asovse1

I'm a huge FOTSG but I'm planning two massive mRTWs in 2019. Not sure if credit card status matching is frowned upon, but here's my strategy unless someone can provide insight:

Apply for the AMEX Platinum Card ($699 annual fee) and get Shangri-La Jade status which grants you *A Silver with SQ. Fly three more segments with SQ or MI to get *G for a year from the date...

Since I almost never travel, I'll be using some student grants to position me to Singapore from YEG for a conference in my field I've always wanted to attend. Since you're in YVR, why not make a vacation out of it?

tcook052

As this is not an Air Canada specific inquiry but rather any Star Alliance airline mileage run suggestion the thread has been moved to the perfect place for Star Alliance discussion which is the FT Star Alliance forum. Good luck with re-qualification.

tcook052
Air Canada forum moderator

tracon

Half that.

These should be just under 10cpm.....
Have a look at YVR-DXB or TPE in PY.
DXB can be done with a same plane turn and no customs in DXB.
Transit security lets you take water through.
Could route YVR-YUL-YYZ-DXB.

Also look at YVR-CUN in J with connections in Central Canada.

Goaguy

​​​​​​I'd invite you to fly economy in Africa without Elite status :P
​For some of us, it is worth a lot more than $ 500.

goodmali

Thank you so much. This is awesome. For YVR-DXB, which airline? Does AC fly to DXB from YYZ? I didn't know!

keitherson

How can it by definition be worth more than $500 if you can get it for $500? You can value it more than that, but that does not change the actual market value.

Goaguy

I might have misunderstood you, I did not understand that you are actually able to get it for $ 500. Is that really possible?
Thought you meant you wouldn't spend more than $ 500 on obtaining it.
Doesn't "purchasing/selling" these memberships privately put you at risk of a canceled FF account, as this is against the regulations?

dvs7310

You'll want to check on this, usually matched status from another program does not give you anything toward the next level, so I suspect you'd still need the full 50K miles per year to get *G from SQ.


I don't think you can get *G for $500, at least not within the T&C of any *A program. The AV "buy-in" is much more expensive, but people do sell TK gifted status, which is against the T&Cs. I think the other poster meant the actual value of *G is less than $500, meaning you can get an unlimited Priority Pass for less than that, or an annual membership in United Club or AC Maple Leaf Club which grants access to most *G lounges as well for less than that. So the value of *G for lounges only is fairly low, but the other benefits if used enough might add up to more. Internationally in many countries the Priority Pass is almost as good as having *G for lounges, but definitely not so in North America or Japan.


AC does fly YYZ-DXB, but it may not actually be your best option. Also remember that LH, TK, MS, and ET also fly YYZ to DXB (with a stop, and doesn't LX fly to YYZ? They certainly fly to DXB) and may offer better P fares. Another potentially interesting routing could be CA YVR-PEK-DXB, they do actually publish the route and often offer very competitive biz fares. Check your earning rates on wheretocredit.com to compare and contrast which carriers make the most sense based on earning rate vs. fare.

Goaguy

As you mention it highly depends on where you go and the purpose of your flying. The Priority pass lounges in some airports are crap compared to *A. Last time I checked the PP lounge in DXB was horrible (or perhaps I only found the bad one). ADD doesn't even have a PP lounge to my knowledge. And even though the PP lounge in IST is pretty good, it is nothing compared to the TK lounge.
Then there are other airports where PP gives you access to the same lounges as *A Gold. The TK lounge in IAD for instance.
But the ability to skip the check-in line at economy, priority baggage and in some airports being able to fast track the security saves me a lot(!) of time. And when I fly ET to ADD, they let you get on the Business Class bus upon arrival in ADD if you sit up front in Y. I reckon I save 30-60min of waiting for each ET flight I take by being *A Gold, and I fly them quite a bit.
Then there is the extra piece of luggage as well - and usage of business class customer service counters when you need something.
Of course, if you fly business class anyway, most of the above is rather irrelevant.

Santander

3x YVR-SFO-SIN trips on UA/AC at the current <$600 fares will get you *G on UA for <$1.8k... at the expense of your back and sanity.

dvs7310

I'm absolutely with you about the value of *G flying intra-Africa, I've done a fair bit of travel there myself and airports can be an absolute zoo. Fast track for check in and security is priceless as is having a lounge to sit in relative peace compared to the general terminal. We always fly ET or SA for the regional travel, so it works out quite nicely, I'll gladly give ET $100-200 more in many cases for the benefits over flying a local carrier in Economy where I have nothing, although my travels keep me primarily in eastern or southern Africa where *A is possible, someone who needs to get around western Africa would have to look at other options.

goodmali

Thanks!

zeer0

This is a perfect example of wasting time and money for status. If you barely ever travel, why bother? To get *G for one trip? Go spend the money on something better you'll actually get to enjoy.

East_and_West

Although similarly to @zeer0 I don't see any point of striving for *G since you almost never travel, if you insist going for it for some reason, why choose KrisFlyer and not some other *A FFP that offers easier and cheaper qualification (and re-qualification)? Especially since you are not based / travelling frequently to SE Asia anyway as far as I understand.

Or simply buy a C ticket for that one trip. It should cost pretty much the same, save you lots of time and trouble, and offer you a much better in-flight experience.

lsquare

What's PY?