yoav

Good morning to all the members.
Towards the end of the year and the recent changes in the AA program, I want to revised my FF status and choose the best option, relying on your assistance.

Here are my details:

(1) What is most important to you in a FFP?
In order of importance: lounge access, seating options (Y class), upgrades on travel, , good award redemption rates


(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: >130,000 actual miles, around 10 roundtrips Israel Latam

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

Reply: Economy (50% Y rate and 50% discount economy)

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

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

Reply: TLV - EZE,GRU,SCL,BOG


(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: AA EX PL and AF PLATINUM and LH FT (was senator untill last year)
I have banked about 400K in AA, 170K in AF, AND 40K in LH

(8) Preferred Airlines? Most common Airlines flown on?
Reply: Most common flown in order of annual miles. IB , AF, LH, EL AL
Preferred: None. all cattle class are the same. But AF business seats are the worst (when occasionally get upgraded)

jctflyer

Thanks, I can't wait to relocate there, starting my new job on the first of march.

Thanks for the advice, I signed up to BAEC and I'm now eager to try TAM's A350

Mwenenzi

The grass in not always greener on the other side

With the majority of ffp's benefits are reducing and ff mile award/upgrade costs are going up. Upgrades are now harder to get. The halcyon days of frequent flyer programs a decade ago are gone: just accept reality.

As you are in ffp's of all 3 alliances, concentrating on one may get a better result

However taking the flight that best suits your budget & schedule and treating any ff miles as bonus that may or may not be able to used is now a solid alternative to staying with a single alliance.

The grass in not always greener on the other side

yoav

"As you are in ffp's of all 3 alliances, concentrating on one may get a better result"

Exactly! Thus my post, to which FF program in OW should I stick in. Iberia? AA? BA?

Samuelshol

Hey all,
Would very much appreciate your insights here:
I recently got status matched on Air Berlin's Topbonus to gold,
which now makes me a Oneworld sapphire member until the end of next year.
I am wondering which Oneworld FFP would be easiest to gain gold status this year with (assuming staying on Topbonus is not the best option, which I don't think it is), and as important - to maintain in years to come (i.e keep the gold status)?
I care more about the status in the alliance (Oneworld) than the status on a specific airline.
Being based in Australia, Qantas would've theoretically been at the top of my list, but they seem to have a rather dreadful miles requirements re awards and status.
Royal Jordanian And SriLanka Airlines seem to have lowest thresholds but also require flying X miles on them specificially, which is a major schlep for me.

(1) What is most important to you in a FFP?
Reply: Lowest threshold for sapphire/gold status, good upgrade system
(2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors?
70k~ miles
(3) What types of fares do you usually buy?
Economy except for business award flights
(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
I'm based in Sydney for the next year, but travel throughout the year at least once to the states, twice to Europe and several times to Asia
(5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often?
Sydney to Europe w/ Singapore&Turkish airlines/via Qatar
(6) What is your home airport?
SYD Kingford Smith
(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?
Turkish Airlines Elite, Topbonus Gold
Reply:
(8) Preferred Airlines? Most common Airlines flown on?
Singapore, Qantas, Turkish et al

sirato

Recently moved from the Americas to Hong Kong.

I have Copa Connectmiles with Star Alliance and AAdvantage with Oneworld.

If see myself travelling mostly Thai Airways and Cathay Pacific for the next 2 years, is there a benefit in switching over? Will I earn more miles flying with the program belonging to the operator?

I currently have no status with the other airlines, but have quite a few miles saved up. Therefore, I am reluctant to open new accounts.

Totally new to this site, appreciate any feedback!

Gardyloo

Welcome! I'm moving this to the existing "which Oneworld FFP" thread.

Gardyloo
Oneworld moderator

thebakaronis

Here's my situation:

Home airports: SFO/SJC/OAK

Current status: 1K Premier on UA/*A Gold

Domestic/International mix: flew about 95K of my 140K miles this year on international flights to Asia (East, South & SE) and Europe. Next year I expect international travel to be the same percentage or more. Domestic travel is usually to the East Coast (NY, Boston).

Likely destinations in the coming 1-2 years: Asia (SE & India), Latin America, Europe.

Why do I want to leave UA?
- Poor to non-existent upgrade chances even with upgrade certificates from SFO
- lousy food in economy. this is very important for me on long haul flights (over 10 hrs) since most of UA's food is full of carbs (which I can't have for health reasons) and they give very little of it: a double whammy for those who deal with health issues related to carb-rich diets. Every foreign airline I've flown has had better food. I've tried all their special meals, and they don't make a difference. On their other hand their Biz class food is decent.
- Poor arrival & departure timings in South Asia. Most flights on *A arrive in India around midnight and depart a few hours later. Going forward, I expect to connect to additional flights from gateway airports, which means you can kiss 2 nights' sleep goodbye on each trip. CX, BA, Etihad, etc., seem to have better arrival/departure timings from gateway cities.
- then there are softer issues like on-board service, flight entertainment options, old 747 configurations on routes I frequent, etc., but these are minor in comparison.

What I like about UA and would like to get as close to as possible to in a new airline:
- Economy Plus (I'm nearly addicted to it; will choose UA metal most often over superior LH/LX/ANA metal just for this)
- Priority boarding (cuts down on the amount of time & stress to go through check-in, boarding, finding overhead bin space, etc.)
- more nonstops and/or shorter connections to my destinations from SFO.

I've narrowed down my choice to OneWorld given my travel needs because between BA & CX, it covers most of my international needs. As for which individual FF program to use, my choices are, assuming I get status matched/challenged:

AS: I know, not Oneworld, but AA, CX and BA are partners. And AS's program is very good. Downside is that not many flights out of the Bay Area to my preferred destinations.

AA: the most obvious choice giving proximity to SJC. But I don't think AA is any better than UA domestically. Are elite upgrades on AA & partner airlines easier than on *A? From what I've read, it appears to be so.

BA/CX: advantage is their premium economy offerings, which can be a good option when upgrades aren't available and you don't want to splurge on Business. But does it make sense to enroll in a foreign airlines program when part of your travel is domestic? If you had to choose between the two, which would you recommend?

Thanks much in advance.

Gardyloo

Living in the Bay Area, I would give AS a very long look in view of its pending merger with VX.

AA's new elite qualifying scheme will make this a more uncertain option than in the past; it will depend on your spend and class of services choices. Others may have different experience, but my elite status (when I was EXP) on AA never got me upgraded on any partner flights.

BA's MFU policy - buy WT+, upgrade to CW - is an excellent perk in my book, and, while their fuel surcharges suck, they usually have good award availability. Further, Sapphire or higher BA status would get you access to Admiral's Clubs that you wouldn't get as an AA elite (except in premium transcon or intercontinental flights) for domestic itineraries.

Mwenenzi

The grass in not always greener on the other side

With the majority of ffp's benefits are reducing and ff mile award/upgrade costs are going up. Upgrades are now harder to get. The halcyon days of frequent flyer programs a decade ago are gone: just accept reality.

Premium economy with BA, CX, QF etc is not the same as USA based airlines economy plus. It is a separate paid class, just like First & Business. You do not get upgraded to PE for zilch with just status.

The airline you fly most or an airline of the country you live is the best ffp for many people. Generally you are better earning on your primary airline due to greater recognition, better service when disruptions, ability to upgrade flights and possible operational upgrades. Earning miles from non flying activities is easier with an airline of your home country.

The grass in not always greener on the other side

Pierre09

- what is your definition of best? best redemptions, besr rates
- do you value miles/points (or equivalent) for redemption over gaining status? yes
- do you fly enough to gain any meaningful status? no
- what do you want to use the miles/points for (award, upgrade, hotels, what ever)? awards, whatever
- what sort of flight award is of interest (destination, class of travel)? destinations
- are you interested in topping up by paying cash for miles? This is decisive for me, I usually buy miles and then change them for flights to wherever I want, lately I am using the program of the airline GOL called Smiles, which for a monthly subscription I acummulate miles .
- which airline and where do you normally fly? ]A mix of various airlinesbut in my contry latam is one of the biggest
- are you primarily a leisure or business traveller? leisure
- where do you live? argentina
- do you have other ways of earning points in the various programs? hotels and shopping
Which routes and airlines do you fly most often? Europe and america
What is your home airport? EZE

TiredDoc

Im with MPO but normally wouldn't attain OWE status with MPO, but I do earn lots of Asia miles with CC spend.

So im potentially happy having no/low status on MPO, and using my CC earned miles for redemptions, which really aren't a problem and gaining OWE status for the rest.

I just bought a DONE3 ticket and thinking BA will give me a sure fire OWE status after the flights. I wasn't clever enough to change the flights to target one marketing partner, so they are the actual metal flights QR/QR/BA/BA/AA/AA/AA/AA/JAL/CX/CX/CX/CX/BA/BA

Before anyone says AHAH! im going to add a separate side trip on at the start BA so would get the 4 flights and 600 tier points for OWS status very quicky and would finish off the ticket over the next year and get OWE (dont even need more than 4 flights).

So then Im trying to get my head around the AA challenge too, and im not entirely sure how to calculate the qualifying miles on non AA carriers- moreover I dont think I would reach OWE via AA (or MPO)

Then there is QF/QR/JAL.... dont really know much except Qatar seems like it has a good mileage program too, but I think I will need 4 QR flights in 24 months... I could do two more flights on QR easily too.

....(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 service and lounge access, redemption on BA for European and trans-atlantic flights in business would be important to me and lesser would be AA redemption for trans continental flights. There is no wait-listing allowed in MPO for non CX flights so this is a real bother, no mater what MPO status (or is this not true?)

(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: 50k-70k

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

(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Reply: Mainly pleasure, prefer OW because based in HK and fly a lot to UK, so BA is ideal and fly to the states again on CX. Problem is when i try to redeem a mileage ticket on BA (as an MPO) member in F/C classes its almost impossible for me.

(5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often?
(US Domestic, Transpacific, Kangaroo, in Asia etc)
Reply: HKG to LHR to ARN and sometimes to JFK via LHR if im going that way or HKG to JFK and sometimes onwards to LHR, sometimes i want to redeem on AA for trans con

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


Cheers

Fabo.sk

So my first flights on OW await me, and with a slight change in travel patterns, it seems possible there will be more... Maybe I should get some card then. Mainly I am deciding between QR and AB at the moment, as these two are the ones that I have the next flights with.

Questions

(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:
Ideal would be lounge access at departure airports at Silver, but I don't think anyone has that anymore, then lounge access at hub airport (free and/or paid in both cases), good award rates, last good award ticket rates (if practical at all due to fees and relatively low mileage

(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:
20-40k status miles, 15-20 sectors, mostly longhaul

(3) What types of fares do you usually buy?
(First, Business, Premium economy, Economy, cheapest)
Reply:
Economy exclusively, mix of fare classes depending on chance, from discount to full fare. Mostly middle of the road buckets

(4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure?
Reply:
Can choose within reason (depending on price difference, must have a reason for more expensive tickets e.g. to avoid too long trip duration).
Travel almost exclusively for work (pleasure travel almost exclusively on LCCs)

(5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often?
(US Domestic, Transpacific, Kangaroo, in Asia etc)
Reply:
Expecting a number of Europe - Asia trips.
Formerly I would fly almost exclusively LH longhaul to Africa and Asia, but schedule changes and destination composition changes forced me to change my patterns. LH used to be most convenient.

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

(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:
Some miles in M&M, not significant amount. No status.

I'm mostly considering QR, as coming QR trip is going to be relatively high fare bucket, and there is a bigger chance to use more QR flights for future Asia travel.
Alternatively I'm considering AB, as they are relatively close by European airline, have some useable Topdeal Ticket promos (I can travel to VIE for private travel relatively easily) and I think I saw here I could get a silver card from them for 4 months for free, which could come in handy during next trip with AB (jan/feb)

sammy225

Questions

I also have AirNZ Airpoints for the those unavoidable Star Alliance flights.

For members asking for information, to help people to assist you, can you please provide:
(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: Free Bags (If in the US) and 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?)
Unsure on actually miles. 25-50 flights

Australia/NZ flights domestic <8 flights,
Long haul 6-12
North American <10
Other - <5


(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: Pleasure

(5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often?
(US Domestic, Transpacific, Kangaroo, in Asia etc)
Reply: Transpacific, any OneWorld airline + Fiji Airlines as they credit to Qantas

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

(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: QF Silver

(8) Preferred Airlines? Most common Airlines flown on?
Reply: Qantas, AA

My FF comes up for renewal in July 2017. Is it worth me trying to earn the status points to maintain my level or just switch to AA. Its unlikely I will be flying any One World flights until March/April next year. Currently in Europe and Ryan Air is good enough.

bhomburg

I think the airberlin program might be a good solution for you to keep, if you can make Etihad work for you on flights to Europe and/or the US. Etihad is a major stakeholder of Airberlin, and they two airlines now have reciprocal FF benefits - you get lounge access and priority airport services flying EY across the whole EY network, and EY-operated flights (and other airlines in the Etihad Partners Alliance) are status-qualifying.
Earning rates for discount economy are so-so, with most fare buckets earning 50%. Booked as AB codeshares, a large number of fare classes earn 100%, though, which is good, so get these if priced similarly.
With your travel pattern requalifying should be easy. Airberlin does not have a minimum own metal requirement.

SriLankan does indeed have low (re)qualification requirements, but seeing that they don't fly to the US and with their recent cancellation of all routes to Europe except LHR you will have trouble meeting their UL metal requirements.