Germany: Which airline program to join?
 

Hi,
I could not find an answer on this searching the forum:

I am based in Germany and like to become a oneworld member. Any recommendation which airline´s program I should join?
Any airline in oneworld that would comp *Alliance Gold status?

Where do you fly to most often and on what fare basis? Also, can you make use of a mailing adress in N. America?

Welcome to OneWorld Uli!

It really depends on your flight patterns and requirements. But if you want to be comped then to the best of my knowledge the only airline that will do it for you is AA. Do a search for 'comping' in AA forum and you will get a lot more info. AA is also very generous with various promotions and bonus miles.

Wow, you are quick http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I am planning an OW RTW in F.
I hope I can make top tier with this in "one round".
After this, I would use CX sometimes in Asia. NA is not one of my frequent travel targets.
Address in U.S. would be possible.
I just read on the BA homepage that they offer mileage for ALL fare classes and they never expire, no matter of status. This sound convenient, but might be standard in OW. I was also searching the BA website about how to earn miles and tier points with them but they seem to hide it somewhere (:

I have searched the AA.COM for "comping" but so far no match. Should I just try to give them a call?

I have more info now and just post it, maybe someone has a similiar problem:

AA does not comp LH, the only comp United
For AA you can reach the Plat. status quickly if you take part in the Plat. Challenge and collect enought miles quickly

BA at least gives BA Silver if approved by their supervisor; and you can collect miles for Concorde flights which you cannot in the AA program

I am still not sure what to do ):

Uli,

AA.com will not give you all the info that you need so easily. Go to American Airlines forum on this board and search there. An excellent alternative is to check out websites by our expert FewMiles who has all very well summed up at

http://plaza.powersurfr.com/fewmiles/AA/index2.html

and

http://plaza.powersurfr.com/fewmiles/oneworld/

Top status on AA is EXP (Executive Platinum) same as 1K on United. EXP can be achieved by flying 100,000 miles in coach/economy or if you want to fly in F then just about 66,000 miles. Alternatively you might choose to do it the hard way and fly 200 segments at a minimum of 500 miles each. All AA fares earn you miles just as well on partner airlines. On top of this you earn class bonuses and promotion bonuses. Putting it more simply, just about every time I do a roundtrip between Europe and Australia in "J" I get about 120,000 miles which is enough to fly "J" between Australia and Europe on CX! In other words, buy one get one free!


As far as BA is concerned then it might be a very good idea to do a VERY deep reading of their forum. It is not as good as it may sound at first glance http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif. And they apparently don't comp.

Really? Just tell them that you moved to the States since you said that US address is not a problem and that you want to do a lot of flying on a US carrier. Your choice would be between UA and AA http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif. This should be convincing enough.

Very true. You need 10,000 points to hit Platinum which is easy. Also the qualifying flight counts as double miles. After this you will get an extra 100% on all qualifying miles flown.

The magic word is IF http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif (do I see some pigs flying??)

Thanks for your info, Spider!

BTW the people at BA Germany say approval for comping Star Gold to BA Silver would be a piece of cake.

I am close to be conviced that AA is THE choice for me -- the only stone in my way is that I cannot fly to US using the Concorde in this scenario. Or is their a workaround? Put the miles in a BA account and transfer it?

If you are planning not to use AA very much afterwards, then I wouldn't suggest joining it. Each of the OW carriers require you to do at least 4 segments a year on them as well as other point requirements to maintain tier statuses. If your main travel is going to be with CX, then I would suggest joining CXs scheme. If your travel is likely to be in J and F , then the BA and QF schemes are ( imo ) the best for reaching required points for tier levels. If you get complimentary silver with BA, then you will quickly on the trip reach the points requirement for the renewal a year later and get most of the way towards attaining Gold status.

As far as using Concorde goes... nothing to stop you flying on it, they don't ban AA members, they just will give you no points for it http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

If you are doing an RTW in F, you might seriously want to look at QF, very similar scheme to BA, they may comp you, but if they don't , it doesnt matter, since you would be through the statuses v quickly anyway but they are currently doing a deal with RTW that allows you to upgrade for free to Concorde for the transatlantic leg

Dave

Dave,

if I have to fly four legs on the airline I am member with than Quantas makes no sense as I wont go to Australia too often. BA or CX seems to be my choice now, as it is very simple for me to fly with both of them regularly.
CX seems to be willing to comp the status if I "reserve" at least one F RTW, which is my plan anyway. Comes out to be so easy now!
Thank you all for your help, I really love Flyertalk. It´s addictive.

How so?? AA is just about the only airline in 1W that allows miles from all fares. It does not matter if you fly Qantas or AA or Lan Chile or Finnair or even Iberia. AAdvantage does not discriminate!

Not AA!!! A number of AA elites along with me have skipped AA for the whole year as long as they fly international segments.


According to Cathay forum it is a BAD idea. Cathay does not appreciate its FF'ers. They take them for granted.


That's as long as you can get available FF seats! QF is virtually impossible to get award seats on and BA is apparently even worse. (Just see my thread about awards in BA forum). What good is a status level if you can't use it? On AA I have never ever had problems getting an award seat even on BA or QF.

There is an easier way of doing it. Mail me if you want detailed info.

quote:
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If your travel is likely to be in J and F , then the BA and QF schemes are ( imo ) the best for reaching required points for tier levels.
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That's as long as you can get available FF seats! QF is virtually impossible to get award seats on and BA is apparently even worse. (Just see my thread about awards in BA forum). What good is a status level if you can't use it? On AA I have never ever had problems getting an award seat even on BA or QF.

I have never had any real problems getting reward seats on Qantas unless I have been rigid in my plans. If you have been able to get them through AA, then you would have been able to get them directly. I managed to get a 1st class flight from Oz to UK at one days notice only a week or so ago. I have had a lot more problems getting flights with AA.

I think that you would be hard pushed to validly dispute that it is easier to maintain status levels with QF than AA. 1 roundtrip UK-OZ in J keeps my Gold status with QF, whereas I would have to travel 40,000 miles with AA to maintain Platinum ( and still not have access to AA lounges when travelling within the USA )

Dave

Dave, with all due respect, every time I travel AA in J from the South Pacific to Europe I get 100,000-120,000 miles. It may not be enough to renew my Platinum in one hit (due to Q-points) but it certainly buys me enough miles to get a free biz flight to Europe! Also, CX and BA are a lot better in J than QF IMHO.

I don't dispute that AA may be better for you than the others.

I was just commenting that the status points accrual on QF ( and BA ) is far better for a J or P flyer than Qualifying points on AA. Also, that if seats were available for an AA member on QF, then it would , I believe, be available for a QF member. Given the person's location and stated travel expectations, the AA scheme would not seem to be a good choice , especially since the published rules do state a requirement to fly 4 AA sectors.

For me, I would not have managed to accrue Executive Platinum with AA, but easily made Platinum with QF

I agree that BA business class is better than Qantas business class and I would probably be a member of the BA scheme if they were better at giving tier credits for the discount economy trips I make in a year

Dave

Thank for all your advise, but I am still uncertain. Everything looked so nice for CX (out of the way of the AA/QF dispute) but then I saw the CX rules for obtaining status miles and forgot about it. AA seems to be the best bet, BESIDES, Dave, if you are really sure with their requirement of showing 4 segments with AA per year. I cannot find this on the AA website. Is this the same game for BA?

Whats the issue with CX status miles?

the 4 segments is in the Ts & Cs

Its listed on the website ww.aa.com
go to Aadvantage ->Aadvantage member guide ->Elite Status ->Qualification requirements

"Qualification Requirements

You must fly at least four segments on American Airlines and American Eagle to qualify for AAdvantage Gold®, AAdvantage Platinum® or AAdvantage Executive Platinum® status within the qualifying year. "

I know that Qantas have such a rule and I presume that BA has such a rule, but cannot confirm it.

Dave

[This message has been edited by Dave Noble (edited 01-28-2002).]

One thing I really like about AA is that all miles count towards lifetime status and that all fares are upgradeable. You can't upgrade with miles really cheap fares on most other airlines.

You can also earn miles with the Citi AAdvantage card - it is available in Germany. If you do choose AA, I would recommend the card so that you can start to maximise your miles.

More details are available at www.citi-aadvantage.de


------------------
I Love New York

AAdvantage : no miles with BA on transatlantic flights.
BA EC : no upgrade with miles.

If you plan to upgrade at a reasonable cost with miles on BA and to use mainly BA on transatlantic flights, then your only choice seems to join AsiaMiles of CX. This answer was already given on BA forum (sorry just forgot the name of this helpful and famous member).
Plus you'll accrue miles on SR, which is a good option provided you live in Europe.

My comments are valid only for BA EC CONTINENTAL EUROPE. BA EC UNITED STATES is fare more generous and you have upgrade awards at your disposal.

Go with AA. If you join CX you have to fly 120k miles a year for Diamond. if you go with BA looks like you will get soda pop with your meal:
Jan 27, 2002
A growing number of "air rage" incidents is forcing the UK government to consider a ban on drinking alcohol on all domestic and international flights on British airlines.

A report in the London Sunday Times newspaper says the measure is being debated as part of preparations for a government study paper on aviation, due for publication in the spring.

The UK's airline safety authority, the CAA, has reported a big increase in the number of violent or threatening incidents on aircraft - up from 800 three years ago to 1,250 in 2001.

This steady increase in attacks by drunk passengers on cabin crew members has forced the issue on to the government's agenda. Should the proposals become concrete they will be opposed by airlines but already have the backing of cabin crew and groups representing the traveling public.

Doctors have added their weight to the argument, saying that alcohol on flights should be banned.

The newspaper says that the government put out a consultation document and many of those who replied urged a complete ban on in-flight drinking.

The Sunday Times cites Transport Department insiders as saying that the most likely scenario is a bar on airlines from which cabin crew would be able to control the number of drinks handed out. They do not see a complete ban on alcohol as being the answer.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Redhead:
[B]One thing I really like about AA is that all miles count towards lifetime status and that all fares are upgradeable. You can't upgrade with miles really cheap fares on most other airlines.

I think QF is actually better in the upgrade respect. With AA, you have to travel on a published fare, with QF you can buy the ticket from any source and still upgrade. Meant I could buy a cheap D class return to Oz from London and upgrade to 1st each way for 30,000 points.

Dave

Soda would be in no way acceptable for me http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Will be going for BA most likely. They will comp me to Silver and the 800 points to reach gold are a piece of cake with on F RTW.

AA seems to have the most sympathetic program and: lifetime status possibility. I have talked to different AA people in UK office and US office but they will not comp anything else than UA. Also they still will not give me miles for supersonic flights.

CX gives miles for all BA and AA flights, comps, but seems to be complicated, not really valueing the FFs, and, most critical, hard to maintain Diamond status.

I must say I really like this idea of Lifetime Status, more airlines should offer this. So you know sometimes will an end to the Mileage Run and you can concentrate on the next airline (:

So I guess you'll use BA EC USA to get upgraded with miles ?

Will you try to keep LH Sen ? You'll never find such a rewarding FFP on Star !

Hi Thalys!

I will use BA EC (have their handbook now, thanks to Dave) as it seems very simple to get and to keep Gold with them if you fly in F.
I will keep LH SEN, no question. If you live in Germany, it is impossible to live without LH, also the Star program is quite good.

I found a lack of ONE WORLD presence in mainland China. Very hard to get there. Only from OZ or LHR. On an RTW with Star, I can fly i.e. from Singapore to about 6 destinations in mainland China. Unfortunately Dragonair is not part of OW, what a pity.