Which Star Alliance FF Program is easiest to reach SA Gold?
 

Hi guys - I am pretty new to the frequent flyer scene and I am looking for advice on the best program to go for, but I would be really interested to get some opinions on couple of things...

- Which Star Alliance FF Program is easiest to reach SA Gold status?
- Which Star Alliance FF Program has the biggest number of/most prominant non SA airline partners? (ie Virgin Atlantic with US Dividend Miles)

Oh and some background info that will help you answer the above me:

- i'm already a member of SK Eurobonus and have earned approx 7000 miles in short haul flights in Europe and stays in Radisson SAS hotels
- I plan to go on holiday to Thailand next month (partly as a milage run) see this thread http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=802220
- I have to arrange at least two trips to the US this year (NYC and Las Vegas)
- I fly approx twice a month from London to various European cities, but flights to Helsinki will make up 20% of these yearly trips.

I was all set on ploughing through the miles to get Eurobonus Gold Status - but having looked at the US Dividend Miles (I can fly very cheaply to LHR-BKK with Qatar Airlines for my holiday, I can fly direct to Las Vegas with Virgin for my work trip etc) is it worth me forgoing those 7k points and starting fresh with US Dividend or United Mileage Plus? Or is there an even better SA program out there?

All help appreciated!

Josh

You should use the BMI FFP for reaching *A Gold.

If you sign up with BMI you can get miles on both Qatar and Virgin, only problem is they are not status miles. But its still very good. Get their credit card as well and you'll have loads of miles!!! ^

Do miles on Qatar and Virgin count for status miles on US Airways Dividends program?

At the top of this Forum is a sticky thread titled '*A Useful Reference Links'. In that thread you will find a section called FFP's in which there is a link to '*A FFP Partner Airlines'. Go there and all will be revealed.

cheers,

Henry

I had a look - but a lot of the guides/info is either outdated or doesnt work :(

Anyone else? Should I stick to SAS EBG and go for 45,000 miles? Or is there a *A FF club where i need less than 40k for gold status?

Air Canada gives you *G status at 35,000 miles. If that program would be good is up to you to dicide. You might want to take a look at BlondeBomber's Star Alliance Gold Chart to compare the pros and cons of various *A programs.

BMI's program is likely best for you given your location. Easier to earn other miles on purchases with a UK issued credit card. If miles is the only requirement, AC is likely it although BMI's 38K renewal makes things easier (and hence the recommendation for UK based ff's) and Asiana's multi year facility might be attractive if you have a longer term view.

Unless you can get a credit card to earn points in another scheme (e.g. LH) then BMI's is likely best. LH is 100K to qualify for gold but lasts 2+ years. Downside--you have to fly a full 100K in 1 calendar year.

If you fly Biz or First, please notice that some programs gives you 125/150% (US/UA/TG etc), while others gives you 200/300% (SK/LH etc).

That would matter a lot, if your goal is to get a *G card!

If it's only *G you are after, OZ is by far the best for you, assuming you mostly fly Y.

You initially need 10k to get the status. (How long it takes doesn't matter)
It's a high requirement, but your status lasts three full years.

And during the three years, you only need to fly 40k to qualify for another three years and so on.

You left out an important 0 i.e 100K to get to *G which then lasts 3 years

Jeff

Now you only need 40K to reach *G...

Yes:)

Air Canada Aeroplan has some serious advantages if you're aiming for *Gold, but don't fly alot of J or F. As others have mentioned it has the lowest single-year mileage threshold: 35,000. The standard for most Star FF programs is 50,000 miles.

That said, there are some caveats.
First, a key factor for you is that Air Canada does a terrible job of non-* partners... as a matter of fact I don't think they have any major international carrier partner beyond * Alliance. Certainly not Qatar or Virgin.
Second, the mileage accrual period is the calendar year as opposed to the more generous 12-month period on some other airlines.
Third, again as others have mentioned and bluebomber's chart shows, the bonus status miles for flying J or F are limited (25%/50%).

I'll also point out that there are other complaints in the AC forum (and I would concur) about other issues with the Aeroplan programme such as poor IT (bad website) and steadily declining perks that come with top tier status.

In short, in many cases Air Canada can by far be the easiest way to get *gold, but if you know you're going to exceed 40-45k there might be other plans out there which will be better.

Hope it helps!

What *A FFPs require you to fly their own metal? There are NONE that I know of. Certainly ALL the major FFPs I'm aware of do not have this rule. I've never heard of this before. With many FFPs you will earn more miles when flying their own metal. Some booking classes may earn miles with their own FFP and not with any other airline's FFP. Some airlines offer elite status above *G which can only be attained by flying that airline's metal (such as LH's HON circle). But for simply *G, no airlines, as far as I know, require you to fly a single mile on their metal.

OZ's program requires only 40K in two years (average 20K per year), which is a much lower level than AC's 35K in one year, and doesn't require you to fly any flights on OZ metal. So I think for 99% of frequent flyers, OZ *G would be easier to reach than AC *G (not taking into account any possible differences in earning on various booking classes). If one were to fly 35K in the first year and then none (or less than 5K) in the next year, then AC would be easier. But if someone's flying dramatically dropped off or completely stopped like that in the second year, then *G status wouldn't be much value to them. *G is only valuable when you're flying *A and not of any value if you're grounded.