You don't need to fly even 30k miles as long as you buy business class - FlySmiles uses 'tier miles' for qualification purposes, which incorporate class-of-service bonuses. Cheapest business (I) earns a 50% bonus, so you'd need to fly only 20k miles in order to reach the Platinum qualification threshold. That's one BKK-CMB-FRA return flight to Europe (19500 tier miles in I) and one HKG flight (1574 tier miles one way in I).
And while UL do not fly their own planes to the US, they codeshare on EY (via AUH) and AA (via Europe) - those flights should earn the same as native SriLankan flights.
Looks like you really could benefit from them here as far as ease of attaining OW Emerald is concerned.

I like them as an airline. They are now my preferred carrier between Europe and Asia after MHs almost complete withdrawal from Europe following the two disasters (used to love MHs A380 from CDG). Tried QR, RJ and UL besides AY, and all have their pros and cons.
Connecting in HEL is as hassle-free as it gets - I like the airport experience with short walks, and no huge crowds (at least in the non-Schengen parts). The premium lounge is really nice, with good catering and a sauna(!).
They are flying brand-new A350s on the HEL-BKK route - those have a state-of-the-art 1-2-1 all-aisle-access business class product that is not worse than QRs (same Cirrus seats and layout as CX and AA on their 773s) and economy is bearable as well, thanks to 18"-wide seats with generous legroom in Economy Comfort, which is free for OWEs and surprisingly affordable for everyone else.
Their older planes, specifically their A340s - well, the seats are old slanty angled-flat ones and QR definitely trumps those. But then, I can still get a night of sleep for not much money.
It basically boils down between a nicer seat plus a bar (QR uses A380s on BKK-DOH - those are equipped rather lavishly and feature an onboard lounge and bar), but interrupted sleep because of the DOH connection. Same is valid for nicely-priced RJ (nice 787s albeit with a 2-2-2-layout, and pray for no IRROPS) and connection in AMM, btw.

Most AY frequent flyers I talked to were quite happy. It seems that op-ups tend to happen more often than with other airlines.
Have a look at the AY forum on FT for a bigger picture: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/finna...nair-plus-636/

I can confirm the op-ups.
It has been a while, back in the days AY still had the A340's between HEL-BKK.
Two consecutive times we experienced op-ups flying back from BKK to HEL.
At that time we had no status with AY, OW Sapphire as AA PLAT.

I cannot comment if the op-ups still are as frequent. I thought the business class cabin on the A350 is smaller than on the A340. What AY did then was use the front part of the business class cabin as "real Business" and the second part were all op-ups. We did not get Business class catering either but for me the most important part were the hard product anyway.

This, plus the good connections to Asia and the easy transfer in HEL make AY my preferred carrier to go to Asia.

They still do that - and it's not really an op-up. On routes with high Y demand the rear business cabin is regularly sold as Y (hence no J service) and status passengers - AY as well as oneworld - get placed in these seats. On my last two flights to KBV, I could select a seat in this cabin online. I'm pretty sure we'll see this on the A350s in a few years - once they have more of them and use them for destinations like KBV or HKT... The A350 has more business seats than any of their other aircraft types btw - 46 on the 350 , 42-45 on the 330s/340s.
AA does something similar when putting a three-class 777 on domestic routes sold as two-class. Paid F gets the Flagship suites, status pax in Y can select seats in the business cabin (with Y 'service').

New into this so really appreciate some help!

(1) What is most important to you in a FFP?
priority services when flying the airline, free - discounted lounge access

(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors?
25000-50000, mostly Y or Y+

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

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

(5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often?
Intra-Europe, Kangaroo, Australia Domestic

(6) What is your home airport?
ZRH

(7) Do you have FFP status of any kind in OW or other airline? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP?
(AA Executive Platinum, QF Gold, UA 1K, LAN Comodoro, etc)
No

(8) Preferred Airlines? Most common Airlines flown on?
Happy to stick with one according to the program. Mainly curious which to pick out of ZRH: QR, EK (via QF), CX or AB

Cheers

I'd like to see if having BA Gold (had for last 3 years) is the best option for me?

(1) What is most important to you in a FFP?
Priority services when flying the airline, lounge access, no miles expiry

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

30,000 - 40,000 miles, including around 2-4 roundtrips business longhaul, 1-2 roundtrips business shorthaul, 6-8 rountrips economy shorthaul.

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

Discounted Business, Economy, Occasional First (once every 1/2 years)

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

(5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often?
Intra-Europe, Intra-Asia, Asia-Europe, Europe-North America. Usually with BA, CX, QR

(6) What is your home airport?
AMS, LHR, HKG

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

BA Gold (Have 400k miles banked), TK Classic Plus (45k miles), Alitalia FA+, Flyingblue Ivory (25k miles)

(8) Preferred Airlines? Most common Airlines flown on?
BA, CX, KL, QR, AA, LH/OS, Easyjet

Thank You!

Apologies for mega late reply- never got notified about any replies so assumed FT had deleted my reply.

Oz/NZ is a permanent move, although I'm not settled in either country at the moment (if that makes sense)

I decided to jump to LANPASS in January, given that I can reasonably fly at least 4 times a year syd-akl.

HOWEVER- LAN (LATAM) customer service for frequent flyers is monstrously bad- truly awful. Having been accepted for a status match in January, I still do not have anything physical in my hand from LAN. Therefore I have not taken a trip in over 6 months and will be pushing it to meet the renewal criteria for any FFP

Is this a usual thing for LATAM? I had an email last night saying that my case (to supply me with a frequent flyer number/card) was being closed as I had not supplied the necessary information- although they are unable to state what information they require from me. I feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall with them

Trying to decide for a OW program. Usually I'm traveling *A exclusive but a new project in Australia made me now fly CX J from HAM to BNE and I have no idea where to bank those miles.

(1) What is most important to you in a FFP?
for *A it is lounge access, fast track security etc since I'm hanging around airports quite a bit. For OW probably how to efficiently spend those miles. Probably won't requalify status next year

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

About 50 segments/year. Most Intra-Europen economy, 5 to 10 long hauls a year, mostly to the US East-coast.

(3) What types of fares do you usually buy?
Intra-European economy, long-haul economy and one or two times business if the price allows it.

(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Can choose airlines, but have to book the cheapest reasonable economy ticket. I can pay up on my own dime.

(5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often?
Not sure... as said, I usually don't travel OW much but as there is quite some business in UK on the horizon I could imagine flying HAM-UK on BA quite a bit

(6) What is your home airport?
HAM

(7) Do you have FFP status of any kind in OW or other airline? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP?
SK EuroBonus Diamond (*A Gold), have a AB TopBonus account which I can upgrade to Gold before the outbound flight.

(8) Preferred Airlines? Most common Airlines flown on?
usually LH, OS, LX and of course SK. Could imagine getting in AB or BA segments

At the moment I'm thinking of either BA and qualify for BA Silver (my flights HAM-ZRH(first leg on LX)-HKG-BNE-HKG-LHR-HAM should be exactly 600TP) or AB and get those 40% extra miles for the Gold status.

Any opinions?

No one having a suggestion?

If you already have a topbonus account, especially one where the miles will not expire as long as you have gold status, use this (but watch out for expiration... AB miles expire after three years if you don't retain gold or above status, much like LH does it).
You'll earn 25,000 redeemable miles with AB for this flight, as well as 25,000 status miles. Halfway to Platinum, or retaining Gold another year... (assuming FRA-HKG-BNE at 20k miles return, plus 25% COS bonus)
Airberlin has "Schnäppchenticket" sales from time to time - bargain redemptions which provide exceptional value - provided you can use them.

Other than that, I always recommend BA for orphan oneworld flights, simply because BA has the most liberal expiration policies (three years, but any account activity will keep the balance alive for another three years) combined with cheap intra-European redemptions. You will get quite a few RFS redemptions between LON and HAM out of the 25k avios this flight will net you. Additionally, this one flight will net you 560 tier points - almost Silver status (600 is the threshold).

You will have a markedly better airport experience on BA flights from/through LHR as oneworld status holder, doesn't matter if AB or BA. Fast Track security (Emerald only), priority check-in and lounge access make connections in LHR bearable. BA's lounges are a notch above LHs SEN lounges overall.
Also, with oneworld status (again, doesn't matter which airline) you will be able to preselect seats on BA flights free of charge.
If you plan on flying AB: AB extends free XL seat selection (extra legroom seats) only to its own Gold/Platinum members, not to members of other oneworld FFPs holding Sapphire or Emerald status. Major letdown, and they lost out on much of my business because of this.

I`d say "yes". All other airlines (except AA and QF, but both are not a good option for you) have way more restrictive expiration policies.
Also, BAEC disproportionally rewards longhaul trips in premium cabins. Most other programs will not let you qualify for Emerald status with just 30,000-40,000 flight miles.

Hello, I have a newbie question for you all.

I have about 6000 Avios sitting in my BA account. I know it's not much, but do you guys think that I can do anything with them? Or is it just so little that it's worthless? I don't expect much but if I could score a free flight to london or something that would be nice wouldn't it? I am based near AMS.

I can also transfer them to my IB account or to the Avios website, do they give better redemptions?

If it were me, I'd use it from AMS-LHR. Even if you don't have enough Avios, you can cover the difference with cash.

Thanks! I think I'll go for BA than.

However often when I look for those, the cash I have to pay with my avios is greater than just buying a normal ticket on a budget carrier :(

Perhaps I'll just have to wait until I get a bit more avios then.

Help choosing OW FF programme
 

Dears,

I used to fly a lot from Europe to Asia with my previous job, thus I earned OW Emerald with CX.

Now I relocated to London on a EMEA role, and as you very well know acquiring status flying in euro traveller it's very hard.

Nevertheless I started building my status with BA, now got to Bronze but I realise the road to Silver is sooo long that I started questioning whether BAEC is the right programme for me. Need your help!

Answers to questions:

(1) What is most important to you in a FFP?
Fast track at security lines and lounge access

(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors?
Hard to say now as my job is new and still have not understood what's expected. I would say 3/4 EU flights in economy a month and 2/3 intercontinental flights in business a year.

(3) What types of fares do you usually buy?
Economy short haul, Business long haul.

(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
70% work, 30% pleasure. I can choose both airlines, class dictated by policy (biz from 5 hours flights up).

(5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often?
EU routes with BA

(6) What is your home airport?
LHR

(7) Do you have FFP status of any kind in OW or other airline? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP?
CX Diamond, almost dry of miles now having spent them all on personal trips lol

(8) Preferred Airlines? Most common Airlines flown on?
BA

Best OW Program for AmEx MR Points?
 

Hi all,

I've signed up for the American Express Premier Rewards Gold card, and I'd like to have an account with each of the major alliances that I can transfer its points to when I want an award ticket. (I've already got Delta Skymiles since I live near DTW.)

So, which of their OneWorld partners would be best for me, out of British Airways, Iberia, or Cathay Pacific? I'm not looking for status, just ease of earning and redeeming points (both for tickets and upgrades). Most of my travel would be U.S. domestic with the occasional trip to Europe. I'm a bit leery of the 1.25:1 exchange ratio with BA/IB and BA's taxes and fuel surcharges on transatlantic flights, but I'm intrigued by their low redemption rates on AA domestic flights. I don't know much about CX but I hear AsiaMiles are pretty versatile.

As you have observed, building (higher level) status with travel mostly in economy on European short haul routes is difficult. Unfortunately, that is the case for all programs nowadays.
If your travel primarily short haul routes but do that fairly often, consider a program that offers segment qualification such as Finnair Plus, Airberlin topbonus or AAdvantage. AY Plus will let you qualify for Gold (OW Sapphire) after 46 segments, and they do not appear to have a own metal requirement. With 3-4 flights a month that should work out (too bad that most of your flights will be nonstop out of LHR, if you were flying on airlines requiring a connection your segment count would double). AB's topbonus requires 60 flights for Gold/Sapphire and also doesn't require any of those flights to be on AB metal. AAdvantage requires 50 segments annually and they have ditched the 'four flights on AA' minimum requirement starting from 2017.

Or stick with BA and upgrade the occasional flights to Club Europe which will grant you a lot more tier points for not that much more money (BAEC awards tier points and Avios for cabin class flown even on upgraded tickets, unlike most other airlines). Check out the BA forum threads about AUP and POUG.

Sign up for both Asia Miles and BAEC/Iberia. It's free, and for what you are going to use the membership for, keeping all your eggs in one basket simply doesn't make sense.
Asiamiles will give you access to a bunch of additional non-oneworld airline partners to redeem on as well as upgrade awards on CX/KA.

The same for Skyteam - signing up for Flying Blue in addition to Delta will open up more options than are available with just Delta.

Each program has its sweet spots, why not take advantage of them?

I am flying SFO to Dublin on 1st August on discounted business class on British Airways, it was ticketed through American, with the AA devaluation starting on the 1st August, which airline FF account should I use, AA or BA to get the best value?

Value (to you) is dependent on you: not others
What are your objectives from a ffp? (post 1)
What is your flying pattern? (post 1)
"ticketed through American" means what? AA or BA flight number? AA or BA ticket number (001)?

The grass in not always greener on the other side

Choices may need re-thinking w 75K limit
 

Currently I'm in the middle of a DONE4. I'm at about 75K I think, given the clear as mud terms. So I hate to lose another big chunk of miles if they limit me to 75K, which they will do if the computer sorts it all correctly. So I entertained the thought of crediting to another program, probably BA. But wait! That means no more EQM too, so my achieving EXP for 2018 and LT plat will be jeopardized, depending on what other travel I do, and whether I use my Elite Citi card for the 10K EQM. I need about 27K EQM for EXP, so 17K from flying. The value of LT Plat has just fallen, as has, to a lesser extent, the value of EXP, but I think I'll make the effort one more time this year. Once Plat forever, though, I'm seriously considering crediting to BA. I agree that the EXP agents are one of my most valued perks. The SWUs are nice, but with a 12K spend requirement, I see myself buying up instead. It will be freeing in a way since I can purchase by price, not loyalty. I've been on one other carrier one time in the past 10+ years, other than partners on RTWs. And this almost always at a premium price when I've bothered to check.

Has anyone else wrestled with this? What would be worth more to you, another 75K RDM in a partner FFP, given they credit the same as AA, or EXP for next year?

Originally Posted by howyapaul View Post
I am flying SFO to Dublin on 1st August on discounted business class on British Airways, it was ticketed through American, with the AA devaluation starting on the 1st August, which airline FF account should I use, AA or BA to get the best value?

I have both AA and BA FF accounts, so I just want to know which FF account number I should use to get the best value, as AA is devaluing on the 1st August,
It ticketed on AA with AA flight numbers on BA flights
The route is SFO-LHR-DUB

It all changes in 2 days for AA, and your RDM will then depend on two things: your status and how many dollars you paid for the ticket. Multiply the dollars by 5, 7, 8, or 11 depending on status form none through EXP. For example, if you are gold and paid $1000, you get 7000 RDM. Depending on ticket price and status, you may well come out ahead of old system. Or not. So no pat answer to best value without doing the calculations.
I don't know BAs current mileage accrual system, but their site should tell you. Also consider how many miles you've already accrued in each program. You don't want orphan miles sitting there--too few to do any good--unless you have a transferable partner CC.

Many Thanks

Best OneWorld loyalty program to make the most of the RTW ticket
 

Long time reader, first time poster here. I'm flying a LONE5 RTW ticket purchased through CX in September and was wondering what is the best OneWorld loyalty program to join to make the most of the RTW ticket?

Given my home airport is YYZ, I've only subscribed to the Aeroplan program so not sure what OneWorld loyalty program would be best for me.

I looked at the forums info requirements and here's the other details that might be helpful to getting the best answer for my question. If I should be posting this elsewhere, please advise.

(1) What is most important to you in a FFP?
Reply:good award redemption rates, better award access, upgrades on travel, long period before expiry.

(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors?
Reply: <25,000 typically. 2-8 flights/sectors

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

(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Reply: I travel for both work (2-3x a year domestic) and pleasure (international). Limited choices for work travel.

(5) Which routes do you fly most often
Reply: I usually do one international flight a year but the destinations vary widely.

(6) What is your home airport?
Reply: YYZ

(7) Do you have FFP status of any kind in an airline? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP?
Reply: Only banked miles, no status. 50K on Aeroplan (recently used 100K on international flight)

(8) Preferred Airlines
Reply: No pref.

Thank you in advance!

I've basically been grounded (medical and family concerns) for a couple of years, and probably for most of the next, during which time my elite status (EXP, then "soft" Plat) with AA has lapsed, so I'm back to LT Gold.

In the past I used DONExs to get part (or much) of the way to EXP, for probably the same reasons as you - the EXP desk for when things go sideways, and the SWUs (which run the gamut of terrific to not-so depending on the routes and times.)

I'll probably do an xONEx in about a year (but not certain enough to book one now) but given the new AA rules I'm seriously considering bolting to BA. With my (typical) routes I'd have no problem making BA Gold (= AA EXP) but with the added advantage of giving me lounge access on domestic/Canada flights within North America, the same perks as any AA elite would have re fast track lines, baggage allowance, etc.) plus things like 2-4-1s and other BA perks including MFUs from WT+ to Club on my not-too-infrequent SEA-LHR flights.

Anyway, that's my thinking at present.

If your goal is extracting the maximum number of redeemable points - BA. Assuming no status, this flight will earn you ~17500 Avios and 280 TP (just 20 shy of Bronze)

Crediting to AA, again assuming no status, this flight will earn you whatever you paid for your ticket minus ~118 Euros in taxes times 5. Assuming the cost of the ticket was EUR1,700, you will get (1,700-118 in taxes *~1,12 current exchange rate *5 non-status multiplier) ~8,800 RDM.
You will earn 23468 EQM, though, so crediting to AA might make sense if you were trying to reach or maintain AAdvantage status.

With such few flights annually and no regular travel on oneworld these will be orphan miles most likely, and expiration should be your greatest concern. Select a program with generous expiration rules that offers non-flight partners you can use in Canada to keep the balance alive and top it off if necesssary.
Basically, choose between AA and BA depending on how many points your ticket will earn you in both of these programs. AAdvantage will transit to revenue-based earning tomorrow - you will earn 5* whatever your ticket cost (minus taxes).
With BA, you will have to plug your segments into the calculator and see how many you'll earn, but I presume it will be more than you could attain with crediting to AA.

Avios provide a decent value for domestic flights on AA and Alaska (high cash surcharges on most longhaul flightsmakes that unattractive), and balances are easily kept alive thanks to them partnering with quite a few partners like Amex MR and SPG.

hmmmm... As you say that you are "in the middle" of an RTW ticket, you have flown a number of segments which were credited under the current rules already. The newly introduced 75 k limit rule IMHO should only apply to segments you are yet to fly. I have no idea how AA will break this down, though.
Interesting question. I`d contact AAdvantage CS and inquire about that.
EXP status and those SWUs would be worth the loss in RDM for me, personally.

Thanks so much bhomburg! It definitely helps to have the advice of the experts here!

Thank you!
Thank You!

Move from AA to another OW FFP... Need advice
 

I am currently EXP with AA. I have LT-PLT and 2.75 million AA miles banked.

Under new AA rules for gaining EXP this status will be extremely difficult to obtain. As LT-PLT I have little incentive to struggle and only end up with PLT status.

I am considering moving to BAEC or QR, but I am open to others.

Any ideas or comments would be very useful.


Answers to Questions

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

Reply: My main aims are upgrades on travel, free lounge access, and retaining OW Emerald Status.

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

Reply: I fly 75,000 to 110,000 miles a year. I typically fly 1 or 2 TPAC and average 2 TATL a year mostly in discounted J. I fly 30 to 50 flights (40,000 to 60,000 miles) domestic and North American flights (typically on AA metal) with about 30% of these flights in F.

(3) What types of fares do you usually buy?
(First, Business, Premium economy, Economy, cheapest)

Reply: International flights 2 return in discounted Business and 1 or 2 in Discounted economy (currently upgraded to J using SWU). Domestic mostly discounted Y, one third F.

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

Reply: Two thirds business travel for which I can chose my airline. Can travel in discounted J (or J if its within my unit travel budget). One third travel pleasure (family travel, some in discounted J but mostly upgraded discounted Economy.

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

Reply: US/Canada Domestic 50% of miles; other 50% Europe, Asia, Trans Pacific (Australia,NZ) occasional Middle East trips.

(6) What is your home airport?
(SFO, SCL, London LHR, HKG, Singapore SIN etc.)

Reply: DFW, AUS, LAX or JFK

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

Reply: AA EXP (2.75 million miles, LFT PLT) UA (150,000 miles)


(8) Preferred Airlines? Most common Airlines flown on?

Reply: currently 85% of flights on AA, also BA, QF, MY, CX, AY, JL and but have been looking at QR.

It sounds like BA Gold would be reachable; I confess I'm not familiar enough with QR's program to comment knowledgeably. But let me ask - what Emerald perks would be important to you compared to your baseline Sapphire ones that you'll get as LT Plat anyway? First class lounges?

Obviously Sapphire or higher with another OW airline would get you into Admirals Clubs on domestic itineraries (or FLs if you get to Emerald) but is that key? For me, when I was EXP the biggest perk was the EXP desk itself, with the SWUs a distant second. I had very bad luck with auto upgrades on domestic flights - SEA was too small an AA market, with too few destinations, to bank on A space being available - they just never released it, and I really got tired of playing roulette on C seats opening on overseas segments from AA-accessible hubs for TATL or TPAC flights.

So for me the EXP desk was really the main perk, rather than the SWUs or auto-upgrades. YMMV.

BA's award system sucks for US flyers IMO due to having to pay for multiple awards on simple connecting itineraries, and I believe BA has dropped the "cheap" Avios tier for shorthaul flights in the US. Not to mention having to pay "first class" Avios for domestic F simply because AA doesn't have J on most sectors. And also, of course, there's the matter of the dreaded BA fuel fines, regardless of what BA calls them.

So I'd evaluate what I'd use BA status for - MFUs from WT+ to Club on TATL trips? 2-4-1s?

And then - out of the box - I'd look at Alaska. Decent redemption rates, increasing reciprocity with AA, LOTS of excellent earn/burn partners including the likes of Hainan and Emirates, and once they've swallowed Virgin America they'll (hopefully) retain VX's airbuses with their fabulous first class product. Just sayin' - have a look at AS.

The grass in not always greener on the other side.

USA based airline ffp's tend to be more generous (status benefits/earn/burn/upgrades/award cost/award cash surcharges/expiry/affiliated credit card ff mile earning/promotions) compared to non USA based airline ffp’s (even after the recently announced changes to some USA ffp’s). But if you are not flying the airline of your ffp the useful benefits are somewhat limited.

Non USA airlines and non USA ffp's do not give out upgrades like USA airlines/ffp's, either by status (freebie) or with miles/co pay. Always expect to fly in the cabin you buy with non USA airlines/ffp's. AA/BA/IB have a limited cross airline upgrade policy, but is subject to restrictions. Is useless for most people on discount economy/coach tickets.

I do not see how QR status would help in your quest AA domestic, TAPL & TAPC upgrades. :confused:

The grass in not always greener on the other side

Switch from AA to BAEC, QR, AS or other?
 

From: Gardyloo

It sounds like BA Gold would be reachable;

That was my thought and I ran my last few years flights through the BA tier point calculator and reached Gold easily.

I confess I'm not familiar enough with QR's program to comment knowledgeably.

Just started looking at QR, at the highest Tier you get 60 Q-credits that seem to enable you to upgrade at least 1 and possibly 2 international long haul returns. Down side for me is that miles disappear in 3 years no matter what, and I am more into earn now and burn in 4 years when I retire.

But let me ask - what Emerald perks would be important to you compared to your baseline Sapphire ones that you'll get as LT Plat anyway? First class lounges?

Yes, I have become addicted to the QF, CX etc First Class Lounges

Obviously Sapphire or higher with another OW airline would get you into Admirals Clubs on domestic itineraries (or FLs if you get to Emerald) but is that key?

I did not know that BA Gold etc. gets you into Admirals Club on domestic US trips (even flying on AA


For me, when I was EXP the biggest perk was the EXP desk itself, with the SWUs a distant second.

I like that EXP desk but it is not clear to me how much better it is compared to the PLT desk

I had very bad luck with auto upgrades on domestic flights - SEA was too small an AA market, with too few destinations, to bank on A space being available - they just never released it, and I really got tired of playing roulette on C seats opening on overseas segments from AA-accessible hubs for TATL or TPAC flights.

Everyone's situation is different... I run over 90% upgrades to domestic F. I am generally able to book onto flights that have many more empty seats in F than premium seats filled in Y. Internationally over that last 5 years I have only missed two upgrades to J from Y using SWUs and those were on DFW-HKG and HKG-DFW.

This year I was upgraded J to F on the Transcon and TATL segments of LAX-JFK-LHR-ATH, as well as LAX-LHR-MAD-LIS. So as a result I have been very please with my SWUs. Unfortunately AA has halved the SWU's and made upgrades ranked on spend. I suspect that my upgrade rate on SWU will plunge to near zero next year as well as my domestic F upgrades.

I have done really well with AA but my business and personal travel budgets are simply not high enough to work well with their new system.

So for me the EXP desk was really the main perk, rather than the SWUs or auto-upgrades. YMMV.

BA's award system sucks for US flyers IMO due to having to pay for multiple awards on simple connecting itineraries, and I believe BA has dropped the "cheap" Avios tier for shorthaul flights in the US. Not to mention having to pay "first class" Avios for domestic F simply because AA doesn't have J on most sectors. And also, of course, there's the matter of the dreaded BA fuel fines, regardless of what BA calls them.

Good point about having to use more Avios for F as AA does not have a J cabin except on some Transcons. On the other hand from a tier points earning perspective domestic F credited to BA can be relatively cheap. The downside to BAEC for me is no upgrade coupons until



So I'd evaluate what I'd use BA status for - MFUs from WT+ to Club on TATL trips? 2-4-1s?

TATL upgrades and lounge access would be my main aim with BA. Sorry but I do not know what "MFU" or "2-4-1s" means?

And then - out of the box - I'd look at Alaska. Decent redemption rates, increasing reciprocity with AA, LOTS of excellent earn/burn partners including the likes of Hainan and Emirates, and once they've swallowed Virgin America they'll (hopefully) retain VX's airbuses with their fabulous first class product. Just sayin' - have a look at AS.

I had not thought of AS but I will take a close look. Not OW of course.

Thanks for the suggestion!

"2-4-1s" = companion vouchers based on credit card spend - http://www.britishairways.com/en-us/...s/credit-cards

"MFU" = "miles for upgrade" i.e. using Avios for upgrades, often very good value for premium economy (WT+) to business on longhauls, also from business to first.

For entrance to ACs or FLs based on Oneworld elite status (not AA) see here - https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/...nge-access.jsp (scroll down.)

Thanks very much for the information. That is very useful.

I am thinking BAEC may fit my needs.

Hi everyone! I was advised that I should post this here. Hope someone can help!

(1) 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: Priority service/good redemption rates would be most important.

(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors?
(<25000, 25000-50000, >50000 miles - <25, 25-50, >50 flights?)
Reply: I didn't really fly before this year that often, but in the next calendar year I'll be doing quite a bit of travelling, up to 50k miles and beyond so I need to choose a FPP. My air fares are paid for so are usually economy.

(3) What types of fares do you usually buy?
(First, Business, Premium economy, Economy, cheapest)
Reply: Economy/cheapest.

(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Reply: Yes I can choose my airlines and can't choose my class. I travel mostly for work.

(5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often?
(US Domestic, Transpacific, Kangaroo, in Asia etc)
Reply: usually fly LHR-DUB in Euro traveller with BA, but as I say, will be doing DUB-LHR-DFW-SCL around 2-3 times next year with American and intra-South American travel with LATAM.

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

(7) Do you have FFP status of any kind in OW or other airline? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP?
(AA Executive Platinum, QF Gold, UA 1K, LAN Comodoro, etc)
Reply: Currently with BA (no elite status - just blue) and I have some Avios which I'll probably redeem when my tier points expire.

(8) Preferred Airlines? Most common Airlines flown on?
Reply: BA/American I'll be flying on. Don't mind which FPP I go with.

I was going to join American since it'd quickly get me to OneWorld Ruby, but then I read their (confusing) rules about revenue based earnings, so I won't be able to get to Ruby as quickly with American. Someone suggested joining Qatar and climbing the ranks there since it's easy to get to Ruby (as far as I am aware you don't need to fly QR segments to earn Qpoints).

Hope someone can help - thank you!

Um, no. You will NOT get status quicker going with BA than with AA, on the contrary.
AA still lets its members earn one EQM per mile flown regardless of fare. Europe to SCL via the US on AA is 20,000 miles per return trip. Times three is 60k miles , and 60k EQM even with the cheapest fares. So if you credited this to AAdvantage you would easily make Platinum/ OW Sapphire status (assuming you met the EQD target).
Credited to BA, one SCL trip in fare classes O,Q,G, N or S (lowest buckets) will earn you 5,060 Avios and 90 TP. Three trips won't even get you to Bronze/Ruby at 300....there you go.
Crediting to QR, one SCL trip in fare classes O and Q will get you 70Qpoints, and 96 in fare classes G,L,N,S and V. You need 150 to qualify for Ruby and 300 to qualify for Sapphire - you can get Ruby easily, even on the cheapest fares, but Sapphire will depend on higher fares and additional flying, but it looks doable.

Especially with longhaul travel in the back of the bus and stingy travel policies, status is important. Sapphire will convey useful benefits such as lounge access, the ability to select seats on BA flights free of charge, or premium MCE/exit row seats free of charge on AA flights and make your travel and transfer experience markedly better. I'd trade this for potentially (depending on fare class) better RDM earning on other - distance-based - programs in a heartbeat.

Caveat: as these tickets can be priced very low (unless you'll be booking on short notice, they will not exceed €1,000), you'll likely run into issues with AAs new-for-2017 spend requirements ($6,000 plus taxes) for platinum status. Calculate if your other flying will bring you over that.
There's €178 in taxes and government fees in a DUB-LHR-DFW-SCL return ticket which you need to subtract from the ticket price for RDM and EQD calculation purposes.

Basically, go with AA if you can be reasonably sure you'll be spending more than ~$6,500 annually on AA and oneworld flights, otherwise go with QR (or AY).

AA EXP considering switch to UA...
 

Was wondering if someone can help me decide if I should make the switch for next year. I will requalify as EXP with travel already booked by end of year. I am SFO based and travel on paid J to Europe about 3-4 times per year and to NY about 3 times also. the rest of my travel is short-haul within California, or to Denver etc and those flights are in discount economy. With the changes to AA I actually on balance probably benefit a bit but wondering if it is not worth switching to UA because of the better nonstop flight options for me from SFO hub. I completed a status match to 1K 2 years ago and decided it was not right for me then but obviously there have been a lot of changes at AA. But it means I won't be able to match again (at least I don't think?) so it would be starting from scratch.

(1) 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, priority, baggage allowance. Access to good award redemption.

(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors?
(<25000, 25000-50000, >50000 miles - <25, 25-50, >50 flights?)
Reply: about 100k, about 80% in paid J

(3) What types of fares do you usually buy?
(First, Business, Premium economy, Economy, cheapest)
Reply: paid J for distances over 4 hours, discount economy for anything less.

(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Reply: Yes mostly. Mostly work and only on vacation for pleasure a few times a year.

(5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often?
(US Domestic, Transpacific, Kangaroo, in Asia etc)
Reply: SFO-Europe (London and Germany mostly), SFO-JFK/EWR and then short-haul every 2 weeks or so.

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

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

(8) Preferred Airlines? Most common Airlines flown on?
Reply: right now AA and BA, but I like LH. Not hugely keen on UA product but i have to make a sacrifice somewhere.

Bottom line - I know that benefits are pretty similar / sort of a wash for me, but the huge benefit to switching to UA would be access to more nonstop flights (SFO-Hawaii for example, or Puerto Vallarta) when traveling on vacation or to Germany. My question though is whether the redemption is as good vs AA. I find it fairly easy to find award travel to Europe on AA at the saver award level but when I tried to book a ticket to Paris on UA, only one nonstop flight was available during the month of October for example. Is that typical for UA and will I be disappointed with the redemption options if I switch? that is my main concern.