Which programme to join?
 

My partner and I are flying LHR-SYD in business class with Asiana in March, as Asiana had the cheapest C class fares of any decent carrier. We are not a member of any FFP other than BA Exec Club and therefore will get no points for this journey, however this seems a waste! Which airline's FFP would be best to join? I fly a lot but there is no point me joining the Asiana FFP as I almost never need to go to Asia and therefore probably won't use them again for a long time, however good they are.

If you're more specific we can help more. What are your general flying patterns? Are you aiming to get elite on an airline, or just accumulating miles to one day redeem for a free flight? Do you often buy C fares, or more commonly fly in coach?

Chris

Thanks for your reply. I do 2-3 long haul trips per year in C class, no specific routes but about half are UK-Latin America; plus about 50 European flights per year in economy 90% of the time. My main objective is to get points I can use for upgrades on long haul when I'm paying for my own ticket!

Well, unfortunately you'll find that *A coverage in Latin America is almost non-existent ever since Varig went under. I might recommend TG. You get 100% on most economy fare classes, it won't take too much to qualify for *G (which will give you lounge access among other benefits) if you decide to devote more flying to *A, and they participate in the *A upgrade program. I'll let others chime in with their opinions though.

Chris

Try out the BMI FFP - if you have already gold status with BA, BMI will most certainly do a status-match to DC gold. That would give you all the *Alliance goodies in advance. Even if they don´t, you´ll reach silver status with your trip to DownUnder anyway.