Himeno

With the just announced upcoming changes to the QF program, I'm considering a need to move to a new program.
I'd prefer to avoid AA due to the domestic US lounge access limits.

Are the Asian carrier programs any good?

Mwenenzi

No. The no access to lounges is only for USA domestic flights. Unless you are in the USA a lot just buy a $99 30 day AA Admiral membership. Overall you are better off. Earn to burn and no surcharges on most awards more than make up for it. BA enforce the 4 segment rule to get/hold status. AA (currently) do not enforce this rule. However with the US Airways takeover/merger major changes in the next year or so to the AA FFP would no be unsurprising.

I have not credited a QF flight to the QF FFP for ~5 years, apart from some low cost tickets that, at the time, were non earning with AA.

Himeno

I currently get access to the AA F lounges without extra cost and on any flight (and have routed trips through ports with those lounges). Why would I want to pay extra to get access to a lessor lounge?

I don't use points for award flights. I've only used qantas points for upgrades and points + pay tickets.

Mwenenzi

So why did mention "I'd prefer to avoid AA due to the domestic US lounge access limits"?
If you change FFP's eventually you loose QF status, unless you have lifetime Gold or Silver.

To many QF points & pay is a poor use of QF points. Better for many, including myself, to use points on business awards. You cannot use QF points to upgrade AA flights or use AA miles to upgrade QF flights.

Himeno

Are there any charts comparing different programs anywhere?

wandering_fred

@Himeno

As with almost any question one these boards - It depends.

1. Where do you fly? If the USA a lot, it affects the answer. If Asia, the effect is different.
2. You list QFF. Does that include lifetime silver/gold? Makes a difference in the USA even at OW Ruby.
3. What do you value? Redemption. Upgrades. Extra/free baggage. Lounge access. Life time status.

I've had to think about the questions for a while. Having lifetime Gold with AA makes my choices somewhat different, but here are the things I think about while I'm waiting for the answer to my choice. The answer I get could be no.

1. Loss of soft landing with AA.
2. Loss of PER-SIN with QF
3. Unlikely chance of extending life time status with either AA (just over LTG) or QF (28% LTS 2K SC)
4. Likely reduction in the 50K travel each year due to retirement. Still likely to visit family in USA.
5. Lack of a pro-active response by AA customer service to a web site error.
6. Reduced OW partner earning with QF (both J and Y)
7. Limited interest in Australian domestic travel.
8. QF not installing W cabin in A330s
9. QF did offer a free status boost last year.
10. I did use AA double EQM offers to earn EXP in the past.
11. I have had an inactive CX account for a long time, though status is earned only by flying. OTOH CX status (even Silver) is treated very nicely while flying CX.
12. I have friends in Sri Lanka, where I buy long haul tickets.
13. Fare class lowering on QF fares. What used to be V is now S. What was K is now V.

So a mixture of things. What is your list Himeno?

Happy wandering

Fred

AngelicLiar

Hey guys... I started going over some of the guides, but there's just so much to read!

I think I'm trying to decide between AA and BA; leaning a bit toward BA because I already have a plan with United for inter-USA flights, but I don't like the fact that you can't get upgraded from Econ to Business in BA's FFP... Would appreciate input.

(1) What is most important to you in a FFP?
Reply: Upgrades by a large margin, then priority services while flying the airline.

Lounges aren't that important to me.

(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors?
Reply:
25000-50000, but <25 flights as most of my flights are trans-atlantic.

(3) What types of fares do you usually buy?
Reply:
When I fly for work (which is most of the time), Business.
For personal flights, cheapest (though hopefully I could get upgraded...!)

(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Reply:
I can choose my airline for work and for pleasure, and I travel mostly for work.

(5) Which routes do you fly most often?
Reply:
TLV <-> SFO, and sometimes inside Europe.

(6) What is your home airport?
Reply:
TLV.

(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?

Reply:
I have FFP in United, but not many miles in it; I plan to keep it regardless of the Oneworld FFP I choose (sometimes Star Alliance flights are cheaper/better than Oneworld; for my next trip, Oneworld is better).

(8) Preferred Airlines? Most common Airlines flown on?
Reply:
No strict preference; if any airline would create a direct TLV<->SFO flight, it would definitely be preferred but none have.

POAflyer

Hello.

TAM just moved out of *A to OW and now I'm trying to decide where to go on oneworld.
The main problem with TAM is that their accrual rules are ridiculous (e.g. ANY segment flown within 24 hours is counted as one route in total, even if from different tickets.)

The initial idea was to stay with TAM since they kept a lot of alliances with *A airlines even after moving to OW, which would help me accrue more miles in a single place. However with the ridiculous accruing rules I'm thinking about a move to AA or BA.

(1) What is most important to you in a FFP?
Accruing more points.
(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors?
Between 40 and 50k, always economy
(3) What types of fares do you usually buy?
Cheapest
(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Yes. Mostly for pleasure, but also work occasionally.
(5) Which routes do you fly most often?
Africa to Brazil and within the African continent
(6) What is your home airport?
JNB
Reply:
(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?
OW Ruby with TAM (coming from *A Silver)
Reply:
(8) Preferred Airlines? Most common Airlines flown on?
Mostly South African Airways and TAM

wandering_fred

@carlos

You have a problem common with many OW FF members. Until JJ (or LA) actually flies their own metal between Brazil and South Africa, I suspect the only OW program that will credit the JJ code shares on SA metal will be JJ. OTOH I did not check LA's rules.

Happy wandering

Fred

Himeno

I'm currently QF Platinum through August 2015. I have averaged 2435 SC each year for the last 4 years (up from an average 350/yr from 2006-2009), but the upcoming earn changes at QFF are going to cut that by a lot. I'm about 2800 SC away from lifetime gold.
My travel is fully self funded.
I used to make CBR-MEL trips every few weeks, but the reason for that has now stopped.
My usual travel (since 2010) consists of a circle asia from AU to Japan or Korea and a round the world from there with a few extra short flights in the US and Europe. I sometimes have one off short trips to Japan or the US.
I normally only use QF points for upgrades and points + pay tickets.
I have rarely (if ever) gone over a 23kg baggage limit.
I would prefer not to have AAdvantage as AA members can't access lounges on flights within North America.

ianmanka

I'm looking to pick a secondary program for an upcoming flight with LA, in case it doesn't credit to AS like it should. I'm booked in Q class, MEX-LIM-SCL-IPC-SCL-MEX. From what I've researched:

On BA, I'd earn 25% miles MEX-LIM-SCL and SCL-MEX: 2,060. (0% on SCL-IPC RT)
On KK, I'd earn 50% miles on the entire itinerary: 6,455
On QF & AY, I'd earn 100% miles MEX-LIM-SCL and SCL-MEX: 8,238. (0% on SCL-IPC RT)
On AA/US, I'd earn 100% MEX-LIM and SCL-MEX, 25% on LIM-SCL-IPC-SCL: 8,263
On AB & CX & MH, I'd earn 100% miles for the entire itinerary: 12,910.

(Couldn't find information on JJ, now that they're OW)

I travel exclusively for leisure, and am trying to accrue to AS for status. Which of these are best for retroactive credit, and which are best for a redemption on a partner airline intra-US (or suggestions on redeeming an extremely low amount as indicated above)?

Mwenenzi

Why do you think the flights may not credit to AS?
Retro claiming to another ffp if a ff number is in the reservation may be problematic, even if it earns nil miles. But retro claims have conditions. Look at this post. For many you have to be a member before the flight.

Earn/burn and what you will uses those miles for is the real question. As a USA resident AA will be best, even if has a big overlap of partners with AS. Forget about QF. QF are soon to lower earning on partner airline flights. Have you looked at the LA ffp? BA avois are good to redeem on short flights

From post 1

wandering_fred

How useful is LTS with QF? How much do you value QF LTG?
With a circle Asia and a xONEx (at least one in biz) I would think OW Sapphire would be possible with almost any OW program. Are you able to generate the 30K followed by 60K with Cathay while your QF status is active and providing lounge access? Though you might qualify for a status match with CX (MPC Silver) which would enable earning/keeping MPC Gold much easier. Keep you boarding passes as they will be required for the match documentation.

If you maintain OW Emerald, luggage should not be a problem with the new alliance wide allowances.

OTOH the $99 30-day AA lounge pass would be cost effective if you only have one trip to the USA each year. My issue with AA is the loss of a soft landing (from EXP).

Alas I don't think I have enough travel in 2013 to get a match with CX (though I may see if I can find the boarding passes) so I am considering plan B with the travel spreadsheets.

Happy wandering

Fred

bhomburg

Welcome to FT!

Upgrade-wise, you fare better with BA if that's primarily what you'd use your points for.
You cannot upgrade anything with AA miles except TATL sectors and domestic US flights, whereas you can upgrade all those intra-European flights with BA Avios - TLV-LHR is a five-hour flight!

No matter which OW airline you choose, you should make mid-tier sapphire status with two revenue business class TLV-SFO return flights alone. On both BA and AA, this tier comes with 100% bonus points and alliance-wide lounge access.
With AA, you'd qualify on EQP (you need to fly only 33.334 miles in business for 50k EQP), with BA two TLV-SFO trips will net you 560 tier points, just 40 shy of silver/sapphire status. A connection in LAX on one of the flights will net you the rest

You can upgrade from Y to J with BA, it just costs twice the points compared with upgrading from Y+. In fact, buying cheap 'T' class discount WT+ premium economy fares and then using Avios to upgrade to CW (business class) is considered a real bargain in the FFP world. In case the upgrade not clearing, you have a way better flight experience than if you were sitting in economy. This is especially true on the new WT+ cabin in the A380s and B787.
And upgrades on AA are not guaranteed to clear - quite the contrary. . Especially on AAs 777-300 routes, mileage upgrades into the much-sought-after business cabin are notoriously hard to come by with virtually no advance clearance. Expect this to be more of a lottery than anything. I've had EXPs sitting next to me in Economy as our systemwide upgrades didn't clear on LHR-DFW and LHR-LAX, and those would come far far ahead of a Platinum member requesting a miles+copay upgrade.
Wander over to the AA forum and read a bit about how advance upgrade availability has been restricted lately and how long the upgrade lists have become. It is not uncommon to see 50+ passenger names on the airport upgrade list for LAX-LHR.

AA charges a $350 co-pay on its TATL flights. More often than not, especially on leisure travel you can plan far out and take advantage of sales, BA's cheapest WT+ fares are about the same or just minimally more than an economy fare plus the mileage upgrade co-pay on AA.

zainman

I am also looking for a replacement for my QFF WP.. Probably looking at AA/CX/QR.

Are there any *O programs out there that allow pooling of tier miles/status credits?