Why should I defect from AA to QF FF program?
 

I've been a loyal AA person for years but recently I have noticed that there are less and less decent fares that I can use out of SYD or AKL. I cannot get mileage upgrades on QF/CX/BA and I am unable to get seats on AA codeshare flights to where I want to go.

So, I am contemplating a defection to QF. Should I really do this? Since I mainly fly QF then this would enable me to get mileage upgrades on Qantas flights. But on a downside, I will lose plenty of points since I have no status on QF while I am AA Platinum. So, earning any status would mean losing plenty of bonus miles in order to achieve status on Qantas.

Should I change from AA to QF and if so then what would be the smoothest process for status change? i.e. how can I achieve equivalent status on QF without suffering the loss of AA priviledges? I plan to fly QF in J at least 5 times per year between OZ and Europe.

As a side question, if I buy a ticket SYD-FRA-SYD in J and the system spits out something different from QF-5/6 then how do I go about mileage upgrades? Does SYD-MEL-SIN-FRA-SIN-BNE-SYD count the same as SYD-SIN-FRA-SIN-SYD? Since the 2 stopovers are not my voluntary choise then why should I be penalised for it? If there is a penalty then it seems like a case for ACCC and Alan Fels.

"Should I change from AA to QF and if so then what would be the smoothest process for status change? i.e. how can I achieve equivalent status on QF without suffering the loss of AA priviledges? I plan to fly QF in J at least 5 times per year between OZ and Europe."

You wont geta status match but it will take you very little time to reach status with QF travelling in J. Given your example of
SYD-MEL-SIN-FRA-SIN-BNE-SYD you would get 580 status credits. You need 350 credits for Silver (equivalent to AA Gold ) and 700 will get you Gold ( OW Sapphire ). This one trip would get you close to Gold status on its own.


"As a side question, if I buy a ticket SYD-FRA-SYD in J and the system spits out something different from QF-5/6 then how do I go about mileage upgrades? Does SYD-MEL-SIN-FRA-SIN-BNE-SYD count the same as SYD-SIN-FRA-SIN-SYD? "

As long as you don't have a stopover then the mileage requirements is the same as long as all the upgrades are available at time of booking the upgrade.

Dave

Why note make your next trip SYD-FRA in J into a DONE4 RTW trip. It may even work out less expensive (I generally save about A$2K on a RTW vs J return to the US), and if you work it right you can get to QF Platinum in one trip!

And while on that trip you can still use your AA Plat (OW Saphire) card for access to lounges (except AA lounges while on domestic sectors http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif).

And now that AA have changed the rules wrt the E upgrades (500 miles instead of 2500) , the numbers are begiining to make les sense- particulalry if you are finding it hard to get seats.
I must admit tho, that I have managed to get most of what I wanted this year using AA miles an EXP so will continue to keep the account working , especially when using CX or BA (for the double points)

Thanks for your suggestions!

I did some research in BA forum and found that someone had done a comprehensive study with spreadsheets and stuff to compare BA to QF and his conclusion was that it taks half less flights to achieve the same status on QF.

I will keep my AA status til February next year but since I travel mainly on biz fares then I have no real need for it as far as lounge access goes. 2,5 return flights on QF to Europe will get me to the same status level on Qantas.

BTW, how does QF define its FF membership year? My membership started in mid January, years back. I will not make enough flights to get to any status before January, so what should I do? Open another QF FF account (QF has some critical personal info errors in mine anyway) or post my miles to another FF program?

As far as using my AA points then I have to admit that it is relatively easy to get award seats on various flights out of OZ but this is ONLY for full award seats i.e. I cannot upgrade with AA miles from OZ. I can only upgrade from NRT which is the closest AA port of call and it just happens to be quite a few thousand miles away. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif Maybe I am getting too old but I just don't see it feasible to travel to another continent in order to stay loyal to an airline. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

[This message has been edited by Spider (edited 09-23-2002).]

QF membership is 12 months from the end of the month in which you joined.

"BTW, how does QF define its FF membership year? My membership started in mid January, years back. I will not make enough flights to get to any status before January, so what should I do? Open another QF FF account "

It depends. Have you had a lot of points credited to your current QF account? If so themn continue using that since 7,000 status credits gives lifetime silver. If not, then open a new account and your membership year will run about 13 months. If you want a bit longer to accrue enough points for status then join after your next trip and you will get about 13 months plus be able to get the points for the flights already taken.

"Maybe I am getting too old but I just don't see it feasible to travel to another continent in order to stay loyal to an airline."

No, if you'r getting old , its just that you've finally realised that flying is a method of getting from A to B rather than the end itself http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Dave

Need clarification on the QF membership year. Does earning your status points during the membership year, say Apr 2003 to Mar 2004, mean that one is elite for the year Apr 2004 to Mar 2005 ? With proper planning a RTW can allow one to be elite for 2 years.

You will get status for the rest of your membership year, as well as all of the next one. So if your year is April to March, and you go Gold in July 2003, you will be Gold until March 2005 (rest of your current year - up to March 2004 - and all of the next year).

Dave