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Which (if any) *A members give more status miles in C/F on ALL *A carriers?

Which (if any) *A members give more status miles in C/F on ALL *A carriers?

Old May 11, 2004, 2:35 pm
  #1  
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Join Date: May 2004
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Which (if any) *A members give more status miles in C/F on ALL *A carriers?

Does anyone know if any of the *A FF programs give the 25% or 50% or more Class of Service bonus for Status Miles, Regardless of which *A carrier you fly? United gives status mile bonus in C/F only on UA and I believe some LH flights. USAirways looks like it gives status mile bonus for US, UA, and LH. In the last few years I have tended to spread my *A travel among many partners, and it would be nice to get status bonuses whether flying SQ/NH/SK/RG etc. Outside *A, AA gives a 50% Q-point bonus on any OW carrier in premium cabins, DL gives a 100% MQM bonus on any SkyTeam flight in premium cabins, and of course BA gives 2-3x the tier points they give in Y for J and F.

I've been a Premier member in UA for eight or nine consecutive years (many of those earlier status years being earned when I bought exclusively discount economy tickets). Starting a few years ago, when I started buying C and F tickets (and, before AF & BA retired their flagship, the occasional R ticket), I noticed how much faster I could get status in BA EC and DL SM, given their hefty status rewards for premium travel (BA's tier points had me at Sapphire level after less than two roundtrips given that I was flying F and R). So, for the last few years, I've been carrying status on all three alliances, albeit never top status on any of them. This year, for the first time, I may not fly *A at all given my preference for how much faster I can get status on OW or SkyTeam (not that I haven't had OW status headaches, which is why I'm shifting from BA EC to AAdvantage). My flying patterns have also changed a bit, but not in ways that would completely preclude *A travel.

In any case, I can hardly imagine avoiding the *A for too long, so when I start flying them again I thought I might do so through a program other than UA MP. Which brings me to the question of which *A members would have the best status rules for a NYC-based international C/F flyer?

Any advice would be most welcome. Thanks.
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Old May 11, 2004, 3:11 pm
  #2  
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Miles and More (LH) has 100% COS bonus for C and 200% for F. And from 1 August 04 full economy (Y class) is 50% COS bonus.

BlondeBomber has a great comparison chart across the *A FFP.

BTW welcome to FT schultzois

Last edited by Kiwi Flyer; May 11, 2004 at 3:14 pm Reason: added link
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Old May 11, 2004, 3:33 pm
  #3  
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*A Status Comparison

Thanks for the reference. This is along the lines of what I wanted to see - although certainly there are so many differences and nuances, I'm a little dizzy now that I've had a quick look.
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Old May 11, 2004, 3:53 pm
  #4  
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Yes there are lots of things to consider.

For me the main factors include (in no particular order):

* mileage earning on usual routes/class of travel
* mileage burning - great earn rates arent much help if awards are ridiculously expensive
* lumping these together is probably best - ie how many trips on a typical trip does it take to earn an award you'd like to use
* award availability
* special services available to flown carrier's elite - includes free upgrade vouchers, better seating etc
* ease of (re)qualifying elite status


Of course others may (and do) disagree!
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Old May 11, 2004, 4:19 pm
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Originally Posted by Kiwi Flyer
Yes there are lots of things to consider.

For me the main factors include (in no particular order):

* mileage earning on usual routes/class of travel
* mileage burning - great earn rates arent much help if awards are ridiculously expensive
* lumping these together is probably best - ie how many trips on a typical trip does it take to earn an award you'd like to use
* award availability
* special services available to flown carrier's elite - includes free upgrade vouchers, better seating etc
* ease of (re)qualifying elite status


Of course others may (and do) disagree!
Well, I totally agree with Kiwi Flyer. ^

One further point, that I found important was: you have to remember that an invidual airline's *G (for eg. SEN for LH, or KFGold for SQ etc...) are heaps more important to them than 'other' star golds. So I would not underestimate the importance of choosing the airline out of the *alliance that you would fly most often. The star alliance is pretty wide and varied. And a substantial proportion of the benefits of an indiviual FFP are limited to that carrier.

Just keep in mind the motto: Not all star golds are created equal.
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Old May 12, 2004, 4:36 am
  #6  
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Choose your favourite airline first and then lets talk about which FFP fits best

Originally Posted by Schultzois
which *A members would have the best status rules for a NYC-based international C/F flyer?
Out of a reward perspective DC (membership is open to residents of the UK and Republic of Ireland, Belgium, France, Netherlands & Spain), M&M, DM (Gold Preferred and up earn 100% elite bonus on all US/UA flights and on LH & NH as well) & MP (dont forget that all PremEx and up earn 100% elite bonus on all UA/US flights and on transatlantic LH flights between the U.S. and Europe) offer for someone who travels on paid Biz and/or First Class tickets the best overall value right now.

Our host Randy published the 7th edition of The Official Frequent Flyer Guidebook (OFFG) four years ago (8th edition currently being printed) Within this book he wrote a chapter named Adopting a Frequent Flyer Program where he outlined our goal for joining a FFP:

You want to earn free travel and other benefits of membership as quickly as possible.

Most frequent travellers enjoy comfort as much as earning miles. There are many choices and benefits in each FFP and its best to understand the difference beforehand:
  1. It all begins with location and destination: You need to find an airline that meets your basic travel needs
  2. Decide what you want (eg elite status, upgrade awards, free tickets to South Africa)
  3. Take a closer look into FFPs your favourite carrier participates and choose this FFP that will serve you best.

Randy outlined five questions you should answer before you choose your FFP:
  • What is the minimum mileage your program offers?
  • Does the program complement its minimum mileage or actual mileage earnings with COS bonuses?
  • Does your program offer promotions throughout the year?
  • Are the partners affiliated with your program convenient and beneficial for you to use?
  • What are the rules & rates of earning with partners (its evident, that a lot of us earning miles without flying like using CCs, telecommunication, miles for clicking, etc)?
Four other questions you also may consider to answer:
  • How important are criteria like price, schedule, safety feelings, ground & on board service, FFP to select an airline?
  • How many upgrade certificates to you receive as an add on?
  • What kind of flight awards (eg upgrades, awards on long haul flights) on which airline do you like to use?
  • What is generally more important to you with Frequent Flyer Programs, to reach as many awards as possible or the elite membership with its benefits?
I recommend that you decide step by step or in other words: Choose your favourite airline first and then lets talk about which FFP fits best for you.
 

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