Welcome to FT

Look here http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/onewo...help-here.html
This thread will be moved there in a few hours

Few posts about the Finnair program: tell us more (we need a resident expert)

The benefits of EY silver compared to others ffp's here (I note lounge access & not many segments to re-qualify) http://www.hotels-and-travel.de/ffp/...ld/ow_ruby.htm [Warning: may not be up to date]
Are there other ways to to earn EY miles in Sweden ?

But if you travel economy, status is the only way to get those perks!

And if you travel mostly via HEL and are on some other OW FFP than AY+, you need Oneworld Sapphire or Emerald to get access to the lounges. With your travel pattern, check how long it takes for you to attain them e.g. on BA and AA. If flying AY, also AY Silver (=OW Ruby) gives you lounge access.

Welcome to the FT!

Thank you both for your kind help.

If I could reach e.g. BAEC silver level within one year, in order to gain access to lounge etc, why would this be preferable to Finnair Plus? I'm just a little bit at a loss at how to compare them. It seems to me that Finnair Plus is the easier option, but I'm also a beginner with comparing the different programs and perhaps there are aspects I haven't considered. By using the BAEC calculator it seems I will get 90 tier points per flight ARN-PVG and back. This would mean I would need some 7 return flights to Shanghai each year. This however doesn't take into consideration that I would also need 4 eligible BA flights (or Iberia) something which I can't say for certain I would use at the moment.

Using the Finnair point system, it seems I would need 5 return flights in "Value" Economy to reach AY+ gold membership. This seems to be the same as BAEC silver, but looks like it's easier to reach (although often "Value" is more quite a bit more expensive than "Basic", which is only half value).

It seems to me I should be sticking with AY, but maybe I'm missing something.

Yes, the new ticket system certainly improves attaining status.

You could also switch to AA which gives you 100% mileage even for the deep discount AY tickets.

Hey folks,

I started flying heavily again a couple of years ago (unfortunately not consistently with a single alliance so with little to show for it), and finally decided to get things in order and pay attention to my FF options. As part of my new job, I've already done one SFO-ARN run on BA (AA challenged up to plat) and will probably have 5 more before the end of the year.

I'm starting to get the feel for the different alliances/programs, but I'm already beginning to question whether AAdvantage and oneworld were the right choice. Some things I've found annoying already:

- Inability to upgrade on oneworld partners--once I'm on BA metal my AAdvantage status seems useless

- Inability to find competitive TA codeshare fares via AA--just started looking into SFO-HEL-ARN and it will cost me 4x to book on AA, so since it's on a Finnair booking my AAdvantage status seems useless here too for upgrades, even on AA metal across the US

- Inability to redeem AAnytime awards on partner airlines, making them useless for booking european holidays for my family

I'd like to consider the BA program as an option but am not impressed with the way they seem to jack you at every opportunity when you book rewards travel--their fuel surcharge/fee structure seems like a ripoff! Alternatively, it seems like *A and SkyTeam might address some of my pain points with OneWorld--from what I've heard their policies treat their alliances more like a true partnership.

I am homed out of SFO. United would seem like a clear choice, if their service wasn't total crap--for *A I'd probably consider Lufthansa.

Can anyone advise as to whether I can do better?

I think you may have some misunderstanding on if/how one can upgrade on partners using another airline's miles. AFAIK the rules for AA/BA are the same as with UA/LH, i.e., you can upgrade a LH flight with UA miles, but only from full-fare categories, e.g. Y/B to C. The same applies to AA/BA - you can use miles to u/g on the partner, but only from full-fare base buckets.

Upgrading on AA metal with AA miles, or BA metal with BA Avios, is straightforward enough, with the hitch that BA upgrades from economy are only to premium economy; to upgrade into business class you have to purchase a PE seat in the first place.

As far as AA status being useful on BA, you do get lounge access and don't have to pay to select seats (unlike non-status pax, even in business class) so I don't know what more one could reasonably expect. Op-ups on BA aren't unknown, but it's not something one would want to count on.

Since it sounds like you're doing six ARN round trips this year, I doubt your AA status will fall, so frankly if it was me I'd just bank AA miles this year and wait to see what comes down as the result of the AA/US merger. It's likely that there will be a lot more AA-metal seats TATL in the future, so more options for upgrades (maybe...?) but it's probably safe to say that things will be different in 18 months in terms of various factors - redemption levels, etc. So I'd hang tough and see what happens with AA before I reversed-course and went with Skyteam or Star after having challenged up to Plat/Sapphire with AA.

Thanks for your reply and advice--depending on how this plays out, I may simply consider sticking this out through the merger. However, after reading your post, I immediately called AA Plat and this is what they tell me in this specific case:

The last leg of my flight is booked on AA metal on a BA itinerary as BA4329, JFK-SFO on a B fare. They told me that there is absolutely no way to upgrade me in either system--I cannot upgrade in AA because it was not booked through them, and I cannot upgrade via BA because their milage program is different. Is that inconsistent with your experience or am I going about this the wrong way?

I honestly don't know, but I'd review this page on AA's site - http://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/re...radeAwards.jsp - and see if/how it applies to your itinerary.

In any case, the standard answer to hearing something with which you disagree is to hang up and try asking again.

Probably this question is better suited to the Flyertalk AA board than Oneworld, since it involves the ins and outs on one FFP.

If you fly "Value" tickets ARN-HEL-PVG and back, you will be AY+ Silver after 2.5 round trips, which gets you access to AY lounges in ARN, HEL and PVG.

Stockholm-Arlanda
Menzies Aviation Executive Lounge

Finnair Plus Platinum members, Finnair Plus Gold members, Finnair Plus Silver members, Finnair Club members, Business Class passengers
Terminal 5, after security control, to the right when entering pier F.

Helsinki, Terminal 2
Non-Schengen

Finnair Lounge
Finnair Plus Platinum members, Finnair Plus Gold members, Finnair Plus Silver members, Business Class passengers
All other non-Schengen passengers may enter for a fee (48€).
Transit hall, 2nd floor, between gates 36 and 37.
Open 06:00–24:00.

Almost@home Lounge
Finnair Plus Platinum members, Finnair Plus Gold members, Finnair Plus Silver members, Business Class passengers
All other non-Schengen passengers may enter for a fee (€48).
Transit hall, 2nd floor, next to the Transfer Service Desk 3.
Open 06:30–19:30.
Schengen

Finnair Lounge
Finnair Plus Platinum members, Finnair Plus Gold members, Finnair Plus Silver members, Finnair Club members, Business Class passengers.
Transit hall, 2nd floor, above gates 25 and 26.
Open 06:00–24:00.

Lounge 2
Finnair Plus Platinum members, Finnair Plus Gold members, Finnair Plus Silver members, Finnair Club members, Business Class passengers
All other passengers may enter for a fee (€48).
Transit hall, 2nd floor, above gate 25.
Open 05:30–20:00.

Shanghai/Pudong International
Dragon Air and Cathay Pacific Lounge

Finnair Plus Platinum members, Finnair Plus Gold members, Finnair Plus Silver members, Finnair Club members, Business Class passengers
Terminal 2, after security control, 4th floor, lift to lounge opposite gate D69.

Actually, O class on QF flight numbers does earn if credited to AA, however at an EQP earning rate of 25%.

http://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/ea...nes/qantas.jsp

I'm currently using AB Topbonus as my only OW card since it's also valid for EY which I'm flying from time to time. Maybe someone could confirm that it's not much worse than other OW programmes when it comes to collecting status miles?
I'm DUS based, with ~35k flights in medium-priced Eco, mostly within Europe or via AUH to Asia. With Topbonus I might at least make it to OW ruby.

Though no one replied to my post back in October when I asked for opinions/help, I figured I'd try once more. I'll be moving to the UAE at the end of the summer. I'm already :-:A Gold, now looking to see what OneWorld program would be best for me.

(1) What is your home airport?

Stateside: Usually PDX, though LAX occasionally.
UAE: I'll be living in Al Ain, so both AUH and DXB are both close.

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

With my new job contract, I imagine I'll rack up at least 40k (possibly over 60k) in Economy per year.

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

Nearly always Economy.

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

I'm almost always flying for personal vacations. And the few times it's specifically for work... I buy my ticket, but it has to be Economy.

(5) Which routes do you fly most often? (US Domestic, Transpacific, Kangaroo, in Asia etc)

I'll be going back to the US fairly regularly, with a random trips to Asia, Europe, and Africa thrown in there.

(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)

A3 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.)

1. extra baggage allowance
2. low qualifications for maintaining status.
3. longer periods of status staying valid.


(8) Preferred Airlines

I really haven't experienced too many that have won me over (yet). In the states, I've probably had better experiences with Alaska Airlines more than most other ones.

I'd just like to have a OW option to add to my :-:A Gold status... something that would be useful when flying out of DXB or AUH.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Maybe AAdvantage ...

but that will only get me Sapphire on OneWorld.
do I have a shot of snagging Emerald with any of their FF programs, assuming I clock in over 60k a year?
at first glance, it seems like Royal Jordanian's Royal Plus is the only one I could hope to maintain (55k to achieve, 50 to maintain).

does OneWorld have any programs that allow you to maintain a status for more than 1 year before needing to qualify again?

jargonscott
Look here but these may not be up to date
http://www.hotels-and-travel.de/ffp/...ow_emerald.htm
http://www.hotels-and-travel.de/ffp/...ld/ow_ruby.htm
http://www.hotels-and-travel.de/ffp/...w_sapphire.htm