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-   -   Which *A program is the fastest way to gold? (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/star-alliance/926751-program-fastest-way-gold.html)

maestro1981 Feb 28, 2009 12:48 am

Which *A program is the fastest way to gold?
 
Hello Everyone!

Does anyone know which Star Alliance airline program is the fastest to reach Gold Status from scratch?

I plan to fly 3-4 times in Economy Class this year from Australia to Europe and not sure which program to join. I think the most beneficial part of a Frequent Flyer program for me is to achieve Gold Status as soon as possible so that I can use the lounges. Otherwise, I will just be using my points to cash in for flights.

Suggestions welcome!! :D

Thank you in advance,
Daniel (Sydney, Australia)

MLang2 Feb 28, 2009 1:09 am


Originally Posted by maestro1981 (Post 11334968)
Hello Everyone!

Does anyone know which Star Alliance airline program is the fastest to reach Gold Status from scratch?

I plan to fly 3-4 times in Economy Class this year from Australia to Europe and not sure which program to join. I think the most beneficial part of a Frequent Flyer program for me is to achieve Gold Status as soon as possible so that I can use the lounges. Otherwise, I will just be using my points to cash in for flights.

Suggestions welcome!! :D

Thank you in advance,
Daniel (Sydney, Australia)

Normally, the answer is BMI or TK.

I personally use TK as it gives more miles for Y-Trips and it gives 100% on all US and UA classes which helps me. Another point is that you can buy miles to keep your status.

But when you say you are going from Australia to Europe I guess the question is: which airline?
Then you could pick the programme which gives you maximum miles with your carrier.

But please be careful in picking one programme: I some it is easier to collect miles and get a status, but not to redeem the miles!

maestro1981 Feb 28, 2009 1:17 am

Usually when I fly to Europe I will fly with one of the following carriers...

Most Often: Singapore Airlines
2nd: Thai Airways
3rd: Lufthansa
4th: Air China

I am currently with Lufthansa Miles & More but a) it's near impossible to reach Gold and b) had problems with them redeeming upgrades.

MLang2 Feb 28, 2009 1:18 am

I checked the miles you get with Air New Zealand with TK:

Y,B,M,H,E,Q,T,V,U,O,A %100

W %50

Now, depending on the route you fly you would be *Gold with TK after 3 to 4 one-way trips and get Elite Plus status easily with your 4 round trips.

But of course that's speculation without knowing the carrier and the route you are going to fly.

MLang2 Feb 28, 2009 1:24 am

Yes, becoming SEN with MM needs 100.000 Miles, which is nearly impossible if you fly only Y.

With Singapore it could get harder, as they have some classes which give NO miles. But one can sort that out while booking of course:


Y, S, B, E, H, K, L, M, U, W 100 %

Booking Classes not eligible for accrual: G,Q,V,N,T,X,I,O
Redeeming Miles with MM is the easiest thing on earth - so far my experience. You will surely find it harder with any other programme. Also is MM as far as I am concerned the easiest programme to earn miles by NOT flying. But to get a status - it is difficult.

As you can see in my profile I collect at MM (prio 1) and TK (only for the gold status). I made a Excel-Sheet to compare the miles I can earn for each of my flight between MM and MS. MM only wins with short (domestic or European) trips in C. In nearly all other circumstances, TK gives more miles.

wijomas Feb 28, 2009 1:28 am


Originally Posted by maestro1981 (Post 11334968)
Hello Everyone!

Does anyone know which Star Alliance airline program is the fastest to reach Gold Status from scratch?

I plan to fly 3-4 times in Economy Class this year from Australia to Europe and not sure which program to join. I think the most beneficial part of a Frequent Flyer program for me is to achieve Gold Status as soon as possible so that I can use the lounges. Otherwise, I will just be using my points to cash in for flights.

Suggestions welcome!! :D

Thank you in advance,
Daniel (Sydney, Australia)

Being based in Australia, why not achieve WP status with Qantas (quite easy) and then get comped to BD *G? Then you have status on Oneworld and *A :) Then you get domestic lounge access everywhere in aussie too. *A has very minimal presence domestically in Australia sadly

DownUnderFlyer Feb 28, 2009 2:31 am


Originally Posted by wijomas (Post 11335012)
Being based in Australia, why not achieve WP status with Qantas (quite easy) and then get comped to BD *G? Then you have status on Oneworld and *A :) Then you get domestic lounge access everywhere in aussie too. *A has very minimal presence domestically in Australia sadly

Great idea but getting to Platinum on QF just by flying Y in order to get to Star Alliance Gold is really doing it the hard way. Or was this the FT way? ;) :D

wijomas Feb 28, 2009 2:43 am


Originally Posted by DownUnderFlyer (Post 11335085)
Great idea but getting to Platinum on QF just by flying Y in order to get to Star Alliance Gold is really doing it the hard way. Or was this the FT way? ;) :D

It's the FT way :D

Plus, you can do a few YUPP/KUPP's in the US (on AA in First) and get WP for about $4500 AUD or less... but that doesn't help with the AU-Europe stuff ! :D

Or, why not a DONE4 ? :)

Diplomatico Feb 28, 2009 6:22 am

Air Canada's Aeroplan only requires 35,000 miles to reach *G status. TK is 40,000 miles but renewal appears to be easier and (I think) status is good for two years once you reach it.

Nick C Feb 28, 2009 8:35 am

OZ requires 40K and it's valid for 2 years. Burn rates ain't that good though...

flytofly Feb 28, 2009 8:55 am

OZ's Gold is not *Gold, but *Silver. It is actually OZ Diamond that is a *G.
It requires 100,000 miles to attain *G with no time limits.
Once you are *G, then you need to get 40,000 miles every two years to stay *G. Quite easy.
But again, mileage spending rates are not good.


Originally Posted by Nick C (Post 11335881)
OZ requires 40K and it's valid for 2 years. Burn rates ain't that good though...


flytofly Feb 28, 2009 8:57 am

Aeroplan.


Originally Posted by maestro1981 (Post 11334968)
Hello Everyone!

Does anyone know which Star Alliance airline program is the fastest to reach Gold Status from scratch?

I plan to fly 3-4 times in Economy Class this year from Australia to Europe and not sure which program to join. I think the most beneficial part of a Frequent Flyer program for me is to achieve Gold Status as soon as possible so that I can use the lounges. Otherwise, I will just be using my points to cash in for flights.

Suggestions welcome!! :D

Thank you in advance,
Daniel (Sydney, Australia)


A_Lee Feb 28, 2009 3:25 pm


Originally Posted by flytofly (Post 11335978)
OZ's Gold is not *Gold, but *Silver. It is actually OZ Diamond that is a *G.
It requires 100,000 miles to attain *G with no time limits.
Once you are *G, then you need to get 40,000 miles every two years to stay *G. Quite easy.
But again, mileage spending rates are not good.

This is not true. You are referring to the old rules. The new rules went into effect on Oct 1, 2008. Now you only need 40K for Diamond which is *Gold and it is good for 2 years, plus the remainder of time on your 2-year qualifying period, so a total of possibly up to 4 years. If you joined today and took a full year to reach 40K, you'd get *G for 3 years.

ButcherBird Feb 28, 2009 6:42 pm


Originally Posted by maestro1981 (Post 11334968)

I plan to fly 3-4 times in Economy Class this year from Australia to Europe

Is this year an exception, or does it reflect your typical yearly travel pattern?.

An economy return from Sydney to Europe earns 20k plus miles. If you’re doing the trip 3 or 4 times a year you will qualify for Gold Status under any number of schemes. I don’t think it is particularly relevant whether you achieve status at 35k, 40k or whatever – your only requirement is that you can achieve and retain that status flying your typical 60-80k a year and you need to look at the other benefits that each scheme offers.

You mention that you mostly fly SQ. You will achieve Krisflyer Gold at 50k. As Krisflyer Gold you’ve got the best chance of getting an upgrade or OpUp on a SQ flight. KF Gold also gets you lounge access when flying Virgin Atlantic and Silkair (in addition to the regular Star Alliance carriers). Krisflyer also partner with Amex in Australia and allow you to redeem credit card points on a 1:1 basis into your Krisflyer account.

If you are flying 50k plus miles, year-in-year-out and SQ are your preferred carrier I would go with Krisflyer. If this year is not typical and your mileage will be considerably less in future years then you really need to focus on which scheme will allow you to retain Gold for the longest period and has the least onerous conditions for requalification (possibly OZ?).

Nick C Feb 28, 2009 7:54 pm


Originally Posted by flytofly (Post 11335978)
OZ's Gold is not *Gold, but *Silver. It is actually OZ Diamond that is a *G.
It requires 100,000 miles to attain *G with no time limits.
Once you are *G, then you need to get 40,000 miles every two years to stay *G. Quite easy.
But again, mileage spending rates are not good.

100k is for Diamond Plus.


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