So I was looking as to which FFP would best suit me from these two and which would be easiest to earn status on. To me, it seems that BAEC is far harder to earn status on.

For example, BAEC levels are Blue, Silver and Gold (with Normal gold and GGL). QF is Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. However, I can earn platinum with one F return flight SYD-LHR on QF. If I do that same trip on BAEC I only get 660 TP's (without a stop over) and only earn Silver.

Is this correct? It doesn't seem right that the BAEC offer me far less status for the same flight as QF does. Have I got something wrong here?

QFF earns 720 SCs for SYD-LHR-SYD in F, which is only enough for gold status (OW sapphire just the same as BA silver).

Ah ha now I see where I went wrong! I stupidly thought that it was 720 SC's per one way sector! Am I still better off with QF in this case?

That depends on your travel pattern. Note also that if your only address is within Australia/NZ then you are ineligible to participate in BAEC.

NZ_Flyer, it depends on what you want to get out of your program. QF is the easiest program to obtain status. One (optimized) DONE4 will give WP plus Partner Gold.
But the earn/burn ratio for award flights is shocking on QF an might get even worse in a month or so (with the introduction of anytime awards).

One thing you should also consider is that you need to take 4 flights with BA or QF in order to maintain status. This policy is enforced by both airlines.

If you want to look at an alternative to QF, then AA is your best option. They have a great earn/burn ratio, it is mediocerly difficult to get status but they have a fantastic earn/burn ratio and give upgrades to their elites. And they do not enforce the 4 flights policy (yet).

Yes I think I may have to do some more thorough research. Reason is that I may have to move to London for work and am just going over whether it will be worth keeping QF or indeed moving to BA or AA.

For what it's worth, NZ_Flyer, I recently relocated to the UK from Australia, where I had for the past three years managed to retain QF Gold status. The vast majority of my travel is leisure based and self funded, but I have still managed to retain QF Gold status since arriving in the UK and flying in and around Europe, mainly on BA and IB on the cheapest fare buckets.

It takes quite a bit of flying to attain the 600 SCs to regain Gold Status, but it's good fun and a great way to see much of Europe. The points earn is typically 25% of miles on BA, but as we know, it's the SCs that are critical. Given that I only usually purchase the cheaper tickets, had I changed to BAEC, I'd be earning zero status, and the miles earned would be negligible. As it is, by sticking with QF FF, the miles are for the most part negligible, but I've kept my status and make the most of lounge access. I've also been op-upped on five or six flights in the past eight months to Club Europe, which is a pleasant enough perk.

One thing I do try to do to maximise miles earning is book IB codeshares on BA metal when flying to Spain, as well as AY codeshares on BA metal to Finland.

Hope this helps, and enjoy your time in the UK should you make the move.

It depends much on your travel pattern:

Pro for QF:
- Status-Year does not reset. You may go for Plat in one year. With BA your SCs are resetted every time you reach a new level.
- Get SCs on the cheap fare buckets
- Lifetime Status

Pro for BA:
- Better burining rate

Be careful: Both need 4 Segments on QF or BA to attain/retain status.

For me QF is perfect at the moment.
I manage to get my 4 Segments on QF with one trip downunder per year.
Besides I fly short haul on BA or IB. So I clock up quite a bit of SCs.

I would not get many miles on the short hops with AA and Status is more important than a free flight.

BA also have better burn rates for their miles and confirmed upgrades (MFU's)

The main reason for me using an FFP is for the status. The points we tend to use for upgrades on a paid Y or J ticket. Seems that QF is best for status at the moment.

My company has a very generous travel policy but I think even they may balk at paying 2-3 Club Europe fares a week and will just shove me in Y, so I need status for lounge access and premium check-in for the main part. Thanks for your help.

Good for you, and....

... there are actually some good BA J deals within Europe once in a while where the price difference between J and a reasonably flexible Y ticket is small. So if you can book cleverly and look for deals you might still get J.

Not sure.

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

It looks like it's a global policy within OW. No escape! Am I wrong?

Does anyone know if some airline within Ow doesn't enforce this policy?

It is a global policy. It has been a QF policy since 2000 years but they are enforcing it only since 2006. Similar with AA. The policy has been there quite a few years but AFAIK they have not started to enforce it yet.
Maybe the AA members here know more?

Not quite true! QF is a easy programme ONLY if flying in F or J, otherwise it is quite a challenging programme. Even CX's notoriously difficult programme is easier when flying in Y than QF so it's definitely horses for courses.

Forgetting the 4 sector requirement for a moment, in general if one wants to fly in Y (particularly discount economy), AA is generally the programme to look at. If you fly in F or J and want status, QF is the way to go, however if you want miles which are actually worth something, stick to AA! BA's programme is another one to look at especially if flying from London to East Coast USA as crediting to BA is more advantageous than QF. It really all comes down to individual travel patterns.

Not sure what creative routings you have come up with, but a DONE4 is unlikely to get you WP + PG. AONE4 on the other hand is possible although still a challenge - PG after all is 2100 SCs which is a huge number of SCs to get.

FWIW, the only reason I still credit to QF is lifetime status.

Agree. QF domestic in NZ earns SCs at discount economy rate even on very expensive fares. Only full Y earns full economy SCs. It takes 70 round trips (within your membership year) of AKL-WLG-AKL to earn platinum (60 to requalify), for example.

For the few days left that can ticket a 20 segment DONE4 it is possible to get PG on QF, albeit reasonably well optimised. I'm not sure it will still be possible from 1 June with the 16 segment limit.