Thanks for all the valuable info. Why don't I choose BA then, if AA won't do on BA and I am likely to fly Iberia and BA business class?
Is it so much worse than Cathay so that Cathay is worth the extra 50$ ?

Thanks

Because BA's redemption rates aren't that great. You'll get more bang for your buck (or flight for your mile) with Cathay.

If you live in the UK and can take advantage of all the other ways to earn miles doing everyday things that are available there (points from Tesco supermarkets [sort of like Payback in Germany], BA AmEx, etc.), the balance tilts to BA because you get some many more miles with relatively little effort. Plus there are redemption offers like 2 for 1 award tickets which are only available for UK residents which make the program more attractive if you live in the UK.

Elsewhere, Cathay offers the better deal because from the same amount of flying you get more rewards.

Oh, and don't get me started on how few miles BA gives for economy flights - on any carrier. 25% of miles flown, and no status miles for economy flights. Not good.

If you fly mainly Transatlantic Business over 66,666 miles a year then go for AA, its worth it for the 8 free upgrades to FIRST. Also it might help if you posted what your main travel routes are and class of course.

Fo info on AAdvantage and the AAmazing Platinum challenge go to the American Airlines forum.

But this would require flying AA. And wouldn't work at all when flying BA.

I would go for QF.

If you fly business-class you will get status very soon.
(You get 40 TPs on flights under 600 miles and 60 TPs on flights over 600 miles). (not only the flat 40TPs of BA in Business).

All fare-classes get Tier-points (even the deepest discounted classes).

All fare-classes on IB earn 100% miles.

No worry about transatlantic flights on AA/BA that do not count.

QF has a lifetime status (long way, but possible).

If you need lounge-access on QF/BA/AA you can buy a Qantas-Club membership.

Earing rates are as bad as with BA, but you get more miles.

Be aware: QF-Silver doesnt get you into the lounges, you need gold for that, but that gives you 50% Bonus on QF/BA/AA.

If you fly Business-Class you get lounge-access anyway

Thanks for you input. Sounds good, However, in the end I opted for BA, simply b/c it's the airline I will mostly fly with (in OW) and according to other posts there are no alliance-wide upgrade awards in OW. We'll see if I make status here.
Thanks y'all though!

True, but there are some occasions where you get more on BA than on QF, e.g. flights to the East Coast of the USA. Also there are other tricks such as BAH-DOH sectors and using a BA codeshare on a QF J domestic flight - both which give full long haul TPs.

Unfortunately this is not always true. Yes, IB get 100%, but be aware that there are quite a few fare classes on several OW carriers which credit nothing including even a few noteables on AA. CX also requires L and above to get anything.

True, however I suspect with Macquarie Air shortly taking over QF, I can't see this perk remaining despite the huge amount of flying to get it. At least with AA's programme, all miles count to lifetime status whereas with QF only flying gets you there.

You can buy a QF Club membership and NOT credit to QF should lounge access be a requirement, however the OP should be aware that when flying IB, he/she won't be entitled to lounge access.

Not true. The bonus paid on QF miles is a percentage of the awarded miles, for example a min payment of 125 miles on a deep discount, yet the flight miles were 100 miles, you will get 25 miles on a silver membership as a bonus, whereas BA would give you the higher amount. Small difference but for short hauls it adds up.

25% for Silver (OW Ruby), 50% for Gold (OW Sapphire),and 100% for Platinum (OW Emerald). Bonus only paid on QF, BA and AA flights. AA's programme however pays the bonus on ALL OneWorld flights.

For the AA programme, one should note that even on deep discount fares, 500 EQPs are awarded on fares that credit (even in the slighest) which whilst won't get you many redeemable miles definitely helps for Elite qualification.

Again I am going to point the OP to AA's programme as at least in OW, it's the best one out there. CX is not too bad in some respects either, but QF is definitely one of the worst. Personally I am only with QF for lifetime status as it is will within reach. In fact I am only a few flights away from it, but I am seriously considering changing to AA afterwards especially now that Macquarie are taking over QF and they are known for cuts. There is a reason afterall why Macquarie are one of the most profitable investment banks in the world!

It's worse than that. The status bonus is applied first before applying any minimum mileage earn. This means, for example, almost all QF domestic flights in NZ earn me the minimum amount despite having WP status.

You are indeed correct!

Are you sure?

So we can get AA miles from Manchester to USA? Where does it say this??

How about a through ticket from manchester -> london -> USA

I can't remember where it says it, but BA's MAN-JFK-MAN flights also have AA codeshare flight numbers (AA6679 and AA6680). This is the only flight where codesharing was permitted under Bermuda II, and it's the only British Airways transatlantic flight where you can earn AA miles - if you've booked the AA codeshare flight rather than the BA flight.

CX doesn't have any tier bonus and its miles given on J and F are relatively low. CX Diamond offers the best among all OW FFPs. If you seldom fly to N.America,not much point to join AAdvantage. Bascially if you are frequent J traveller,I would suggest you to join either BA or AA,depends on your needs.

In what way is CX Diamond better than AA EXP? (I don't mean flying patterns or country of residence issues, just plain FFP benefits).

the reason why I've never considered to join AA or QF is the fact that you will need 4 flights each year on their own metals.. So that's why I ended up with CX With my flying pattern I could never be able to fulfill these needs...