Which FFP for me? Master Discussion

[KeithMEL]

It is not similar earn rate. Flying SQ C will get 1.5x on BD FFP, and SQ F will get only 2x (compare to 3x on LH M&M).

Whoops my bad there. I was mistakenly thinking that both F and C get 2x on BD. However the BD award structure seems a bit more flexible than M+M, and they have Cash+Miles. So maybe similar or slightly better earn:burn ratio on BD?

Not to mention that after qualifying for BD*G the first time with 54k EQMs or being matched to BD*G you only need 38k EQMs per 'year' to requalify. You still need 100k status miles in one of your 2 calendar years to requalify for SEN - although that's not too hard with lots of F and C travel.

[jhm]

Not to mention that after qualifying for BD*G the first time with 54k EQMs or being matched to BD*G you only need 38k EQMs per 'year' to requalify. You still need 100k status miles in one of your 2 calendar years to requalify for SEN

... although I was being sold SEN recently by being told that if you time it right, you only need to meet this requirement every three years ? In other words, the choice is between qualifying for SEN once every three years or ensuring qualification for BD*G each year.

[CGK]

I am not so sure what you mean...
My SEN will expire on Feb 2009. So I should have 100K to requalify in the calendar year of 2007, or 2008. Since I have earned 100K in last January alone, now I have requalified up to February 2011 unofficially.
If I don't requalify in 2007 or 2008, I don't think LH will give me another year of SEN in 2009.

[KeithMEL]

Are you referring to the SEN 'buy-back' program? Otherwise I'm not sure how the 3 year thing works.

[jhm]

Are you referring to the SEN 'buy-back' program? Otherwise I'm not sure how the 3 year thing works.

No. I was a bit inebriated when this was explained to me so I didn't follow it closely. Luckily, alex0683de was kind enough to explain it again just now for me:

Hi jhm,

certainly, the way it works is as follows (feel free to post this on SQTalk as well, I'm not a member there):

If you qualify for Senator by flying 100K status miles in 2007, you get your status for the rest of the year in which you qualify (2007), plus two full years (2008, 2009), plus the first two months of the third calendar year after you qualify (Jan/Feb 2010).

If you qualify for SEN in either 2008 or 2009, your status is entended by two years (2010, 2011), putting your new expiration date at Feb 2012.

However, if you requalify your Senator status after theoretically having lost it (by flying 100K in Jan/Feb 2010), it will be treated as a new qualification, rather than a requalification, meaning you will get all of 2010, plus two full years (2011, 2012), putting your new expiration date at Feb 2013.

The trick is timing your flights well enough to earn that 100K status miles in two months and having everything credit on time to maintain uninterrupted SEN status.

This can be done with a well-planned 39K-RTW in C (making use of the airlines on which you earn the 25% Executive Bonus: LH, LX, OS, LO, UA, US, AC, JP, and OU), or by planning the RTW to take advantage of the 2000 (+500 Exec. Bonus) flatrate mile credit for intra-European sectors in C, or by flying a 34K-RTW in F.

There are some other ways as well, like using LX's special fares in C within Europe (Z-Class FRA-GVA-ZRH-VIE-ZRH-GVA-FRA in one day for 600€ all-in, for almost 14K miles - known on the LH board as the HON Run).

It requires some advance planning and two months of heavy travel to kick off the year, but it is more than possible to maintain uninterrupted SEN status by requalifying once every three years.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Alex

[CGK]

Okay, I got it...

[jjpb3]

Please thank alex0683de on our behalf, jhm. That was a very helpful reply. Certainly for me, in case BD is swallowed by the LH juggernaut.

And he's welcome to join SQT, just in case our discussions can repay his kindness.

[jhm]

jjpb3, I'll pass on your message.

Doing a CR3 (say) every 3 years to get continuous SEN *G status and crediting my miles at other times to another FFP is certainly worth considering...

[KeithMEL]

Ahh - now I got it. Thanks jhm and yes help me extend my regards to alex0683de.

Now that's something to consider to maintain both SEN and my AA status...

Unfortunately for me I qualified on Dec 31 2006 so only 2 years this time... Took about 4 days for the miles to post and the status was only updated 2 days after I emailed their office in Sydney.
They sent out the SEN pack pretty quickly to Melbourne though - so no worries about not getting card in time.

OT - For the other FFPs that also operate on calendar years, it does mean that you can effectively have a 2 year status using the aforementioned method of qualifying.

[jhm]

OT - For the other FFPs that also operate on calendar years, it does mean that you can effectively have a 2 year status using the aforementioned method of qualifying.

... although unless they give you a two month grace period after the end of the calendar year like M&M, you'll lose your status at the end of the calendar year until you regain it at the beginning of the following year. Meaning that your (re)qualification flights won't benefit from any tier bonus and presumably also bad for any lifetime status which you can obtain by continuous qualification.

[KeithMEL]

... although unless they give you a two month grace period after the end of the calendar year like M&M, you'll lose your status at the end of the calendar year until you regain it at the beginning of the following year. Meaning that your (re)qualification flights won't benefit from any tier bonus and presumably also bad for any lifetime status which you can obtain by continuous qualification.

I think most FFPs that operate on the calendar year have that 2 month grace period to allow new cards to be sent out on time. There must be exceptions but I've not seen any so far, albeit in my rather limited experience with the whole thing.

[CGK]

Do you think this work on UA?
Okay for example I don't get 100K by Dec 2007. My card is still valid until Feb 2008. If I qualify as 1K by 28 Feb 2008, my new card will still be up to Feb 2009, not Feb 2010. Am I completely wrong?

[jhm]

I think most FFPs that operate on the calendar year have that 2 month grace period to allow new cards to be sent out on time.

... but it may not be quite the same ?

For example, my BAEC membership year ends 8 May but my card is valid until the end of June. It means that if I do a OW RTW in June, I can access lounges etc with my card but I wouldn't get the tier bonus for my flights.

[KeithMEL]

Do you think this work on UA?
Okay for example I don't get 100K by Dec 2007. My card is still valid until Feb 2008. If I qualify as 1K by 28 Feb 2008, my new card will still be up to Feb 2009, not Feb 2010. Am I completely wrong?

I status matched to 1P in the middle of 2005, so I effectively 'qualified' for status within the 2005 calendar year. The status was valid until Feb 2007.

So I think if you 'requalify' or, theoretically, newly qualify for 1K in Feb 2008 - the status ought to be valid until Feb 2010. It's treated as a new qualification me thinks - you'd have theoretically lost 1K and then qualified for it again.

[KeithMEL]

... but it may not be quite the same ?

For example, my BAEC membership year ends 8 May but my card is valid until the end of June. It means that if I do a OW RTW in June, I can access lounges etc with my card but I wouldn't get the tier bonus for my flights.

Never knew BAEC operates like that.

I was not planning to refuel AA PLT until the DONE4 in Jan-Feb 2008 but now you've given me the heebie jeebies...