I would appreciate any advice of switching from one frequent flyer programme to another.

During the pre-Star Alliance days I travelled frequently on SAS and became an SAS Eurobonus member. Since then I have continued with Eurobonus although I travel more frequently with BMI and Lufthansa.

So my question is whether there is any efficient way of switching to the BMI or Lufthansa Miles & More programme? One way, I guess, would be to run down my SAS Eurobonus account and start another. Does anyone have any other ideas?

I am going through the same thoughts myself - I have so far been AC Elite for 4 years, but been thinking about changing to BD's program because I am based in the UK and their miles+cash awards are amazing value.

So far, I have emptied my AC account by redeeming awards (the last one was LHR-SIN-ICN v.v. - 40 hours of bliss on SQ Raffles Class ) so now my balance shows a big Zero.

I suppose the best way to do it, is to start accumulating your miles in another carrier just after you requalify for your current program so that it gives you a whole year to build up status on the other program while you still enjoy benefits of Star Gold on your current program by showing your card. Once you have made status on the other carrier, you can simply let your previous airline one lapse and then continue with the new airline's status.

The trouble with BD is, though, that although their Gold requirement is nice and low, you have to reach Silver first, then gold. That makes for a total first-time requirement of something like 54,000 miles, and compared to simply renewing the AC status, it's quite steep. I was actually wondering if there is a way to start with Silver (won't even ask for gold) on BD but previous research shows this to be unlikely...

It's still worth asking BD for a comp. I managed to get one (from KLM PE) before the *A UK status match started up.

That said, thanks to same UK status match promo, they may well be 'comped out' at the moment...

And unlikely (less likely?) to comp from another *A FFP unless you can provide them a compelling reason.

I would try to build status with new scheme while you still have it for current scheme - once you have *G benefits it is hard to go without for a period!