Hi,

I'm trying to work out which program I should focus on. I am currently working out of ADD (Ethiopia), but looking that I'll be doing at least three trips a year to either the US (LAX) and Aus (MEL or SYD), and I'm trying to work out the best way of building *G.

I have about 45k in UA at the moment, but achieving any type of status there seems near impossible, considering EQM's have to be earned on UA metal (I wouldn't go near them with a 10-foot pole, especially for long-haul).

I flew out here on a CO award ticket, but exhausted all my old CO miles (and no status there.

Generally, I would like to have something that would allow me to earn status miles with EK, as they are generally a pretty good option considering the other airlines that fly out of ADD. It would be a little harder to do a traditional *A partner (only Lufthansa, BMI are members that fly here - and LH is expensive, and not all that convenient). Ethiopian is possible, but not a full member. I have already joined Aegean, and think it's a decent option, but again the issue being is that I don't believe they will accept miles from EK.

I am currently leaning towards CO, for their acceptance of EQM's on all *A and EK, but I'm not sure if I should just ignore my UA miles as they are at the moment?

The only other background is I have about 150K AA miles, but I think thats also not that helpful, considering there aren't any OW partners flying to ADD. At the moment, I am looking at fares to SYD, and thinking of doing EK to DEL, then TG the rest of the way...

The other question is I'm still not entirely sure I would be able to reach the 50k needed with CO by the end of the calendar year (which is what I think I would need to do...

Sorry, still a bit of a newbie, and trying to get my feet in the water - any suggestions, help or advice would be most welcome.

Thanks in advance!

Are you sure about that?

Are you sure about that?

cheers,

Henry

Welcome to FT illucent17!

You can earn UA EQM's on any Star Partner (how many EQM's you earn will depend on the fare class you purchase on various Star Airlines.

On CO, you can only earn RDM's on EK (Redeemable miles). You will not earn CO EQM's by flying EK.

The current easiest way to get Star Gold is on Aegean Airlines. You get a sign-up bonus of 1000 EQM's. After that, you have to earn 19000 EQM's.
Check that program out. Perhaps it may be a good deal for you, since the year is coming to an end soon.

Also, if you post what you would like to do with your status, then we can give you more information.

For example, having Status on CO or UA is fine if you want to compete for US-Domestic upgrades (that are freely available to their elites, based on status, etc). If you do not travel much in the Domestic USA, then, that status may be very useful for you.

One thought is to quickly get status on Aegean by flying LH or BMI.
Then, work on getting separate status with EK by flying their metal.