I'm a *A flyer, but every now and then for reasons beyond my control have to take a OW flight. It happened once this month already, and looks like it will happen again on a long trip in December.

I need to join a programme to stop these miles going to waste, my question is which one is best?

Most of the flights will be ex-LHR (and normally with BA)
Most of the flights will be in discounted economy
There probably won't be very many of them!

So my considerations are:

Must give points for discounted economy
No expiry of points as it'll take me some time to build up anything worthwhile
Awards probably more important than tiers (given infrequency of flights I'll never get anywhere in a year, status wise)

My understanding is:

BA is not good for UK based flyers

AA can't be joined by UK based flyers due to some arrangement with BA

What I've read here and elsewhere leads me towards QF. (I also understand that if I'm quick, QF will credit BPs generated up to 30 days before joining the FFP.)

Any advice you can offer would be much appreciated!

AA can be joined, and for many is preferable to BA as it offers more airline mileage opportunities than BA.

But note that premium classes earn less with AA than BA, but it seems that's unlikely to be a problem.

What you can't do is earn AA transatlantic mileage with BA and vice versa. This includes South Atlantic.

QF is looking more and more interesting.

A UK based flyer can join AAdvantage. However, to earn miles flying BA economy class, you would need to fly non-transatlantic routes in Y (full fare), T (premium economy), W (premium economy) or B.

Go with Qantas - as long as there is *SOME* point activity every three years, the points will not expire. Qantas will give you points for most classes of discount Y (on BA, I think it is just about all of them), and you don't have to worry about which carrier you will use across the North Atlantic.

If you have any specific questions about the QF scheme, email me directly, the address is in my profile.

Dave

How about Alaska? You get miles for BA, KL, QF, AA, NW, CO. They're not status miles except for NW, but it sounds like that may not be an issue for you.

I would agree with Thatdocta. The QF scheme would give you miles on just about all fares on all OW carriers.

Dave

Thank you all for your help and advice.

Am now a member of QF. Two more fora to check on FT...

Following on from Wingnut's question.

I am considering switching from BA to QF. I am about to book a flight that will empty my BA Miles account. My Silver card expires in January 03 and I already have enough points to ensure it will be renewed for another year. I'm not flying BA much and when I do it is on Corporate route deals that mean I don't get any tier points and only 25% mileage credit. There is little incentive for me to stay with BA.

At the end of this year I will be doing a OWE in First. The total mileage, before class bonus, will be approx 52,000. Adding First and Biz multipliers it will come to around 147,000.

Being a UK member I need 1700 points to get to Gold. The trip should generate 1710 tier points so in theory I should get Gold but it will depend on timing.

Will I be better switching to QF once I have emptied my BA Miles account?

Will QF comp me to their equivalent of BA Silver?

If no to above, will I have to qualify for QF Silver and then start from Zero to reach Gold?

Despite all the hype about ow each airline looks after its own ff first. This is especially true with op. upgrades, have been told that ba blues come before otehr OW emeralds - not sure if this is true.

As some computer systems still do not link properly.

"Will I be better switching to QF once I have emptied my BA Miles account?"

Well, you need 1400 status credits on QF to attain Platinum.

"Will QF comp me to their equivalent of BA Silver?"

Pretty much Nope

"If no to above, will I have to qualify for QF Silver and then start from Zero to reach Gold? "

No. The 1st 350 credits will get you to Silver status ( OW Ruby ). The next 350 status credits will get you to Gold status (OW Sapphire) and the next 700 status credits will get you to Platinum ( OW Emerald ). QF don't have the evil idea of resetting your points.

When you attain Platinum, you will retain it for the remainder of the 12 months of your current membership year and for the following year, so you can get nearly 2 years worth of Platinum out of it.

Dave

It is false, for AA, BA, CX and QF (I don't have knowledge about the other Oneworld airlines, but all are supposed to be the same). For BA the sequence is BA Premier, BA Gold, Emerald, BA Silver, Sapphire and only then BA Blue. They do take care of their own first, but interlaced with OW status (and half the world is emerald, at least on the popular flights).

Absolutely, switch to QF. QF will not comp your status, but if you begin your life as a QF Frequent Flyer by flying 1st or business, you won't miss it much. You will quickly acquire top-tier QF and thereby OW status. The more I look at other FF programmes, the more attractive QF seems by comparison.

I think you've missed out OW Ruby in there. I guess they come ahead of BA Blue also since they are earned status levels on most of the OW airlines except BA (e.g. CX Silver)

I have no trouble getting op upgrades on AA with my BA Gold. Just call reservations 100 hours in advance and ask (just like EXPs do). A month ago I was in discount coach SFO to ORD in a lousy seat (back of plane, middle somewhere, on a 767). Just phoned up told them I was BA Gold and asked for a better seat and bam. J-class confirmed seat. You are right though that they will not give you an op upgrade automatically like they will their own FFs. Don't stand around waiting for them to upgrade you automatically on a full flight like your own FFP would. No ask, no get.

ANd then, if you fail to requalify for Platinum, you will be Gold for the next year, and Silver for the year after that - they only drop you down one level at a time.

Dave