So, it looks like an upcoming Qatar airlines flight to the middle east won't be happening, due to "regional tensions", and I'll probably be travelling with Turkish Airlines instead Generally, I'm a OneWorld flier, so I don't have any *A (Star Alliance) frequent flyer program memberships. I don't really want a long term program either, just somewhere to credit then redeem from, or credit + top-up + redeem. It doesn't look like I'd get enough miles from the trip to qualify for the Turkish Airlines status match. Based on http://www.wheretocredit.com/turkish-airlines/j I think I should be getting between 3,000 and 5,000 miles for the flight - I gather when Qatar rebook you at T-72 you generally end up in fully flexible business class as there's nothing else left on sale... Normally I redeem for European or Australian domestic flights, if that matters. I ought to be able to top up with either Hilton Honors Points+Miles stays, or Amex Memebership Rewards (UK) points Anyone have any thoughts on the best *A program to credit these miles to, for a cheap (low taxes/fees + not too many miles) redemption in the EU or Aus?
BMI? Still haven't found a suitable replacement yet... LH M&M is a joke for shorthaul. I suppose I'm now on the TK bandwagon since they've given me status until the mid 2020s. But if you don't think you will meet the status match conditions, then those miles will end up stranded in TK since it's hard to top up and it's a nightmare to spend them on *A partners. I like ANA for some really great sweet spots, but they have the hard expiry so you need a stash of Starpoints to top up. Avianca Lifemiles is fine because they don't have a hard expiry and you can easily top up your balance when a 1.5 cent promo comes around. Aegean is supposedly reasonable for both status and redemption, but you need to visit Greece regularly.
3000 to 5000 miles won't take you anywhere so I would consider a program where miles don't expire easily. United maybe (any activity in 18 months will reset the clock) and will be not difficult to redeem. I would rule out TK as redeeming a partner award is a nightmare with them.
The mid 2020s?! That's a hell of a long time for status. That's, what, seven or eight years? Colour me impressed. If UK status gets me access to a million and one Star Alliance lounges, I wouldn't be that bothered about spending the TK points. How did you manage it? An Inside Flyer article about the quickest ways to Star Alliance status would be interesting. Hell, for all the global airline alliances.
No, better than that. Qualified for Elite Plus with an immediate re-qualification, thanks to the quadruple miles promo. So, 4 years of E+ will take me to May 2021. Soft landing to Elite is still *A Gold and will take me to May 2023. I suppose the next soft landing is almost worthless, but I would still have *A Silver to 2025. Re-qualifying is also a much lower hurdle than the first qualification, so by sprinkling in a couple of cheap long hauls in J every couple of years, I can keep it going indefinitely.
Are you sure those are all status miles? No reason to doubt about your statement but most programs don't work that way. i.e. Bonus miles don't count towards re-qualification.
100% sure. It was a targeted status miles bonus promotion and FWIW I already have my Elite Plus card...
Was just there yesterday. Not such a big fan any more... I hide away on the lower level, but it still seems quite crowded most of the time. I do love getting some "pide", even though it sometimes seems like a pack of piranhas attack it non-stop.
I am in a similar position - have a *A flight coming up, which will leave me with around 15k miles. Is there a *A account for which the expiry rules are very generous? Or alternatively, and creative ways to keep a M&M account from expiring?
To keep M&M miles from expiring you need either 30 flights per year (Silver level) or their credit card. Otherwise they will expire after 3 years more or less. On United miles don't expire if you can have an activity every 18months but it is not easy to earn miles there if you are based in Europe.
There's no "creative way" to keep M&M miles from expiring, except having (and using) a M&M credit card. I believe that members will elite status are also exempt, but I can't remember for sure. Otherwise, you can check to see whether your *A airline credits to a programme you already collect with - www.wheretocredit.com. Alternatively, Avianca Lifemiles has relatively generous expiry rules (activity every 2 years I believe) with the advantage that they regularly sell miles cheaply, so you can "top up" for a reward without breaking the bank. Lifemiles tend to charge more miles for rewards, but have no surcharges on any Star Alliance carrier.
Qatar claimed to be unable to get me onto any sensibly timed BA flights, so Turkish Airlines it is! Flight is rebooked in D class for both legs, which credits decently to most programs: http://www.wheretocredit.com/turkish-airlines/d I wanted somewhere that would let me earn extra miles with Hilton, transfer points from UK Amex Memebership Rewards, and didn't have too short an expiry. SAS EuroBonus seemed to be the best for that, as miles expire 4-5 years after earning (4 years from the end of the membership year earnt in, if I understand right), and flights around Scandinavia (often expensive) seem to be good value in terms of points. They even gave me 800 free miles from doing a quick quiz after signing up (website said 700, email said 1500, actually got 800...)
