Need a new frequent flyer program

[HighBypassRatio]

Hello, I usually fly enough to have OW Sapphire or occasionally Emerald status and have used American Airlines, BA and Finnair FF programs in the past. BA and Finnair when I was living in Europe, but now I'm in Sydney. Due to a breavement in 2023, I only did a fraction of my normal flights for a while and have dropped down to OW Ruby with Finnair as from the start of this year.

As I'm now living in Sydney rather than Europe and only have Ruby status, I'm rethinking which airline I should credit points to.

I have a few hundred thousand FF points with all of Qantas, BA, Finnair and American Airlines.

Typical travel would be 4 – 5 Sydney Tokyo flights per year in J or PeY and a Tokyo London or Sydney London flight per year in Y or PEY.

I rarely fly Qantas on international flights, but I'm not adverse to taking some domestic weekend trips on Qantas within Aus if there is a minimum number of flights on QF metal with the Qantas program.

I'm leaning to starting with Qantas, but welcome any other ideas.

Or even Star Alliance? Although I had Star Alliance Gold a while back through Lufthansa and I thought the Singapore Airlines lounges which I used in APAC were a bit ordinary.

 

[Mattg]

I would have previously said BA Executive Club, but with the changes BA is making to its program it might be best to steer clear.

If you're living in Sydney, Qantas is probably the most obvious and easiest option. It's very easy to earn Qantas points in Australia and they dominate the domestic market. That said, Qantas might make changes to its program later this year as well.

American Airlines could work if you're able to earn lots of AAdvantage miles, since that's how they award status these days. But not as easy without having a US credit card, etc.

If you're eligible for the HSBC Star Alliance credit card, that gives you an easy fast-track to Star Alliance Gold. That could be a backup option for times when you might be flying SQ or LH.

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• AFF Editor
• Replies: 1,103
• Forum: Other Banking Products

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[Mattg]

This article might be helpful for you (note that the BA requirements are changing):

The Best Programs for Earning Oneworld Status

Is Qantas Frequent Flyer the best Oneworld loyalty program for earning status, or are there better options? We analyse the best programs for earning Oneworld Ruby, Sapphire or Emerald status.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

Oh, and if you're new to Australian frequent flyer programs in general, this guide might be helpful:

A Newbie's Guide to Australian Frequent Flyer Programs

Are you a complete newbie to the frequent flyer points game in Australia? Our beginner's guide explains everything you need to know to get started!

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[moa999]

Typical travel would be 4 – 5 Sydney Tokyo flights per year in J or PeY and a Tokyo London or Sydney London flight per year in Y or PEY.

Who are these flights typically with?

Flying with Qantas over JAL (or at least a QF codeshare) you will get almost twice the number of points and SCs as with JAL.

And 3 J returns on QF to Tokyo would get you QF Gold (Sapphire) and 6 Platinum (Emerald).

 

[zainman]

Is there a oneworld program that allows pooling of tier/status credits similar to what Velocity Family Pooling allows? Not just redeemable miles/points but for status?

 

[offshore171]

Flying with Qantas over JAL (or at least a QF codeshare) you will get almost twice the number of points and SCs as with JAL.

Do you mean when crediting the flights to the JAL Scheme or Qantas scheme?

AFAIK, and it may have changed, but JAL Mileage Bank gives you full credits whether the flight is operated by JAL or another Oneworld partner carrier. Is this still the case?

Whereas QF changed their system several years back to credit lower points and credits for non QF Oneworld. Significantly less in some cases.

How Qantas Punishes You for Flying Partner Airlines

16 July, 2018

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[HighBypassRatio]

I would have previously said BA Executive Club, but with the changes BA is making to its program it might be best to steer clear.

I had status for a long while with BA before moving to Finnair. Unless it has changed with the £££ based earning just now, you need 4 x flights on BA metal to get status. Now that I have moved to Sydney, it will be very hard to get 4 x BA flights a year. So BA is off.

AFAIK, and it may have changed, but JAL Mileage Bank gives you full credits whether the flight is operated by JAL or another Oneworld partner carrier. Is this still the case?

Qantas is also off. Prompted by the above, it looks like flying other OW airlines rather than Qantas gives half or less the QFF status credits.

American Airlines could work if you're able to earn lots of AAdvantage miles, since that's how they award status these days. But not as easy without having a US credit card, etc.

I use to have OWE with American years ago, but it was long enough back that I don't know if there is an AA metal requirement now?

So, BA is off due to the 4 flight requirement. Qantas is off due to the reduced partner status credit rate.

The obvious options are stay with Finnair as I already have Ruby with them, or go to JAL as I often fly JAL to Japan.... or just switch to ANA and Star Alliance.

Who are these flights typically with?

( my Syd-Tokyo flights)
Whoever is cheapest. They are work paid flights; I might be able to get them to pay an extra $200 for my preferred airline, but not $1000. I can sort of get my preferred airline by selecting departure or arrival dates when JAL (for example) happens to be cheaper than ANA. Taking a longer flight such as SYD-HKG-HND/NRT on Cathay is also ok with them, as it is usually cheaper than a JAL/ANA direct flight.


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Thank you for the replies everyone.

 

[Mwenenzi]

Hello, I usually fly enough to have OW Sapphire or occasionally Emerald status and have used American Airlines, BA and Finnair FF programs in the past. BA and Finnair when I was living in Europe, but now I'm in Sydney. Due to a breavement in 2023, I only did a fraction of my normal flights for a while and have dropped down to OW Ruby with Finnair as from the start of this year.

As I'm now living in Sydney rather than Europe and only have Ruby status, I'm rethinking which airline I should credit points to.

I have a few hundred thousand FF points with all of Qantas, BA, Finnair and American Airlines.

Typical travel would be 4 – 5 Sydney Tokyo flights per year in J or PeY and a Tokyo London or Sydney London flight per year in Y or PEY.

I rarely fly Qantas on international flights, but I'm not adverse to taking some domestic weekend trips on Qantas within Aus if there is a minimum number of flights on QF metal with the Qantas program.

I'm leaning to starting with Qantas, but welcome any other ideas.

Or even Star Alliance? Although I had Star Alliance Gold a while back through Lufthansa and I thought the Singapore Airlines lounges which I used in APAC were a bit ordinary.

BA and Finnair now both use avios as the ff currency. You can move avios, but not status, between these and other avios ffp (QR, IB)
Qatar QR is a VA ffp partner. QRPC is close to BAEC

Beware of expiry of those few hundred thousand FF points with all of Qantas, BA, Finnair and American Airlines. If not careful they will expire.

What do you hope status will do for you? If flying J, status does not do much for you.
Do you use the ff miles/avios/points?

 

[Lynda2475]

Noting that reduced earn with partners on QF isn't always a given. AA flights credit to QF at the same rate as QF flights.

MH aside, the reduced rate on other partners is generally only on routes where they directly compete with QF, so AY, BA, JL and IB earn into/out of/within Europe (excluding LHR) isn't low, nor are BA routes across the Atlantic.

 

[Mattg]

Don't go with Finnair as they award tier points now based on spend.

Maybe have a look into JAL Mileage Bank?

That said, QF might still be the best option for you.

 

[cwd]

BA don't have the requirement for any BA flights under the new program. JAL are one of the better airlines for status earning in the new BA program - either 25% or 50% of the miles flown as new TP depending on whether Business Low (X, I) or Business Flexible (J, C, D). SYD to HND is 4837 miles, so I think you'd earn about 2418 in flexible business each way. With 7,500 required for Sapphire or 20,000 for Emerald. But having said that, if you're going with the cheapest fare, you'll be earning 25%...

I'd probably just go with Qantas though - The earn on Cathay tickets to Japan isn't too bad - 60 (SYD-HKG) + 80 (HKG-TYO) = 140 for one way to Tokyo. So more than 10% of the required SC for retaining Platinum. And the CX business fares to Japan are pretty unbeatable.