Markie

My next RTW trip will let me make AA EXP, but then I can choose to become QF Plat or both QF Gold AND BA Silver.

Any advice?

NM

Depends on which airline you are likely to fly with most often, and which airline you would like to maximise your chance of buying (with points/miles) or being given (operational) upgrades.

QF Plat won't get you an op-upgrade on BA ahead of BA members, while QF membership earns you upgrade credits that can only be used on QF flights.

Also depends on the type/class of flying you do. BA members don't earn status credits on discounted fares, QF members do.

ozzie

I've been op-upgraded on 75% of the long haul leisure flights (4 in total) I've taken with BA in the two months ... as a QF Gold - now I'm platinum - I'm hoping for more :-) As much as anyone says on the BA board, they do take Qantas status into account.

Dave Noble

I would choose the QF Platinum. It will give you a benefit that you don't already have in that you would be able to use the AA Flagship Lounges even when travelling just domestically in the US.

It is also "harder" to renew BA than with QF. If you do a fair bit of cheap economy travel, then BA will not provide tier credits whereas QF will.

The QF status will last you almost 2 years whereas the BA status only 1 year. The benefits of the BA status are quite small imo. You would only get intangible benefits ( e.g. the possibility of an upgrade if the flight was oversold if you had your BA number in the booking, methinks. If you are travelling economy at the time, thats a big gamble sicne if you dont get upgraded, you have been shafted on miles/points.

Given you AA status, I assume that you do transatlantic trips? You can continue to maintain QF Gold status with just 2 trips and Platinum in 4 in economy a year to the US using your EXP VIPOWs to upgrade.

If you were to do , say LHR-BOS-STL-LAX roundtrip and upgrade using miles/VIPOWS, you would be booked in C for the transatlantic and F/A for domestic iirc. These will credit to your QF account as Full Economy for the international and 1st domestically. This example trip nets 50+60+60 =170 tier credits each way = 340 return. This one trip would renew silver. The second trip would renew Gold. 2 more and ya platinum again. ( This only works as long as you ensure that your FF number is in the booking and displays on boarding pass. If not, it wont credit automatically. If they have to do it manually, they'll credit it as discount economy )

Dave

aura

Out of interest, how do you normally go about getting an op-upgrade? Just ask at check-in?? I've only been lucky enough to get that once, and that was because of our honeymoon (BA).

ozzie

I've never asked. Had my boarding card rejected at the gate a couple of times, and once my name was called in the lounge (SFO) where they issued me with a new boarding pass.

Markie

Thanks all very much for this.

I think it will QF Platinum. I'm doing an F RTW to get all this sorted out which is a great spreasheet. All I have to do is to change it!!

Cheers again,

NM

As a QF platinum (and gold for many years when that was top tier) I have never had any form of upgrade on BA, and have flown in Y and J on many occasions. So I would not get your hopes up for too many upgrades. I think you have either been very lucky or someone at BA is looking after you.

ozzie

Maybe I've just been lucky - having said that - before this year - I've never had an upgrade on BA - but then before this year, I hadn't flown BA in Y long haul ...


[This message has been edited by ozzie (edited 05-27-2002).]

NM

Make the most of it when you get it

nologic

I just spoke about this with the BA Special Services lady in Boston last week and she said the big difference between BA Golds and other program PAX is that they give out operational upgrades to BA Golds and don't tend to do that with the others.

nologic

Well, I just made QF Gold , but learned I don't get the Gold 100% bonus on BA flights , which is the lion's share of my travel, so now I'm concerned about the trade off, although I will press on for Platinum, so I can get US AA Flagship Lounge access for domestic flights (whcih even AA EXPs don't get).

shillard

I've never asked for an upgrade. As a QFF Platinum, I find that I get upgraded around 50% of the time on international flights, 75% or more of the time on domestic flights. Unless travelling for leisure with my wife, I always book discount economy fares.

For international flights (outbound), the upgrade usually takes place either checking-in at the transfer counter in SYD, or when my boarding card is rejected at the gate.

Domestic, it's always been at check-in.

This has been on both QF and AA.

motorheadjen

Do these upgrades only take place only due to full/overbooking of Y, or do other factors play a role? Thanks, Jen

ozzie

My guess is that this will change once QF installs its own business class beds .... :-) I can see the main reason for QF not granting the 100% bonus on BA being that hotly contested Kanagaroo route - remember they don't code-share in business.