Skyteam Frequent Flyer Programs - which one to join

[Muzza1]

Until now I have been a very loyal Qantas FF. Have been Platinum for 10 years or so and am not a member of any other airline alliance.

I am visiting my son who is at Uni in Europe and Qantas quoted $15,000+ for a SYD - LHR - SYD business class ticket. For ~$6,000 I can fly Business on Vietnam Airlines. My travel agent said Vietnam are a good airline and their deals are excellent.

So, which Skyteam program should I join? I am keen to never lose the points and suspect that once flying is back to pre-Covid conditions, I will return to the Red Roo and OneWorld.

Any advice, suggestion or comments are welcome.

Many thanks

Muzza1

 

[Mattg]

If you don't think you'll be regularly flying on SkyTeam airlines, perhaps crediting to Delta SkyMiles could be a good option because they don't expire.

Another option could be Flying Blue as you can use Flying Blue miles for Qantas flights, although they don't publish award charts so I can't say whether you'd earn enough for anything useful and those miles do expire.

 

[Muzza1]

If you don't think you'll be regularly flying on SkyTeam airlines, perhaps crediting to Delta SkyMiles could be a good option because they don't expire.

Another option could be Flying Blue as you can use Flying Blue miles for Qantas flights, although they don't publish award charts so I can't say whether you'd earn enough for anything useful and those miles do expire.

Many thanks for the advice and the quick response Mattg! Cheers, Muzza1

 

[SYD]

If you don't think you'll be regularly flying on SkyTeam airlines, perhaps crediting to Delta SkyMiles could be a good option because they don't expire.

Another option could be Flying Blue as you can use Flying Blue miles for Qantas flights, although they don't publish award charts so I can't say whether you'd earn enough for anything useful and those miles do expire.

FlyingBlue would probably also be a better option if you find yourself flying within Europe on AF and/or KLM.

Also, if you stay at Accor properties, the FlyingBlue / ALL Accor hookup might be more beneficial than the the QF version.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

IMHO I would agree with MattG on crediting to Delta SkyMiles since you will almost certainly hit Delta Medallion Platinum with the recent status match promotion they have running. Signing up should take a couple of minutes and you'll be granted Delta Platinum Medallion status within a couple of days and then have 3 months to earn 18,750 MQMs to qualify for Platinum medallion status through Jan 2024 (equivalent to QFF Platinum). In particular a business class fare on Vietnam will earn 100% distance flown towards status (MQM). Looking at GCMap, flying Sydney to London via Saigon you would stand to earn over 10,000 MQM each way:



Since you are AU based earning and keeping status on Delta requires you only to fly the requisite number of miles for each tier - there is no spending requirement (i.e. you have an MQD waiver). In addition this status match promotion does not require you to even set foot on a Delta Airlines plane. Indeed, I qualified for Delta Gold medallion through this promotion by flying on a KLM J fare from Toronto to Glasgow last month (further discussion of that here)

-RooFlyer88

 

[Muzza1]

Many thanks to those members who have offered advice, I appreciate your experience and support very much. Special thanks to kangarooflyer88 for the tip about the Delta status match!