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Which oneworld programm to pick?
Hi oneworld forum
I am usually flying LH (just made it SEN) but will now fly Iberia Since I don't have any oneworld card yet I am open to suggestions which programm to choose. I read somewhere AA would be the best and I just enrolled but I thought, I'd check with the experts :) The only other affiliation I have is with Alaska Airlines but, alas, they partner with BA but not IB... Suggestions welcome! Thanks! |
What fare class do you usually book? What routes?
Normally I would point you in the direction of AA, however if you generally on the cheapest tickets QF might be the best place to put your miles as at least they give 100% even on N class fares. What is your preference? Miles or status? |
C and Status
Thanks for the quick reply!
I will probably mostly fly Business Class My preference would be status AA then? |
Originally Posted by FTLexMUC
(Post 6980187)
Hi oneworld forum
I am usually flying LH (just made it SEN) but will now fly Iberia Since I don't have any oneworld card yet I am open to suggestions which programm to choose. I read somewhere AA would be the best and I just enrolled but I thought, I'd check with the experts :) The only other affiliation I have is with Alaska Airlines but, alas, they partner with BA but not IB... Suggestions welcome! Thanks! There is only one oneworld program that really works for Iberia flyers who mostly fly in economy - Qantas. They give 100% miles and full discount status credits on almost all Iberia tickets. Their redemption levels for rewards are not the best (they're rather high, in fact), but the fact that you earn many more miles than you would on any other program makes up for this. If you only fly business or first, the equation changes. I would then recommend either AA or Cathay, depending on whether you ever fly BA transatlantic or not. If you don't, then go for AA, if you do, then stick with Cathay. I find the LAN, Finnair and Iberia program to not really be worth it in terms of what you get out of them, though this is only from looking at their earning/spending rules rather than personal experience. What is your flying pattern like? Mostly eco or business, mostly short-haul or long-haul? What are your most common destinations? What would you like to use your miles for? If we know this, we can make more specific suggestions for you. |
Cathay?
Interesting input
My guess is that I will use it only for business (class) trips. I will likely at some point be flying business with BA across the pond. So, Cathay then? Edit: I just remebered that I might be flying Emirates as well. Does that factor into the equation? Edit 2: Are they seriously charging 50 bucks to join the Cathay Program? |
Originally Posted by FTLexMUC
(Post 6980235)
Interesting input
My guess is that I will use it only for business (class) trips. I will likely at some point be flying business with BA across the pond. So, Cathay then? I would think that it's a good program for you, yes. Edit: I just remebered that I might be flying Emirates as well. Does that factor into the equation? No, because there is no airline oneworld program that has a relationship with Emirates, at least not yet. When JAL formally joins oneworld later this year, that might be an option. However, I would suggest either joining Emirates Skywards if you think you'll fly them enough to earn an award or putting your miles on either United or South African Airways and building up some additional miles off your Star Alliance flying there on your off-years where you don't need to requalify for SEN. The other options are JAL, as mentioned, and Continental or Korean Air which would be SkyTeam. Edit 2: Are they seriously charging 50 bucks to join the Cathay Program? Sort of. They're charging 50 bucks to join the Marco Polo Club, which is the part of the program that lets you earn elite status and such. If you think you won't fly at least 25K miles on oneworld in a given year, you won't make elite status anyway, so you can sign up for the free version of the program called AsiaMiles, for which you can find information at www.asiamiles.com. The earning and redemption rates are the same, but you cannot earn elite status through AsiaMiles. Edit: Another thing about AA - the program may actually be better for you if BA transatlantic flights will be a very rare occurrence. You can earn elite status faster through Gold and/or Platinum challenges (search the AA forum for details) and it will be free to join the program. If you have a lot of BA transatlantics though, then you lose out on too many miles (especially status miles). But for only an occasional BA trip, you could go with AA as your primary program and credit BA transatlantic sectors to Alaska to at least earn award miles for them. |
Originally Posted by alex0683de
(Post 6980760)
Originally Posted by FTLexMUC View Post
Interesting input My guess is that I will use it only for business (class) trips. I will likely at some point be flying business with BA across the pond. So, Cathay then? I would think that it's a good program for you, yes. Edit: I just remebered that I might be flying Emirates as well. Does that factor into the equation? No, because there is no airline oneworld program that has a relationship with Emirates, at least not yet. When JAL formally joins oneworld later this year, that might be an option. However, I would suggest either joining Emirates Skywards if you think you'll fly them enough to earn an award or putting your miles on either United or South African Airways and building up some additional miles off your Star Alliance flying there on your off-years where you don't need to requalify for SEN. The other options are JAL, as mentioned, and Continental or Korean Air which would be SkyTeam. Edit 2: Are they seriously charging 50 bucks to join the Cathay Program? Sort of. They're charging 50 bucks to join the Marco Polo Club, which is the part of the program that lets you earn elite status and such. If you think you won't fly at least 25K miles on oneworld in a given year, you won't make elite status anyway, so you can sign up for the free version of the program called AsiaMiles, for which you can find information at www.asiamiles.com. The earning and redemption rates are the same, but you cannot earn elite status through AsiaMiles. See my answers in red. Good idea about UA for my Emirates miles, I thought about that...why not build status with them as well |
I think that the biggest trigger point for joining a particular program is the importance of upgrading to the individual. As there are no pan-OW upgrades yet, its critical that you join the airline's program if you want to upgrade. Otherwise, AA would generally get the nod.
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Originally Posted by FTLexMUC
(Post 6980805)
Soif I were to join Asiamiles, and throughout the year I realize that I might rack up enough miles to get status it is too late, right? I assume, they don't let you transfger and convert Asia Miles to status miles once you join Marco Polo? Correct.
Good idea about UA for my Emirates miles, I thought about that...why not build status with them as well |
Originally Posted by alex0683de
(Post 6980760)
You can earn elite status faster through Gold and/or Platinum challenges
Michael |
Originally Posted by alex0683de
(Post 6980760)
See my answers in red.
Edit: Another thing about AA - the program may actually be better for you if BA transatlantic flights will be a very rare occurrence. You can earn elite status faster through Gold and/or Platinum challenges (search the AA forum for details) and it will be free to join the program. If you have a lot of BA transatlantics though, then you lose out on too many miles (especially status miles). But for only an occasional BA trip, you could go with AA as your primary program and credit BA transatlantic sectors to Alaska to at least earn award miles for them. |
Originally Posted by FTLexMUC
(Post 6981637)
I am confused. I thougt I could credit my BA miles to AA? They don't count torwards status?
Antitrust agencies on both sides of the pond decided that if AA/BA could codeshare and give miles on their collective flights on these routes, this would equate to unfair competition since they together hold something like 70% of the London-US market. Again, this applies only to transatlantic flights, a BA flight to Dubai or wherever earns regular status and award miles on AA. Same for flights to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean - anyplace that is not in the US. The one exception to the rule are BA flights to the US from Manchester - these earn normal miles as well, since the antitrust issue is only about London. What I meant with the bit about earning award miles but not status miles was that you could credit the BA flights where you cannot earn AA miles to Alaska Airlines instead. They would not count for status on Alaska, but they would give you redeemable miles on Alaska. So like I said: if you don't expect to fly BA transatlantic very often: use AA and Alaska if you expect to fly BA transatlantic a lot - go with Cathay, and pay the 50 bucks. (BTW - this is a one-time fee joining fee as long as you have four flights per year.) |
Originally Posted by FTLexMUC
(Post 6981637)
I am confused. I thougt I could credit my BA miles to AA? They don't count torwards status?
British Airways' transatlantic flights to/from the U.S. are not valid for AAdvantage mileage accrual or redemption. Michael |
Note that EK do count for status miles on CO's OnePass programme so if elite status is needed in a more useful programme, CO might be also worth considering.
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Originally Posted by Traveloguy
(Post 6983027)
Note that EK do count for status miles on CO's OnePass programme so if elite status is needed in a more useful programme, CO might be also worth considering.
From the CO website: "* OnePass Elite qualification miles and points and Elite mileage bonuses may only be earned on Continental Airlines codeshare flights operated by Emirates connecting in London Gatwick (LGW) to/from Dubai." You can earn redeemable miles on all Emirates flights, but it won't help you much in getting status with CO. |
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