UK-Far East - which program/comp ?
 

A friend based in the UK, AC Elite, hasn't been flying much, but has now changed jobs and will be flying regularly to the Far East.

The schedules make OW more attractive than *, so any thoughts on options ? He'll be mostly buying medium priced economy tickets (not the most super discounted, but not full fare).

First thought was to register in Canada for AA and get the Plat challenge, but I gather it's already over; I presume AA would comp his AC status? If yes, any considerations about where he's "resident"?

CX is another thought, but I'm presuming the miles etc are much more attractive on AA...Also notice some of the RTW fares don't get miles with CX.

Any thoughts appreciated...

Can your friend be "resident" in Canada? If so, then AAdvantage is an attractive alternative as Canadians earn full mileage for most CX fares including M (what econo class RTWs use). In terms of mileage earning ability, AAdv is one of the more generous programs, although I can't say much about CX's program.

FewMiles..

------------------
[ FlyerTalkers' Resources on the Web ]
[ Unofficial Guide to AAdvantage ] [ Unofficial oneworld Info Desk ]

I agree with FewMiles. CX will not comp you to Marco Polo Club status, so if you want status right away, stick with AAdvantage. BA too may only give you certain miles for economy class travel.

Platinum challenge is still there . 90 days with a start date of either 1'st or 16'th of the month.
Easiest way to get Plat status quickly.
I just completed it relatively painlessly on QF and BA.
Double miles on all OW flights. ! Love it.

Thanks for that everyone - looks like he'll move the address to a friend in Canada and do the Plat challenge.

Anyone know if the Challenge can be backdated ? (Did his first OW miles 10 days ago)

Tks..

No.

Well, actually, kind of. The challenge start date can be backdated, but only flights that post after the challenge is set up/entered into the system will count towards the challenge. If they've already posted though, there's nothing that can be done.

FewMiles..

According to AA when I had a similar (but different) question, it has to do when the flights are taken, not when they post. In my case, I asked them to switch over from the gold to plt challenge about 1/2 hour after taking a flight. They said they would "backdate" it for the morning, but nothing else flown before that day would count. If you can take AAdvantage of a glitch, though, more power to you.

Agreed, Darren. This is definitely one of those iffy points about AAdvantage. That's why I always say one must plan ahead when going for the challenges.

FewMiles..

------------------
[ FlyerTalkers' Resources on the Web ]
[ Unofficial Guide to AAdvantage ] [ Unofficial oneworld Info Desk ]