I'm trying to help my girlfriend decide what program to credit miles to in *A. We're about to book her a flight on OZ from HKG to JFK. She lives in Hong Kong and will fly mostly to the eastern US. Our first point of concern is being able to fly relatively cheaply and getting award travel for a low price. Upgrades are less of a concern, but getting award tickets in Business isn't out of the question.

Is there one program in *A that jumps out as being miles above the others? Right now I'm just thinking to have her credit to UA because they still charge only 60k from South Asia to the US.
Thanks for your help.

Hi johnnybgood3, Two things to keep in mind. Most FF who fly Y, want a lounge first and foremost and the second is to be careful when buying economy, sometimes a fare will be a couple of hundred dollars cheaper but only earn 50% or less mileage. If you are happy without a lounge then you are already on the right track with UA, but be aware some programs dictate miles others kilometers. Personally if I lived in HK, I would be looking at their carriers, their lounges, and seeing which JFK lounge I liked. When travelling we are always delayed, so a nice lounge is paramount, and if you are interested in upgrades, you have a better chance in the lounges. Asiana is good, but if buying in advance eg 6months CX will give very good deals. We all pick programs for different reasons, I have two for the great Asian lounges one for earn rate, and one because of where I live and when I reduce flying later this year, I will more than likely just keep the "great lounge" one. regards bkkrop

If you want cheap earning and burning (miles earned on all fares, and reasonable redemption rates), UA is the way to go. 50K miles in a year will get you Star Gold and your lounge access. Other programs could be Air Canada or BMI.

On any program you will have to watch your fare classes as the specific airline and booking class will make a difference on the number of miles you earn (for instance, your OZ ticket coming up will likely only earn 70% of miles flown). But on UA every booking class earns 100% miles flown--this is better than some other airlines where even on their own metal you can't earn full miles on all fare classes (SQ springs to mind as the worst example of this).

Hmm. I was just about to start a thread asking a related question, so I'll post here...

I have Premier status on UA (will have PE by end of the year), but as most of my flights are international, I'm wondering if I should start accruing mileage in an international carrier instead? And if so, which one? And do any international carriers do status matches?

It's just that the UA status seems a little wasted because I can rarely use my upgrades. And I'll never get 1K, to get SUGs.

I'm based in NYC, and travel to Europe and Mexico for work. I'd like to go to Asia for vacation in the next couple of years--is it crazy to focus on an Asian carrier just for a little while, to get some upgrade action?

All advice appreciated...

If award redemption is important and you don't fly a lot to earn enough miles quickly, pay attention to the expiration policy. Some programs (ie: UA) allow you to extend the life of the miles with any activity, others have a set expiration date regardless of activity.

For award redemption, I agree with an above post that UA would probably be the best since the miles don't expire as long as there is some activity in an 18-month period. For quick elite status (flying primarily Y), AC is the way to go since it requires only 36K for *A. However, miles in AC expire in 3 years (not sure about possible extension), plus it charges exorbitant amount of fees and taxes on award tix. I am not familiar with the foreign carriers FFPs, especially the new ones.

LAX

AC's miles expire after 7 years (no extension possible), SQ's miles expire after 3 years (1 year extension possible for a fee).

Newbie... so be gentle...

I am UA 1K who relocated to MUC during 2005 and am trying to decide whether I should try to switch to LH M&M. I earn most of my miles on TransAtlantic flights in economy (and a couple business TA fares), in particular MUC-DEN and FRA-DEN, for which the LH direct flight are preferred over connecting in ORD, IAD, etc with UA metal (even taking econ+ into consideration). I have not switched over yet because it took a lot of effort to keep 1K status on UA. This year I have already exceeded 100k EQM and have a few more TA trips which could make a dent in LH program (likely not 135k more, though, unless I received a match/challenge which I read elsewhere was unlikely). The alternative would be to stay with UA and generate a few more SWU by exceeding 125k, 150k, etc.

Most important for me are longhaul upgrades and redeeming availability (for the family), both of which have been a recent cause for disappointment with UA. Another factor is that when I travel w/i Europe (more often but less mileage impact), my UA 1K status does not prevent me from getting 'middle seats' and does not help me when I attempt to fly stand by.

From what I have read in other threads , LH is comparable only if you can get to HON. By comparable I mean multiple (although fewer) upgrades and 'highest' level status, which could imply more volunteer upgrades. This status is possible (given all of the LH mile multipliers for status, class, etc.) but will take at least 2 years.

Anyone made a similar jump (or the reverse) who could shed some light on whether such a transition is advisable? Am I overlooking something?

Do free upgrades occur more or less often (compared to almost never) than on UA metal, esp. on TA flights? How important is HON in terms of free upgrades on LH metal? compared to UA 1k status on LH metal? if paired with a cheap economy fare on LH metal?

Any help/advice is appreciated.

VfL Bochum, I don't think you can reach HON flying Y if you have "only" now reached 100k on UA. Give some more details on how often you fly and in which booking class. (If in a 100% economy class, you need a one-way flight MUC-DEN or DEN-MUC almost every week to qualify for HON).

I'd say stick to MP and keep 1K, the SWUs will be worth it. Remember, as a SEN, you only get one one-way intercontinental upgrade every two years.

SmilingBoy -
You are right that I cannot make HON or SEN during 2008 (but I have already qualified for 1k next year). If I get FTL now, I can reach SEN during 2009.

If I read you correctly, you recommend to stay with UA since HON is a longshot. If I may ask, what makes you remain a LH SEN rather than switching to UA ?

Planned for rest of 2008 are 3 TA (only 1 in C already booked on SAS). All TA are to DEN or further west (10,000+ RT) and in 100% economy. As I see it, this is roughly 40k (=10,000 x 2 x 100% + 10,000 x 1 x 200%) or 50k if they matched (a longshot). A fourth and fifth TA could pop up and there will be a few inter-EU flights as well.

Planned for 2009 are 8 TA (only 3 of which will be in C), although up to 12 are possible. As I see it, this is a certain SEN or 137.5k (=10,000 x 5 x 100% x 125% + 10,000 x 3 x 200% x 125%), as long as I make FTL this year, without including the inter-EU flights.

Vfl Bochum you might take into consideration, that FTL / SEN / HON last for two years, while you have to requalify for UA every year. You might also try to get a business adress for your M&M account outside of Germany, so that it is only 100k you need to qualify for SEN.

Take also in account, that cheaper fares earn 100% onj UA while you get only 50% on LH - but as you are flying for Business reason, you certainly will not fly in W, S (but who knows).

a few comments:

I fly mainly intra-Europe, quite a lot of this in business class, and I have some years with less flying, so only needing to qualify every second year is perfect for me. I would never be able to get to 1K, maybe just to 1P, but not every year.

SAS flights do not count for HON status, only LH, LX, OS, LO, and the smaller M&M airlines.

Yes, you will make SEN for sure. But what does it give you more than 1K besides lounge access in the US? Maybe slightly higher op-up chances, and access to the exit rows.

Aren't 6 SWUs per year better?

FlyGVA - thanks good points.

SmilingBoy - thanks good points.
Especially that UA and SAS do not qualify for HON status. That makes my small chance even smaller, as LH C fares are, at times, double C fares on UA, US, SAS, and other *A.

Somehow I got it in my head that since I live in Germany, I should switch to LH.

Thanks for your advice... hope to buy you each a drink on LH or in a Lounge sometime soon.

Yes, thx. Just anecdotal fussiness about LH policies makes me feel like it's not worth the trouble switching to _anything_ else....

Thanks for the correction. I thought I read somewhere on FT that they expire in 3 years.

LAX