, free - discounted lounge access, etc.)
Reply: Upgrades and low redemption
(8) Preferred Airlines
Reply: none

Welcome to Australia ^

Is SYD permanent or temporary ?

100,000 miles is lot in economy :eek:

If upgrades and low redemption are you main requirements Qantas is not for you. Upgrades on non USA airlines work very differently to common upgrade practice in the USA. You will find it difficult to get upgrades with miles in this region & in Asia. Your credit card will be best to fly business class

Consider AA and in the AA challenge. And if you can put some star alliance flights to US Airways ffp, instead of United ffp, those US Airways miles should convert to AA miles when the merger happens. That is if it does happen, as it subject to legal proceeding, who knows what else, etc

Have a look the linked threads in post 2

No one has any advice?

The only status that seems to fit would be Cathay Silver with 30K miles / year. AA might be an alternative if traveling to the USA every year, but would suffer from the requirement to fly on CX in at least H class (or PEY).

Happy wandering

Fred

Considering wether LANPASS is my best option
 

I switched from AA to LAN about a year and a half ago, and now I'm considering whether it was the right call. Any help would be appreciated!

(1) What is your home airport? (SFO, SCL, London LHR, HKG, Singapore SIN etc.)
JFK, occasionally EWR, LGA, BDL.

(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
60K so far, 70-80K by the end of the year. Always in Economy.

(3) What types of fares do you usually buy ? ( First, Business, Economy etc.)
Economy.

(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or, class of service?. Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Get to choose my airlines, not class of service. Although LAN is usually the most convenient way to get to where I'm going.
Travel mostly for work, occasionally for pleasure.

(5) Which routes do you fly most often (US Domestic, Transpacific, Kangaroo, in Asia etc)
4 or 5 trips US to Chile and Peru, 1 or 2 trips to Central America or Argentina.

(6) Do you have FFP status of any kind of OW or other airline at present? What is it? (AA Executive Platinum, QF Gold, UA 1K, LAN Comodoro, etc)
LANPASS Premium Silver
AAdvantage Gold

(7) What is most important to you in a FFP? (upgrades on travel, priority services when flying the airline, extra baggage allowance, good award redemption rates, better award access, free - discounted lounge access, etc.)
Ranked in order of importance:
Upgrades on travel.
Good award redemption rates.
Free - discounted lounge access.
All the rest.

(8) Preferred Airlines
LAN, AA.

Thank you!

alomme Welcome to the forum

Why did you move from AA to LAN ?
Have you had any upgrades with points or free operational on LAN ?
Of OneWorld ffp's AA is generally considered one the better.
AA had good redemption rates and nil/low surcharges.
For many people the ffp in your home country and airline you fly most with is best

Thank you Mwenenzi!

I moved because all of the non-stops to Chile and Peru out of JFK are operated by LAN (either sold as LAN or sold by AA and operated by LAN). I assumed that it would be easier to get an upgrade if I was a LAN elite. I got upgraded once, it was a combination of coupons and operational, since the route I was flying required 3 coupons for the upgrade but I only had two. I'm under the impression that even if your flight was sold by AA, if it was operated by LAN there was zero chance of an upgrade.

Trying to book award tickets has me double guessing myself...

Very true. Close to zero

For upgrades the general rule is you can only upgrade a flight marketed (flight number) and operated (metal) by the airline of your freq flyer programme (no codeshares). All subject to the t&c's of your FFP and your paid ticket. Low cost tickets are often not eligible for upgrades. However as is the way with FFP's there are some upgrade exceptions with AA/BA/IB with higher priced economy fares.

For airline's not based in the USA, upgrades work differently. Business & first is usally paid or with some upgrades. Business and first class is not "upgrade" class for everyone with status. Free operational upgrades are uncommon

From http://www.hotels-and-travel.de/ffp/...w_sapphire.htm LAN points have a 3 year expiry. So use them or lose them.

Thanks much appreciated, I was thinking along the same lines

What Oneworld ff plan should I sign up for?
 

First of all, I'd like to say that I'm what you would call a "newb". I've only just started to understand how to navigate this forum, I'm only now really starting to wrap my head around all the lingo; so I apologize in advance if I've posted this question in the wrong area.

I typically use *A flights currently, as I live in YYC and am an Aeroplan member, but in March I'm flying to MNL and one of my segments on the return is with CX. MNL-HKG -[Flex, M]. I'd like to collect points for this segment but I don't currently have any OW frequent flyer plans. Which should I sign up for?

Also, what would be my best bet for upgrading that segment to First/Business class, and how would I go about it?

Any advice/suggestions would be most helpful! (sorry for my "newbness").

Hi all, would anybody know the actual date of Sri Lankan joining OW ?

thanks

Currently QF Gold (OW Sapphire), but finding it bleeding impossible to obtain 4 Mr Squigglies...

(1) What is your home airport? (SFO, SCL, London LHR, HKG, Singapore SIN etc.)
Reply: LHR
(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
Reply: LHR <--> HKG return 4 times a year + other stuff (probably less than 10k on top of the LHR/HKG)
(3) What types of fares do you usually buy ? ( First, Business, Economy etc.)
Reply: Economy
(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or, class of service?. Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Reply: Cheapest available, gneerally
(5) Which routes do you fly most often (US Domestic, Transpacific, Kangaroo, in Asia etc)
Reply: LHR <--> HKG
(6) Do you have FFP status of any kind of OW or other airline at present? What is it? (AA Executive Platinum, QF Gold, UA 1K, LAN Comodoro, etc)
Reply: QF Gold
(7) What is most important to you in a FFP? (upgrades on travel, priority services when flying the airline, extra baggage allowance, good award redemption rates, better award access, free - discounted lounge access, etc.)
Reply: Baggage, Lounge
(8) Preferred Airlines
Reply: None

Thanks for your help

AA may be easiest to achieve OW Sapphire which will give lounge access.
BA is another good option if you are based in the UK. You will need to calculate if you would earn BA Silver (OW Sapphire) with BA with your expected flight patterns.

Last report was early 2014.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/onewo...-oneworld.html

OW for KUL base
 

Hi guys. Looking for some guidance on which OW my wife and I should join. We recently were posted to KUL and will be here for 3 years. We are both *A members and my wife has 25k Prestige (*A silver) and I have no status. Grateful for advice. We both get about $6500 a year to spend on travel, however we want. The only trip we HAVE to do each year is KUL-YVR-(YYJ)-YOW. MH Enrich is free, CX MPC $50/each. Best choices seem to be AC or CX. We are looking into getting CX Gold free with Canadian AMEX Plat.

(1) What is your home airport?
Reply: KUL
(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
Reply: probably 25k-50k
(3) What types of fares do you usually buy ? ( First, Business, Economy etc.)
Reply: usually economy
(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or, class of service?. Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Reply: work/pleasure. We can choose airlines.
(5) Which routes do you fly most often (US Domestic, Transpacific, Kangaroo, in Asia etc)
Reply: mostly in Asia, and occasionally KUL-YVR-YOW
(6) Do you have FFP status of any kind of OW or other airline at present? What is it? (AA Executive Platinum, QF Gold, UA 1K, LAN Comodoro, etc)
Reply: *A 25k Prestige (silver)
(7) What is most important to you in a FFP? (upgrades on travel, priority services when flying the airline, extra baggage allowance, good award redemption rates, better award access, free - discounted lounge access, etc.)
Reply: upgrades, lounge access
(8) Preferred Airlines
Reply: AC, CX, SQ

Thank you!

Divorcing United so looking at my best options, which can be either oneworld or another Star carrier.

I'm presently BA Gold, but the lack of award availability in F and YQ sur-charges have left me rather unhappy. Plus I do not find BA a particularly good carrier in F or C.

LH Senator has been rather good, although redemption rates are high and YQ is onerous.

Thinking of AA since domestic upgrades would be nice.

Questions

(1) What is your home airport?
Reply: San Diego, but most tickets are bought ex-Bangkok.
(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class?
Reply: ~175,000. 25K in advance purchase economy. 115,000 in discounted business, generally ex-Asia. 35,000 in paid first.
(3) What types of fares do you usually buy ?
Reply: Usually buy discounted business internationally and economy on domestic U.S. flights. Maybe 35,000 a year is in paid first, but usually on an around-the-world ticket or if I find a good deal.
(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or, class of service?. Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Reply: I choose both my airlines and class of service. Most travel for work. Maybe 20% for pleasure.
(5) Which routes do you fly most often
Reply: Trans-Pacific. If going to Europe, will usually fly ex-Asia.
(6) Do you have FFP status of any kind of OW or other airline at present? What is it?
Reply: LH Senator. Will be UA 1K next week (Platinum Million Miler at present). BA Gold, which expires shortly.
(7) What is most important to you in a FFP?
Reply: Good award redemption rates and upgrades.
(8) Preferred Airlines
Reply: CX, SQ, OZ, NH.

Routes and aircraft with F are getting fewer and fewer. Award availability in F is about the same for all OW carriers and in some ways independent of the FFP. Some have at 355 days vs others at 330 days, but awards can be made available at any time at the whim of yield management. There is a thread with OW F flights

For awards without YQ AA is a leader in OW

For upgrades the general rule is you can only upgrade a flight marketed (flight number) and operated (metal) by the airline of your freq flyer programme (no codeshares). All subject to the t&c's of your FFP and your paid ticket. Low cost tickets are often not eligible for upgrades. However as is the way with FFP's there are some upgrade exceptions with AA/BA/IB with higher priced economy fares. And the exception with Asia Miles on some BA tickets

You need to have a good look at the AA plat challenge as link in post 1. Note in OW the marketing carrier determines the miles you earn. Not operating carrier as in Star alliance. And Alaska is good FFP with many partners

Here is my information. I am thinking about Qatar, but maybe Cathay or Malaysia (they are OW now? or soon?) makes sense. But I am open to other ideas also.

(1) What is your home airport?

SIN

(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class?

always > 50k, often > 100k, paid is mixture of economy and business, for awards, always choose business

(3) What types of fares do you usually buy ?

Economy more often than not, sometimes business.

(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or, class of service?. Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?

Majority for work, can generally choose airline, class of service is usually pre-specified.

(5) Which routes do you fly most often

SIN->north Asia (e.g., China), SIN->Europe (many destinations), SIN->US/Canada (many destinations)

(6) Do you have FFP status of any kind of OW or other airline at present?

No status on OW. Member of AA and BA plans, but with very low level of miles/status.

United 1MM, and about to become 1K (again), but I hate United.

(7) What is most important to you in a FFP?

Lounge access, upgrades, business class redemption.

(8) Preferred Airlines

It doesn't specify OW, so: I like most of the Asian airlines, and the gulf airlines. European airlines are next down, then American airlines (generically, not AA specifically) are the bottom.

MH has been in OW since 01 Feb 2013
http://www.oneworld.com/news-informa..._col_count%3D5

http://www.oneworld.com/
http://www.hotels-and-travel.de/ffp/...ow_emerald.htm
http://www.hotels-and-travel.de/ffp/...w_sapphire.htm
http://www.hotels-and-travel.de/ffp/...ld/ow_ruby.htm

I have not seen a comparison of the QR FFP to other FFP's yet.

How many miles/avios in AA/BA and do you have activity to keep these accounts alive ?
From posts on FT CX treats its high status freq flyers well

Not a lot. I think I have 30-something thousand on BA, and probably < 10k on AA. They're both still alive, even though I haven't been on either for a while - I have a BA credit card, all it takes is a small charge now and then.

If the point of the question was to determine whether it is worthwhile continuing with one of those programmes, instead of starting with a new one, I think the amounts are sufficiently low that we can probably consider them throw-away. These are essentially residuals from the 1990s, when I flew far less than today. I have not been on BA much in recent years - although I did make a Finn Air business-class trip to London last year. When I have taken AA in recent years, it was probably too low a fare class to count on BA (the card I would have presented), and I didn't bother to check this out in advance (if I had, I would have used my AA card).

I think I had rejected CX a while back (although my limited experience on their aircraft has been quite good), but my mentality at that time was as a BA FF member. I should luck at it with fresh eyes, as a potential member of their own plan.

It would probably mean stopping at HKG on the way to anywhere, but I almost always connect on all my trips anyway, and if the layover is long, I can even turn that to my advantage (visit people in Hong Kong, make a quick trip into Shenzhen, etc.).

Thanks. I'll look at AA.

Hello OW experts! As I see a lot of flying ahead of me, I decided to join a FFP. Reading through a lot of threads here I decided to register since I couldn't find a recommendation for my flying pattern. Due to changing career and family plans I cannot predict my future flying pattern exactly and am therefore looking for a flexible program. I answered the questions below and hope you can help me with my decision. Every help is much appreciated!

(1) What is your home airport? (SFO, SCL, London LHR, HKG, Singapore SIN etc.)
Reply: As pointed out it might change soon. Currently it is Southern Germany STR/FRA/MUC but might relocate to MEL, LHR or Asia soon.
(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
Reply: 25k-50k.
(3) What types of fares do you usually buy ? ( First, Business, Economy etc.)
Reply: Economy.
(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or, class of service?. Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Reply: Free choice of airline, travelling for work (25%) and pleasure/family visits (75%).
(5) Which routes do you fly most often (US Domestic, Transpacific, Kangaroo, in Asia etc)
Reply: Within Europe and between Europe-Asia-Australia (mostly via the gulf or SIN/HKG).
(6) Do you have FFP status of any kind of OW or other airline at present? What is it? (AA Executive Platinum, QF Gold, UA 1K, LAN Comodoro, etc)
Reply: None.
(7) What is most important to you in a FFP? (upgrades on travel, priority services when flying the airline, extra baggage allowance, good award redemption rates, better award access, free - discounted lounge access, etc.)
Reply: Good award redemption rates, better award access, lounge access would be nice but is not crucial.
(8) Preferred Airlines
Reply: No preferred airlines but trying to avoid US airlines.

Questions
For members asking for information please help people to assist you, can you provide:
(1) What is your home airport? (SFO, SCL, London LHR, HKG, Singapore SIN etc.)
Reply: HKG
(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
Reply: 50-70k
(3) What types of fares do you usually buy ? ( First, Business, Economy etc.)
Reply: 50% of the time Y (Half Dis. Economy, Half full fare) Economy is only usually within Asia. Anything 6 hours plus or to another continent is J.
(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or, class of service?. Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Reply: 100% Pleasure
(5) Which routes do you fly most often (US Domestic, Transpacific, Kangaroo, in Asia etc)
Reply: Intra-Asia, usually 1-3 or 4 Asia-Australia, and 1 HKG-LHR return in J every Summer (usually)
(6) Do you have FFP status of any kind in OW or other airline at present? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP? (AA Executive Platinum, QF Gold, UA 1K, LAN Comodoro, etc)
Reply: Currently hold BA Bronze (OWR) and am a member of Asia Miles. Please note I am unable to join the CX MPC.
(7) What is most important to you in a FFP? (upgrades on travel, priority services when flying the airline, extra baggage allowance, good award redemption rates, better award access, free - discounted lounge access, etc.)
Reply: Lounge access is most important, followed by redemption rates, Baggage allowance is nice, but mainly lounge access!!!
(8) Preferred Airlines
Reply: I'm flying CX 80-90% of the time. Every now and again I'll fly BA but I try and avoid them as service is usually hit and miss and I feel CX have superior Y & J Hard Product. I wish I could just join CX!! Although 18< rule doesn't permit this.

OW Frequent Flyer program for Round-The-World tickets
 

Hallo,

I purchased for me and my wife each a Round-The-World-Tickets with Quantas and British Airways. Now I have the problem to chose a frequent flyer program to get e.g. lounge access at least for the last trip. I am planning to have just one account where I can book the miles for both tickets. Below I put in some informations into the questions.

Thank you so much in advance for your help.

(1) What is your home airport?
Reply: DUS is our start airport for the Round the world ticket
(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
Reply: Destinations are DUS-LHR-JOH-SYD-CHC-PPT-LAX-LHR-DUS
Four British Airline Flights (DUS-LHR-JOH and LAX-LHR-DUS) and four Quantas flights (incl. Codeshare JOH-SYD-CHC-PPT-LAX)
(3) What types of fares do you usually buy ?
Reply: We have booked Economy (class B)
(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or, class of service?. Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Reply: Airlines have been chosen as above
(5) Which routes do you fly most often (US Domestic, Transpacific, Kangaroo, in Asia etc)
Reply: After the ticket I will not fly inside OW
(6) Do you have FFP status of any kind of OW or other airline at present? What is it? (AA Executive Platinum, QF Gold, UA 1K, LAN Comodoro, etc)
Reply: No status yet
(7) What is most important to you in a FFP? (upgrades on travel, priority services when flying the airline, extra baggage allowance, good award redemption rates, better award access, free - discounted lounge access, etc.)
Reply: Upgrades on our last flight from LAX-LHR and Lounge access
(8) Preferred Airlines
Reply: None

I checked already Air Berlin, American Airways, British Airways and Qantas frequent flyer programs, but everything seems to be the same. Thank you very much again for your help!!!

In a fix deciding where to show loyalty :) - I have FFM in both Qatar and AA - I travel to India on Qatar at least once a year sometimes twice. now - I am at silver status with Qatar (OW Ruby) - nothing with AA. now how do I step up on the Tier system?
(1) What is your home airport? (SFO, SCL, London LHR, HKG, Singapore SIN etc.)
Reply: ORD
(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
Reply: around 25K.
(3) What types of fares do you usually buy ? ( First, Business, Economy etc.)
Reply: Economy.
(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or, class of service?. Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Reply: Free choice of airline, travelling for work (25%) and pleasure/family visits (75%).
(5) Which routes do you fly most often (US Domestic, Transpacific, Kangaroo, in Asia etc)
Reply: US Domestic mostly and to Asia
(6) Do you have FFP status of any kind of OW or other airline at present? What is it? Qatar - Silver
(7) What is most important to you in a FFP? (upgrades on travel, priority services when flying the airline, extra baggage allowance, good award redemption rates, better award access, free - discounted lounge access, etc.)
Reply: upgrades on travel and priority is not bad.
(8) Preferred Airlines
Reply: Qatar and AA

Dear One World experts,

I am just contemplating which OW airline would be my best option. I am pretty sure it would be AA, but would love to hear about any other options. The #1 goal for me is award redemption rates. Does anyone beat AA for 67.5k to Asia from the U.S.? On another note, does AA award elite bonuses on Cathay Pacific Codeshare flights?

(1) What is your home airport? (SFO, SCL, London LHR, HKG, Singapore SIN etc.)
Reply: JFK
(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
Reply: >50k
(3) What types of fares do you usually buy ? ( First, Business, Economy etc.)
Reply: Business
(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or, class of service?. Do you travel for work and/or pleasure? I plan to fly CX in J from U.S. to Asia on paid tickets at least 3 r/t a year. I am traveling for work
Reply:
(5) Which routes do you fly most often (US Domestic, Transpacific, Kangaroo, in Asia etc)
Reply:
(6) Do you have FFP status of any kind in OW or other airline at present? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP? (AA Executive Platinum, QF Gold, UA 1K, LAN Comodoro, etc) UA 1K
Reply:
(7) What is most important to you in a FFP? (upgrades on travel, priority services when flying the airline, extra baggage allowance, good award redemption rates, better award access, free - discounted lounge access, etc.) good award redemption rates combined with good earning rates
Reply:
(8) Preferred Airlines
Reply: CX

Experienced Traveller needs advice
 

Sorry if its been answered before but I am in a spot of personal termoil.

1st the standard Q & A

(1) What is your home airport? (SFO, SCL, London LHR, HKG, Singapore SIN etc.)
Reply: LHR or Manchester UK

(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
Reply: 25K-50K

(3) What types of fares do you usually buy ? ( First, Business, Economy etc.)
Reply: Economy (reduced tier points), via corporate web based Tool (company policy)

(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or, class of service?. Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Reply: Yes i can choose Airline, no i cant choose class, Travel for work only.

(5) Which routes do you fly most often (US Domestic, Transpacific, Kangaroo, in Asia etc)
Reply: I fly in EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa) with occasional flights to USA (transatlantic)

(6) Do you have FFP status of any kind in OW or other airline at present? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP? (AA Executive Platinum, QF Gold, UA 1K, LAN Comodoro, etc)
Reply: BA Silver

(7) What is most important to you in a FFP? (upgrades on travel, priority services when flying the airline, extra baggage allowance, good award redemption rates, better award access, free - discounted lounge access, etc.)
Reply: Lounge Access and the ability to actually use points to UG flights.

(8) Preferred Airlines
Reply: BA/Emirates/Etihad/Air Berlin (basically any non budget airline)

So, am 4 years into a job that is crazy mad travel all the time, but we have to use Concur - an american express tool to book flights and travel - no exceptions, and for the second year running i am a BA Executive Club Silver member - priority check in, priority boarding and Lounge access.

What i am seeing thought is becuase i have to use Amex to book the flights - they are always the reduced tier flights, so its almost impossible to maintain Silver this year as each year the tier points earned seem to be less and less per segment - now its 10 points and i need 600 to maintain silver.

Since August (when they Zero your Tier Status) i have worked my arms off flying every week and have only accrued 330 tier points.

Whenever i try to UG a flight i get a pop up telling me its impossible because of the class of ticket (always economy - but apparently there is different levels of economy)

I heard rumours other OW loyalty schemes are not so restrictive or ungenerous for your custom, regardless of which OW member you fly with.

For me personally the 2 must haves are Lounge Access and Using Miles to UG a ticket regardless of class of ticket.

As i travel so often a lounge is a life saver and somewhere to get work done.

appreciate the help, appologies for droning on and on.

I have other Airlines i use as backups for flights to the Middle East as BA doesnt fly everywhere i need to go, but generally its BA i end up flying with as i am UK based and its the only direct flight operator (mostly).

Edited to add - am sat in Vienna Airport and YET AGAIN my effing BA flight is Delayed, i can honestly say none of my BA flights have left on time since i can remember.

They are similar - but not the same, there *are* differences. Among all the programs you have mentioned, only BAEC offers accounts where you can put the miles for yourself and your wife into one account. BAEC calls this household account. If that is what you meant by "booking the miles for both tickets". If you meant just that you want to put you QF and BA miles in one program - any OW FFP will do as "B" fares should earn full mileage anywhere.

This trip is less than 28,000 miles all in all and will not generate enough miles/tier points to grant you OW Sapphire status (which will give you lounge access - you'll need 600 TPs in BAEC or 50k miles in all other OW programs to qualify for it) on its own as far as I can see - but calculate for yourself with the tier points calculator on BA's website. So unless you join BAEC now and plan on doing some regular flying before starting this trip, you're out of luck.
Upgrading LAX-LHR: Pretty much the only realistic chance to get an upgrade on that flight is when you stick with BAEC and use Avios plus money (calculator here). Make sure you upgrade into Club World ('CW', business class), not into World Traveller Plus ('WT+', Premium Economy). The upgrade into WT+ costs only half the Avios, but the experience is not much different from economy apart from a slightly better seat. CW will give you a true premium cabin experience with lie-flat seats and nice food. Plus a CW ticket comes with lounge access :).

In a nutshell: Enrol you and your wife in BA's Executive Club, and redeem as many of the miles (Avios) you earned on that trip as possible towards upgrading the LAX-LHR leg. You might make this without the co-pay when you take out a BA credit card: The better of two cards BA touts comes with a 20,000 Avios sign-up bonus (I presume you live in Germany, here's more details).

Well, that's easy: Fly more often, and pay to sit in the front of the bus! :D
The earning rates for Qatar economy fares (apart from full-fare Y and B) on all other OW programs are dismal - no more than 50%, the cheapest ones earn only 25% or even nothing.
When you fly economy on QR and want some decent earning rates, sticking with QR's own program is the only viable choice.

Yes. You get elite bonuses and class-of-service bonuses on all CX (and other OW airline) flights, not only codeshares. See AA's CX earning table here

Remember that AA will be yanking out the F cabins on the 777-200s used to Asia next year as they go two-class, and CX F awards seem to be increasingly hard to obtain (source), so that 67,500 mile award (while still a bargain) is getting harder to redeem.
Still, I'd say AA makes the most sense for you, seeing where you live. In the past at least, CX awards were reasonably easy to obtain with AA miles if that's what you're after. Way better than SQ premium cabin awards with * partner miles.

So you'll need a program that earns well on BA - the only one that comes to mind here is AAdvantage: All published BA fares earn 100% mileage on AA, and with any sort of status you are awarded a minimum of 500 miles per segment (even for short domestic hope, say, LHR-MAN).
Switching to AAdvantage which is mileage-based will probably make it easier to attain/maintain Platinum - the 50k OW Sapphire tier which comes with lounge access.
BUT while you can upgrade BA flights with AA miles, you'll run into the same issues you experience now as only full-fare economy fare buckets are upgradeable on BA.
AA metal flights are different - these may be upgraded using AA miles from any fare class BUT AA charges co-pays. For transatlantic flights this co-pay is $350 (oneway) that'll have to come out of your own pocket.

With such a stingy employer there's not much you can do, except maybe upfaring the tickets on your own dime (I don't know if that's possible with BA - it does work with AA and MH)
Regarding lounge access: If you travel every week, I'd consider a PriorityPass membership. At £259 per year for unlimited access that's definitely cheaper than tier point runs just to chase status. Ask your employer if they'd reimburse that!

Thanks for the advice. I really appreciate it! It is because people like you that flyertalk is a great forum.

Hey guys ! I would like to have some advice from you experts ! I have currently difficulties of choosing which program I should stay on. I currently have most of my points on Finnair but I have come to the point where I have noticed that its not my best option anymore. I don't worry about losing the points what I have currently on Finnair becuase theres not much, But I would love to get some advice which Airline program I should stay on. I do fly every year but I also like to have a program that I can save my points and use them 6 years later for example..


(1) What is your home airport? (SFO, SCL, London LHR, HKG, Singapore SIN etc.)
Reply: HEL, DFW, LHR
(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
Reply: 25-50K in economy
(3) What types of fares do you usually buy ? ( First, Business, Economy etc.)
Reply: ECONOMY (sometimes upgrade)
(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or, class of service?. Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Reply: Yes and I travel for pleasure mostly
(5) Which routes do you fly most often (US Domestic, Transpacific, Kangaroo, in Asia etc)
Reply:Transatlantic, Europe
(6) Do you have FFP status of any kind in OW or other airline at present? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP? (AA Executive Platinum, QF Gold, UA 1K, LAN Comodoro, etc)
Reply: Nope !
(7) What is most important to you in a FFP? (upgrades on travel, priority services when flying the airline, extra baggage allowance, good award redemption rates, better award access, free - discounted lounge access, etc.)
Reply:
(8) Preferred Airlines
Reply: BA, QF, AY, AA if it helps keep my points. F

Oneworld FFP expiration policies
 

I did a lot of research on this topic a few years ago when moving over from LH/M&M where I got burned with miles expiring ever so often. Revisited lots of links and updated the info - here's my 2c:

Point expiration policies with OW programs are divided into two groups who follow different models.
AA, BA, IB, QF and US's programs govern expiration by general activity: Any activity (earning or redeeming points in any way) will keep ALL points in your account alive and reset the expiration counter for a set period of time.
AA, US and QF have set this activity requirement as at least once every 18 months, while BA and IB require qualifying activity only at least once every 36 months to reset the expiration clock.
For the not-so-very-frequent flyers all programs based on this model are OK, with a distinct advantage for the 36-month date of the IAG airlines (BA/IB).
Both AA and US offer options to reinstate expired miles for a fee: max. USD 400 (for 100k and more) will reinstate an expired Dividend Miles balance, max. USD 600 (for 75k and more) will reinstate an expired AA balance. US also has a cheap option to keep a balance alive by way of a $9 reinstatement fee that will keep the whole balance active for another 18 months after 15-17 months of inactivity.

The other camp lets their points expire around three years after they were earned. Here's the rundown, sorted by strictness:

TAM Fidelidade points expire after two years.
S7's priority miles generally expire at the end of the year in which they were earned, but validity may be extended up to two additional years for 'active members' (fly <3 segments on S7 metal, fare class restrictions apply) for a maximum validity of 36 months.
RJ's Royal Plus miles expire after 30 months.
AY's Plus points, JAL's JMB and UL's Flysmiles miles expire after 36 months.
CX's Asia Miles and AB's topbonus miles remain valid for 36 months, expiring at the end of the quarter in which they were collected - giving you up to 38 months of validity.
QR's Qmiles are valid for 3 years and will expire twice a year by the end of the semester (30th June and 31st December) in which they were earned, thusly giving you up to 41 months of validity.
MH's Enrich Miles are valid for the year in which they are earned plus an additional 3 years - they expire at the end of the third year, effectively giving you up to 47 months of validity.

LAN's Lanpass is something of a hybrid between both models: Kilometers earned by flying are valid for a period of 36 months after they are earned. Kilometers earned by using the services of LANPASS-associated businesses are valid for three calendar years. Independent of the limitations stated above, If you fly with LAN and earn one or more kilometers for the flight, ALL your kilometers will be revalidated for another 36 months..


What I'd do if I lived in Finland and wanted to build a points balance that won't expire even with minimal flight activity:
Switch to BAEC and get an MR-earning Amex card. Amex MR points can easily be transferred to BA Avios. All Avios earned through CC spend transfers will reset the expiration counter. This practically keeps your Avios balance from ever expiring even when you don't fly at all. Check this thread for more info.

edit: One word of caution - FF miles/points are subject to devaluations (just witness what UA did with their program recently or what LH did to M&M over the last decade). These happen with relatively little (if all) advance warning. It is generally considered best practice to NOT hoard tons of them for years and years, stashing them for retirement or whatever. And rules may change at a whim as well - QF changed the validity period from 36 months to 18 months back in 2010 for example. And airlines might not be around forever - anyone remember Qualiflyer?

You don't write which carriers you tend to use. Should you use AY for transatlantic flights, I would recommend you to choose AAdvantage over BAEC - discounted economy earnings are a lot better at the moment.

I will second what bhomburg wrote before - don't get too attached to your miles as they might halve in value - or worse (remember Màlev?) - over night.

I mostly fly AA,BA and AY. Why I don't want to stay on AY is because I get less points from them and then their taxes are way higher than anyone's else. So far, after reading all these posts, I have come up that I should start collecting my points on AA. I do fly every year and I do already have Amex, so I think right now my best option would be AA.

but the again, I heard you don't get points from BA flights for AAdvantage if it's Transatlantic. Is that correct? because I fly a lot between HEL-DFW and that route is usually with BA (sometimes AA)


Thanks you :)

Now that would be pretty strange, no? I don't believe it's correct, and there's nothing to confirm that on the AAdvantage earnings chart for BA operatred flights - http://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/ea...es/british.jsp

Do note, though, that you don't earn miles for flights to Cuba (e.g. Iberia) ;)

That rule disappeared years ago.

AY real taxes are exactly the same as for all other airlines on the same route & class of travel.
Co pay fees & surcharges differ betweeen airlines.
Do not confuse real taxes with airlines imposed fees (~profit)

In times past BA flights got nil/less AA miles, but now is as the link above. Always check the fare bucket you have bought

Points/miles are not equal between airline FFP's. Its all about earn/burn and what your objectives are from a FFP

I need advice on where i should deposit my miles after attaining top tier status on QF.

(1) What is your home airport? (SFO, SCL, London LHR, HKG, Singapore SIN etc.)
Reply: SIN, CBR
(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? (<25K, 25k-50k, >50k)
Reply: >50k, Mix of W and J
(3) What types of fares do you usually buy ? ( First, Business, Economy etc.)
Reply: Business, Premium Economy
(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or, class of service?. Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Reply: Mainly pleasure, most probably on CX and QF
(5) Which routes do you fly most often (US Domestic, Transpacific, Kangaroo, in Asia etc)
Reply: Asia - Aussie, Asia - LOTFAP, Intra-Australia
(6) Do you have FFP status of any kind in OW or other airline at present? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP? (AA Executive Platinum, QF Gold, UA 1K, LAN Comodoro, etc)
Reply: QF Gold (turning platinum soon)
(7) What is most important to you in a FFP? (upgrades on travel, priority services when flying the airline, extra baggage allowance, good award redemption rates, better award access, free - discounted lounge access, etc.)
Reply: Good earn and burn rates
(8) Preferred Airlines
Reply: CX, QF

Now I've shortlisted a few FFPs for consideration

AY plus - for its lifetime platinum status, but that requires lots of flying.
AA AAdvantage - Impressive earn rates and burn rates, possible EXP as well
MH Enrich - Impressive burn rates - possible platinum as well

Being based in asia, MH should be the obvious choice due to the proximity, but why not CX MPC, because it requires an insane amount of spending to get MPC Diamond. AAdvantage will be good for intra asia-pacific awards in J and the earn rate for EQM/EQP is 1.5 for W and J, making qualification for EXP fairly easy.

Open to suggestions!

The AAdvantage earn rate for W on QF, BA and CX is 1 EQM plus 10% COS bonus. COS bonus miles are not EQM, just RDM. On JL, W earns no COS bonus at all...
W fares earn 1.5 EQP on all carriers that offer it, though. That means you can qualify for EXP with just 66,667 miles flying W or higher, which is a pretty sweet deal.
AA does have a four-segment AA metal minimum requirement for status qualification, but this is not enforced.