Which FFP?
 

Hi all

Hopefully you can advise me here :) I have a friend who is about to fly on a RTW ticket origin/dest SYD. He will be flying on UA (4 sectors incl 1 TransPacific), AC (4 sectors including 1 TransAtlantic) and SQ (2 sectors UK-AUS).. possibly also 2 BD UK Sectors.

He is resident in Australia but is British (can use a UK address if needed). He will be doing the whole set in biz class (where available).

He will also be flying again in future to the UK and Canada - possibly the US now and again.

So the simple question - which FFP of the *A members would be best for him?

Thanks!

BMI's due to their bonus structure for Business and First class passengers. It also has one of the best redemption structures on the market.

Thanks for the accurate scenario, but if I had to decide for myself, the answer would be more difficult than your question!


However, before I make a suggestion, would you mind telling us how often you expect him flying long haul/year and for which class of service will he pay on these flights?

Hi Patron

I'd expect him to be flying 4 to 6 times a year either to/from UK or to/from North America (maybe RTWs in 1 go). Though he's flying Biz this time, I'd expect he'd want to fly Econ and use upgrades where possible.

Cheers

For someone who is based in Australia and is travelling to the US on *A in coach fares, it is hard to left out UA. There are three UA offers for Entertainment™ members, two of them are very valuable:

• Receive 25% off one new United Economy round trip ticket (applies to specified fare types).
• Fly and purchase a paid, qualifying round trip on UA to a destination within the United States or Canada until June 1st 2005 and you will receive a bonus of 15K MP miles for travel in F, 10K MP miles in J or 5K MP miles in Coach.

To qualify for these offers, travel must begin in SYD or MEL and fly to a destination within the United States or Canada.

If I start by zero, MP would be my first choice and try to get comped to Premier Executive (referring to my future reservations). Even if this does not work out, your friends travel pattern should allow him to earn 100K EQM/year for 1K elite level.

One of the perks for Premier Executive members upwards is a 100% tier bonus on all UA/US flights & LH flight between US and Europe. 200% for coach tickets is unbeatable (think also of promotions kicking in every now and than) and 225% in business matches M&Ms & DCs earning potential. To get the most out of it, someone should like to fly on these carriers and sometimes in pays of to replace carriers (eg AC on his transatlantic flight to Europe).

To sum up: First goal: Earn 100K EQM/year on MP.

As every FFP has strongholds & weaknesses, it’s the same with MP: You only earn 125% on business tickets flown on “the rest of the *A carriers”. This is especially inconvenient for someone who travellers on a RWSTAR ticket and likes to catch the so called prime carriers like SQ & NH. If I have room for a second FFP, I would choose KF, knowing that this sounds odd for most of the regulars: In KF we earn also only 125% (150% for Silver and up members) on Biz tickets (sometimes there are promos too), but we can use these miles for upgrade on SQ.

To sum up: Second goal: Choose a back up FFP.

If your friend chooses MP and does not achieve a second *G status, than I have to add that MP *G members only have access to U.S. RCCs when they present a BP for a same-day international flight.

To come to an end: You also informed us that your friend likes to upgrade. As more and more FFPs does not allow to upgrade on low booking classes into Business Class, upgrade awards for miles are not always the best bet. However, one of the most elaborated posts I have ever read on FlyerTalk is ozstamps' compilation about upgrade possibilities with MP benefits (please scroll down).

Thanks Patron, I couldn't have asked for a better response! :) ^

Is there any easy way to get comped to UA PremExec? I spoke to UA and didn't get anywhere.