Hi friends,
As end-of-year qualification approaches, I’m seeking community feedback on whether to shift my mileage crediting strategy from American Airlines to Alaska Atmos Rewards for an upcoming long-haul Business Class itinerary to Australia. I recently mentioned this idea with @peter_ in a Daily Discussion thread (October 18, 2026), but wanted to open it up on here for a broader perspective.
My main objective is to secure oneworld Emerald (OWE) status with at least one program (mostly for the premium lounge access across many carriers). For years, I’ve focused on obtaining the higher status through American Airlines via mostly card spend (Citi AA Executive) and crediting long-haul partner flights (CX, JL, QR). However, this year I took advantage of making housing payments via Bilt with my Alaska Atmos Summit card, which accelerated my status point earning with Alaska much faster than expected—leading me to seriously reconsider my strategy.
I’m currently starting from a strong position in both programs:
- American Airlines (AAdvantage): I'm already a Platinum Pro (OWE), sitting at ~40K Loyalty Points (LPs) for the current cycle (ending late Feb 2027). AA requires 75K LPs for Platinum, which is just oneworld Sapphire (OWS), and 125K LPs for Platinum Pro (OWE). AA does have Loyalty Point Rewards thresholds, but they aren't compelling until 175K LPs—and since Systemwide Upgrades (SWUs) are so rarely confirmed in advance and usually die on waitlists, I've basically given up on them altogether.
- Alaska Airlines (Atmos Rewards): I'm already Atmos Gold (OWS), sitting at ~40K status points toward the Dec 31, 2026 deadline. AS requires 80K status points for Atmos Platinum (OWE). I also recently enrolled in the Global Locals 'community' for the 10% status point bonus on international flights. I also already received the 10K anniversary status point boost from the Summit card. Alaska hasn't started the 'choose how you earn' thing yet (January 1, 2027). Alaska does also have some interesting status points milestones (like, at 55K and 95K, I could get up to 4 systemwide upgrade certificates, but would supposedly need 'U' space to confirm; has anyone tried those yet? @samar?).
Here is the itinerary that makes this dilemma real. I have an upcoming long-haul Business Class trip ticketed entirely on QF flight numbers (~20,144 miles flown) during both current qualifying periods. JFK–AKL–SYD–LAX is QF-marketed, QF-operated (787 & A380). LAX–JFK is QF-marketed, AA-operated codeshare (A321XLR with new 1-1 Flagship Suites). Side note: Super excited for the routing! Wish it were nonstop JFK–SYD, but with Project Sunrise delays.
- If I credit to AA, the QF partner distance rates yield ~44,317 LPs. Added to my ~40K starting balance, I hit ~84,300 LPs—locking in AA Platinum (OWS), but leaving me ~40,700 LPs short of Platinum Pro (OWE).
- If I credit to Alaska, the combination of the 250% international J multiplier, 10% Global Locals bonus, and a nominal (but still cool!) SYD Hub Challenge credit, generates over ~55,400 status points. That propels my total to ~95,400+ status points, comfortably securing Atmos Platinum (OWE) with a ~15k point cushion before the end of the year.
The only potential drawback to switching my credit to Alaska would be losing easy OWE premium lounge access... if I were traveling alone. Thankfully, P2 also holds active AA Platinum Pro (OWE), doesn't have much going on with Alaska, and will re-qualify for Emerald on this trip—so I can simply be her designated "+1 guest" for Qantas First Class lounge access at SYD and LAX (if it were even open), right? (RIGHT??) Besides, even if I were solo as an OWS, dropping to Greenwich at JFK isn't that bad, and AA Flagship at LAX is aight—especially now that they've restarted Flagship Dining and opened it up to Business Class passengers).
Anyway, please check my work if you're willing, and do tell me if I'm doing this right or wrong. Be brutally honest. Get spicy, if you'd like. This whole re-evaluation made me think of Ben's post from earlier this year: I’m Switching My Loyalty To Alaska Atmos Rewards: The Math Is A No-Brainer (@lucky, see, you were probably right!) It seems like distance-based partner calculations combined with Atmos stackable multipliers easily outperform revenue/LP models for premium long-haul flights. Am I missing any hidden trade-offs, routing quirks with QF codeshares operated by AA metal, or partner posting delays between Qantas and Atmos that I should keep in mind? Would you make the jump to Atmos here?
I believe your math is wrong with AS. The 250% credit for partner J flights goes into effect in 2027, and requires you to choose earnings based on price, not distance. The credit for 2026 is 125% distance flown. That likely messes up your math completely.
https://www.alaskaair.com/atmosrewards/content/earn-points/flights
@samar Ah, great catch on the timeline! You're totally right that the 250% partner J rate is tied to the new chart rolling out for 2027. Thank you! This is why I asked—it felt "too good to be true," and when it feels that way, it usually is. (Uh oh, @peter_!)
So for 2026, QF-booked partner J credits at 125% of distance flown. On ~20,144 miles, 125% yields ~25,180 status points. Layering on the 10% Global Locals boost (~2,518 points) plus the SYD Hub Challenge credit brings the trip yield to ~28,000+ status points.
Definitely not as dramatic as 55K! That lands me at ~68,000+ status points heading into year-end—about 12K shy of the 80K requirement for Atmos Platinum (OWE). While I could bridge part of that gap via Bilt / Summit card spend ($1 per 2 status points) or year-end flight activity, it's certainly a tighter window before December 31.
Meanwhile with AA, the same trip leaves me ~40.7K short of Platinum Pro, but I'd have through late February 2027 to bridge it. Choices, choices!
Since you're here: if you've used those Alaska milestone upgrade certificates, how do they actually play out in practice? I know they require 'U' space to confirm instantly. Are they reasonably usable like Air Canada eUpgrades or Delta GUCs when 'U' is open at booking, or do they feel more like AA SWUs that sit on a waitlist and expire?
Was responding on the other thread, but yeah, what @Samar said - wrong chart for 2026, sadly!
If P2 has OWE and you're OWS... eh, for the couple of solo trips every now and then, not a big deal.
That said, the real magic of AA is the excellent ability of turning partner spend into LPs. AA Dining - see what restaurants you eat at participate. AA Hotels - so many opportunities there. AA eshopping - thanksgiving and christmas are coming, snag some 8-10x miles/LPs on spend on your gifts. And once you are over 60k you are in the 25% bonus - more LPs that way.
And there's always the Exec card - will get you 20k LPs closer, plus increase your earning rate on AA Hotels/Cars spend at 12x.
So I think there's just more opportunity at AA to pursue and get your own OWE status under this set of facts.
@peter_ This is exactly why I posted here! Thank you both for calling out the 2026 vs. 2027 chart distinction. My brain had jumped ahead to next year's 250% rate (which will be very exciting, once it's live.)
I've been happily swimming in the AA ecosystem for years. Less road-warrior, more "leisure-pirate" ...anchor with 2–3 long-haul partner J trips, and let the non-flight AA Exec credit card 'engine' do the heavy lifting for the rest. Yes, those 20K LPs at 50K and 90K would help. Then, just about 20K LPs short of PP with the extra time until February to get it all done.
Rushing ~$24k in card spend on Atmos Summit, or extra flights on Alaska/partners before December 31 is still possible, but I'd really need to better map that out. Of course, as you mention, I can just let it all go, and allow P2 take the lead. Teamwork makes the...
Going back to your other questions, I’ve chosen Atmos over AAdvantage for a few reasons:
- Earnings is distance-based (and I’ll continue to choose that in for 2027). Because I primarily book cash flights in Y or domestic F, I earn more status points vs. AAdvantage (to be honest, I haven’t done the math with LPs I’d earn if I already had elite status because I believe you earn more on flights the higher the status level you are).
- Status points are earned through awards booked with Atmos. I already have over 10k SPs I’ll earn this way. AAdvantage doesn’t offer this.
- Atmos Summit has meaningful earnings categories (dining and all foreign purchases). The opportunity cost of spending is significantly lower vs AA Exec. The 10k anniversary boost gets me 25% of the way to Gold every year.
- I get a “free” (okay, paying 3% for the privilege) 6K status points by paying my HOA via Bilt.
- I’m shooting for the 95k milestone in 2026 and can hopefully choose two 10000 point status boosts for 2027 (if it’s allowed, the incremental 15k to get 20k is worth it).
I picked upgrade certs twice at the 55k milestone (so I earned 4 of them). I used 2 on PHX-ANC flights (both directions) when the schedule opened in July, and will try to use the other 2 to upgrade myself on the SEA-LHR flight in January (booked refundable on AS and have an AA J backup if it doesn’t clear 24 hours before my flight). Thankfully they are adding waitlisting upgrade certs sometime next year, as they are otherwise not that easy to use (if you don’t see upgrade space available at booking, you have to manually check for space yourself).
Too late for me to edit this…but when I said 10k SPs on awards, that’s for 2027. I earned close to 20k this year.
@samar Thank you for sharing all these details as well! You're doing things right with Atmos!
Earning 10k–20k status points annually on award tickets is a game-changer that AA just doesn't replicate. I was shocked when I redeemed 75K AS points towards AA metal F on their 773 for JFK-EZE earlier this year (5K status points). Recently, I flew to Chicago with American, redeemed points, got no LPs. What a difference.
The Atmos Summit card earnings really have been the thing that made me want/need to re-evaluate here. I looked at the 3% fee as well-worth it for earning the 150K Atmos points (and about 25K status points) on up to $50K of rent this year. I also used it for the 3x points + 10% bonus (for having a Merrill account) on the foreign transactions for all my overseas trips. Got the 100K Global Certificate and a war-chest of AS points ready to go. Been eyeing those JX flights that you took, like PHX-TPE, etc. (though, since they're closer to 85K, may not even be the best use.)
On the upgrade certificates, I appreciate learning through your firsthand experiences on those. (So, more akin to the Air Canada eUpgrades, great when 'U' is open, but gotta get 'manual' to see it through. Hmm. A few of those worked for me back in the day, but on like 3+ hour lie-flat a330, YYZ-FLL. Not great, not terrible.) The 10K towards the next year's qualifying may actually be a safer bet if I'm shifting to AS, long-term.
Yeah, so, I may need to stick with AA on this one (since the new 250% hasn't started, and half-rate at 125% just isn't as exciting), but I'm probably gonna shift full-time to AS starting next year. Ultimately, @lucky 's earlier instincts on his 'shift' from AA-to-AS have merit. The timing and circumstance just need to be right.
@1990_ to be clear (and maybe that’s what you meant), the 10k status boost is available at the 95k milestone, not the 55k milestone.
I’m hoping the “upgrade” to upgrade cert usage will be live sooner, rather than later, in 2027. With the update, the certs can be applied to flight even if U space isn’t available, and would clear ahead of complimentary upgrades (no more manual checking). I hope this will also apply to upgrade certs for long-haul as well. https://www.alaskaair.com/atmosrewards/content/benefits/2027-updates
@1990_ just for my own edification (and yours or others that read this), it has been awhile since I looked at the Atmos hotel/vacation program. I see they switched over to Expedia, but interestingly they also allow VRBO bookings through the platform (not surprising since VRBO is owned by Expedia). You earn 1 status point per $1 spent (which is different than in 2025 where it was 1 status point per $3!), would get 3x points with the Atmos Summit card, and another 1 status point per $2 spent on the card. So it could be especially appealing if you make sizable VRBO bookings with any frequency.
So if you take a $1k hotel/VRBO booking through the summit card, you would get 1,500 status points with Alaska along with 4,000 miles. That's... OK, I guess.
It's just an area where I feel like AA Hotels continues to shine though especially when paired with AA Exec card and any AA status. Because for $1k it's not crazy to think you'd get a really good offer from AA Hotels (maybe not the 15,000 max, but who knows!). You'd get 12x miles on the spend with the Exec card (and 1x LP on the spend as well). So for a $1k transaction you're getting at least 12,000 miles plus 1,000 LP, plus a significant amount of miles/LP from the "offer" you'd get, plus an extra 25% LP for 6 months of the year once you are in the 60k LP bonus (that you now have to remember to register for w/in 30 days of hitting 60k).
So let's say you'd get 5,000 miles/LP as your "offer" for the $1k spend (which frankly might be low). Together with the Exec card miles/LP you're getting 17,000 miles (that's ~$250 in value alone) plus 6,000 LP (and if you're in the 25% bonus it's 7,250 LP).
Assume you'll get the credit card status bonuses and targeting OWE. So you'd need 70k for Atmos with the 10k from the card, the 1,500 status points would be ~2% of the way there. For AA with the 20k LP from the card, you'd need 105k - you're getting almost 7% of the way there with the illustrative transaction above.
Sure the AA Exec is more expensive than Atmos Summit. But 17k AA miles are also worth significantly more than 4k Atmos miles.
OK - off my AA Hotels soap box - for now!
@peter_ I’m always excited for an AA Hotels soapbox moment (as well as a ‘more MCE’ pitch!) After all, these are the blogosphere memes that I thirst for! You’ve singlehandedly opened my eyes to that portal and its benefits. Thanks again!
@1990_ also grab a couple of simplymiles offers. There's usually a blue apron one for $50 for 1,115 miles/LP. Get some food that with the shipping works out to just over $50 - there are some first time incentives as well on the shopping portals for new subscribers. I've done that one a few times this year - even if you don't follow the recipes, just shop for things that you might want (X veggies, Y meat, etc.). Blue apron itself is a bit of a mess, but the miles themselves are worth $15 and hey, you gotta eat.
Lots of other assorted offers as well. 930 miles for spending $50 on stitch fix. Buy that P2 in your life a new sweater or something.
And obviously all better once you're in the 25% LP bonus.
Meanwhile over at Atmos this type of partner spending is 1 status point per $3 spent. It's just a different league.
Do you need to earn more points with AA - yes. 105000:70000 is a 1.5:1 ratio. But that's not 3:1 either. So certainly pros and cons, and exactly why for a distance based flyer, Alaska can make a boatload of sense.
Actually it's 104,000 because you get 1k LP at 15k LPs. But I digress!
@peter_ This is where things get spicy! (Buy that P2 somethin' nice...ok, ok, I know pandering when I see it. Bah!)
So, you can only have one transaction-tracking network per card. Of course, SimplyMiles is just Mastercards (any bank, not just Citi); whereas, Bilt Neighborhood Rewards allows more issuers (Visa, MC, Amex, etc.) So, I had been keeping most Mastercards with SimplyMiles, and other cards with Bilt.
The only issue is that I get a little OCD with purchases, because I'm like, 'hold on... I gotta check the AAdvantage eShopping portal... then Amex Offers... and Chase... and Citi... can I have like 10 minutes?' (I'm gonna digress, now.)
@1990_ It became marginally helpful when Citi started sending different card numbers for authorized users. But, yeah, have to track who earns what for sure. Rakuten as well for their dining program.
I hear you. I'm skeptical of the services that just automatically activate all your Amex offers, etc., because I have no idea if that will mess with the targeting for future offers, plus in the case of Citi I don't want them to do that because if I activate a Citi Offer it will likely negate the SimplyMiles offer.
So it does involve a lot of manual checking, and there's always the 5 times a year I screw something up and miss out on $10-20 or whatever. But the net gain really is pretty remarkable out of these services, as long as you are not buying more (or much more) than you would have otherwise.
I think you pick 3-4 of them and go from there. For me I'm checking Rakuten and AA for miles, C1 and CitiShop for cash.
I'd love to get into Rove, but it's just so tertiary after everything else.
And used to transfer Rakuten to Bilt, but now will transfer to Amex - no big deal.
In all of this, I always wish I had more Atmos miles. But when you can earn so many more AA miles per transaction, I think it ultimately comes out in the wash because you might be paying more per transaction for those Atmos miles. Maybe not with Bilt, but then you have to deal with Bilt! Fun not fun.
End of the day, it's a nice hobby that allows me to "not pay" for a few high value flights a year while I pay for other flights, including a few high value ones. Fun for people who like puzzles.
@peter_ On the Amex Offers, it's also important to distinguish which specific card product you want to 'enroll' on. For instance, if there's a lucrative Lufthansa or ITA offer (spend $1,000 get $200 back, etc.), I'd want it on my Amex Platinum, where I'd earn 5x MR on airfare, as opposed to my Amex Gold, which would only earn 3x MR. Nuance.
I do find myself sweating the small stuff sometimes (that $10-20 still stings), but I've gotten better with 'letting it go' over the years. (Currently, my struggles with excess Bilt Cash are still a point of 'contention,' but I'm finding ways to minimize the exposure.)
Yeah, I haven't bothered with Rove yet; Rakuten is excellent for a secondary earning strategy, but the delay (to receive earnings) is the real bottleneck. The relative immediacy of points earning with certain products (like Palladium) is wild. Like, spend one day, points and B$ the next; no waiting for next statement period, etc.
On Atmos, other than the SUBs and rent via Bilt, the transfers have been helpful. I know you've been healthily skeptical of their platform (and I've been openly critical as well), but that remains a strong suit (for however long it lasts... say, if BofA pulls a Citi... *gulp*)
Yes, still a huge fan of 'the hobby.' Ever changing... ever upward... Excelsior!
(And, I certainly would've preferred a win, but the "we don't want you" chants did make me feel a little better. Seriously, apartment in NYC, while playing for Philly... c'maan... eh, maybe he's taking the Acela... or Blade!)
@1990_ I read he is commuting by a helicopter sponsored by Fanatics. Can't win 'em all, didn't spoil a great celebration.
My biggest problem with Bilt is customer service. AI chatbot aside, I remember having problems creating a Bilt account to even link to Rakuten well before the 2.0 Palladium launch, which required emailing with them and a process that took days. These are the guys I'm going to trust with a mortgage? Yeah I can read all the articles about how "the kinks are now worked out" but the whole thing just feels like beta testing something that never came out of beta test.
I just couldn't imagine dealing with them if something serious actually happened. Every few years I feel like I'm dealing with some fraudulent charge. Just cost of doing business these days. Would it be OK dealing with Cardless / Bilt on that? Maybe! Maybe I'm too conservative, but the idea of dealing with a "real bank" when problems arise gives me at least some degree of comfort, notwithstanding all of the problems banks have with their own customer service and otherwise.
But that's clearly my loss while you and others can have a real gain, because from a pure points earning (and transfer to Atmos) perspective, looks very good. I can't get too excited about all of the speculative transfers... the ones to Avios and Virgin are good, I guess, the problem is that when you are going to lots of different destinations it's good to keep your points flexible because you never know which program the next great redemption will come from. If all I cared about was flying JFK-LHR (which I do with some regularity I suppose), then sure, those programs can be great.
Will BofA nuke Bilt re Atmos? Maybe! Involves BofA getting its own act together. I think 2027 is probably still good, but 2028 and beyond, who knows.
I still don't understand how Bilt is going to drive signups in Q4 with all the B$ expiring at year end. I wonder if they come out with some kind of November/December promo that accounts for that. We will see!
@peter_ Oh, I'm with you. All of it. On Bilt, I got hooked during 1.0; the 2.0 rollout was bad. Fortunately, haven't had too serious customer service issues, yet. Rent has been paid timely, so far. On Q4 acquisitions, I doubt it's looking good for them, both on a micro- and macro-level. Was hoping they'd at least 'solve' the expiring B$ problem for new cardmembers by now (like, easy fix, go to 12-month rotating B$ expiration). Will be following closely.
@1990_ how they have not gone to 12-month rotating B$ expiration is insane. I legitimately wonder whether their glossy on the outside but clearly not great on the inside tech just can't keep up with 12 different "membership years".
@peter_ @1990_ don't sleep on Rove! I just booked an instant 4-night hotel stay in Sedona (one I've stayed at previously) that was offering 28x miles on the reservation. Paid $150 to increase my $2000 booking to 33x (1.5c/mile - but I had good reason) and got 57900 miles instantly, which I promptly converted to 86k JAL miles using the 50% transfer bonus. Also, liquidated the 30k I had in Citi to JAL with the 30% bonus, and I have enough now to (hopefully) score JL F on the A35K for next year!
Only downside is having to pre-pay the reservation and book non-refundable, but the pricing for the hotel is the same on their website (so I'm not paying extra other than buying the points) and it's a boutique brand, so I'm not really sacrificing on the loyalty side of things either. It'll be well worth it if I can book that First Class flight.
@samar Absolutely love that. I do think Rove can offer great value and, as I said, I'd love to get into it - just have to keep looking and booking.
Good luck getting F on the 35K! J on the JAL 35K was fantastic so I have to imagine F would be absolutely incredible. I did ANA F a number of years ago in their cubicle seating - was great as well. Can't go too wrong with JAL or ANA.
So many nice places in Sedona. Was there a few years ago and itching to get back! Last time we stayed at A Sunset Chateau which we really enjoyed. Trying for Moab next year - will look at Rove for sure!
@samar Holy moly! You win, sir. It's official. Personally, I loved Japan Airlines business class on their a35K (JFK-HND). First looks un-real. If you can pull it off, you're in for a serious treat.
(And, when departing Japan, whether JL in F, or just via OWE access, do bring a pair of leather shoes to get a complimentary shine at the JL First lounge at HND! While you wait, enjoy all the surrounding historic JAL memorabilia, including a unique JAL livery Concorde model... I don't believe they ever had that for real.)
@1990_ @peter_ thanks guys. Was a real lucky find to be honest. My plan was originally to liquidate the Citi points before the transfer bonus and then transfer the rest from Bilt. Instead, I got the required 125k points between Citi and Rove. Now comes the hard part of actually booking the award (already got a reminder set for 360 days before my desired travel date). Never flown JL before, so I’d prefer if I could live it up for my first flight.
Interesting thing about the complimentary shoe shine. Wonder if other lounges do that, and I’ve never noticed. It’s rare that I’ll burn space for nice leather shoes on a trip.
@samar Rooting for you! I've only managed JL a35K in J and NH 773 in J (The Room), but not with points *sigh*
(Actually, I looked closer at my own photo, and I see now that it says the model is of a Boeing 2707. Woah. Worth checking that out if you're an av-geek.)
@1990_ I'll update with what happens when the calendar opens up. I'll take any of the A35K flights, but of course I'll be shooting for the longer flights (JFK or DFW) over LAX. Need as many hours in F as I can get!
Well no luck getting a JL F seat on the A35K for next year…for the Oct 24 (Sunday), the seats were all waitlisted on the 3 routes (I added myself to the HND-JFK waitlist), and then I tried again for Oct 25 this morning…a seat was available but I was too slow to get it. 😭 I could book one of the older F seats (HND-SFO is available), but that feels like too much of a downgrade to book.
On the bright side, I am booked on QR HKG-DOH-LAX (HKG-DOH in F and DOH-LAX in QSuites) for Oct 25 so I’m set if I can’t get onto a JL flight.
@samar Darn! Folks must literally hit the refresh at 00:00:00 Japan time. Hoping (for everyone's sake) that conditions improve (not worsen) over in the Middle East. Used to fly QR more often, including to MLE, but am still a bit hesitant to route through there (or DXB) these days. Have never been to KSA, but would especially not try RUH anytime soon.
@1990_ here's hoping things calm down in the next year in the Middle East. I'd be excited to take that route home, but 27 hours from HKG to LAX would be a lot (and that doesn't include getting home after the flights). It would be a great lounge tour though: The Pier (or maybe The Wing?) First, Al Safwa, and Qantas First LAX.
I'm looking at other options too...maybe just book HND-SFO F on the B77W and hope JL receives enough A35Ks between now and October 2027 to swap the route (though being in F for <10 hours feels wasteful), or book JX J when the schedule opens up on AS (I already see there's a saver seat to PHX from HKG/NRT bookable on EY, but yeah I'm not messing with that miles program). Decisions, decisions...
Success today! Snagged JL HND-JFK F on the A35K for Oct 26 (though AMEX tried to make it hard when I was trying to pay for the flight). 125K points and $400 seems like a pretty good deal.
Still have the QR flights as well, but most likely will cancel that sometime next year.
@1990_ I would not in any way advocate an American flyer credit flights to QF, but thought it would interesting to offer a comparison. On that itinerary you would earn from 580, 610 or 640 QF status credits depending on whether the ticket was Discount Business, Business or Flexible Business. QF requires 700 SC for OWS and 1,400 for OWE.
AA and AS transcon in F (J as QF credits it) earns 100 SC on their own metal, which is QF's discount business rate, but more if QF marketed in a higher fare tier. (Your transcon segment is counted in the SC number above.) With QF, US domestic flights are credited by segment, often the sum of connecting segments is the same as a direct flight, but if the itinerary is indirect or sometimes by a quirk in routing it can be more. PSP-SEA-JFK scored me 160 SC in J (AS) and cost around $800 (SFO or PHX layover would have been 140).
As I said, unlikely to be worth considering when you are US-based, but for me the calculation about whether to consider AS rather than QF (lifetime gold/OWS already) is less clear-cut.
@mike-c Thank you for introducing this alternative as well. That’s a healthy thought-exercise. It’s true that there are potentially other oneworld programs (including Qantas, Qatar, British Airways, Finnair, Royal Jordanian, etc.) that may be even more valuable to credit to, depending on one’s circumstances. I suppose there could technically be an ‘objective’ quantitative ‘best value’ (most redeemable points, highest-valued status, etc.), but then there’s also a ‘subjective’ determination (where are you based, what have you earned already elsewhere, etc.) For instance, I’m around half a million miles with American Airlines for ‘million miler’ qualifying. Adding 20K to that tally might mean something, eventually. Or not. Bah! Either way, I’m excited to return Down Under, and to try more QF metal there and back.
@1990_ I agree with your summary of the factors. To me, there are three broad considerations: ease of earning status, ease of earning points (and the 'cost' of each) and award availability and the points required. Those are subjective, dependent on where you are: location, how patient you can afford to be, how invested you already are in the programmes you're already in, and probably more.
OWE is my main aim, so the percentage of the status points I need that each flight earns is important. We've considered miles vs money calculations for AS but programmes also differ in how they count flights they market themselves vs those marketed by partners. Some credit very little on some partner flights. With some, non-flying activity can count towards status. If two programmes are equal on status gained from your level of flying, the activity is a bonus but otherwise immaterial. It becomes material to your decision if you need to chase it, more so if you can't access it (see: AA cards if you're not in the US).
OWE status is not everything. My consideration is a model for how to assess it, not about the example airlines. AS and AA offer better miles rates for awards than QF, and sometimes better availability, but there are few opportunities from here other than flying and buying miles to earn them (eg zero transfer options). With the 'free' and 1AU cent each points available from QF credit cards and on-the-ground activity, my average cost of acquisition of QF miles is well under half what I can get on AA and AS (yes, I track it). That cancels out the sticker price advantage they had, even with some of QF's BA-level copays.
I came to this discussion almost ready to accept my lifetime OWS as a baseline and go all in with AS (or think about CX). I'm no longer convinced, although others will calculate differently and AS still sounds attractive. I'm also less sure whether I should look for another OW programme of look more closely elsewhere, perhaps with a status match.
@mike-c — I try to adopt a similar multi-angle approach myself! While securing oneworld Emerald status for premium lounge access has also been my primary goal, it isn't the whole picture. The acquisition cost of points, local credit card ecosystems, and redemption value play big roles in the equation.
For instance, I’ve been thrilled with AA redemptions on Qantas domestic Australia Business Class (which is basically domestic 'First' by US standards—proper 2-2 recliners on a 737). Securing those for ~20K AAdvantage miles per person each way with minimal taxes is a steal. Plus, having options like transferring Amex Membership Rewards to Qantas on occasion adds another layer of flexibility.
Ultimately, I’m pleased to 'dance' between these different programs depending on who offers the highest return on investment for a given trip or qualifying cycle. Thanks again for the great discussion—it’s been a really fun thought exercise! Safe travels, and I’m looking forward to getting back Down Under!
@1990_ I'd point out that the one benefit missing with OWE from a non-US carrier is access to extra legroom seats on AS and AA, which is something more valuable to me than F/J lounge access (having more space for my feet and the free booze is something I would use more often).
I'd feel very differently about that if JFK or LAX were my home airport (or even any AA hub with a Flagship Lounge).
Sadly there never is enough MCE. It's getting to the point where I almost feel like I need to have a rotating balance of miles to just squat on flights that I might take with the family. Because if you want 4 MCE seats for the family on one of the 737-800s for example (big portion of the fleet), there are only 12 non-exit row MCE seats, 2 of which are blocked off. So they get snapped up very quickly, and still not exactly sure what's going to happen with the blocked off seats as it relates to the new automatic seat app feature - will folks have a chance at the blocked off seats when check in opens or will they get auto-assigned first?
Much less of a problem on the airbus narrowbodies and on the regional jets. But they need to add another few rows of MCE to the 737s for sure.
@samar That's a significant benefit, I'd take lounge access (which my QF OWE gives me) ahead of MCE if forced to make the choice, and I've generally booked in F anyway. I agree about Flagship lounge locations: and having access to the Soho lounge at JFK is sweet.
I thought I remembered the MCE rules differently so checked it. For AA at least, MCE is free for 'oneworld® Sapphire℠ members with status on Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Iberia, Finnair, Qatar Airways or Japan Airlines, at the time of booking', and for those and Qantas (from 24 Jun) with OWE.
Curiously, to my considerable surprise, late last year I received complimentary MCE on a PHX-LAX award flight booked through QF (although not on a paid one earlier). Sadly, they decided not to offer any in-flight cabin service, so no free booze (another very important feature of MCE). (And also an important feature of QF domestic Y flights after lunch. But then, they charge like wounded bulls.)
@1990_ Well, they do, for cash fares at least; awards are reasonable, short domestic Y 9K, J 19K, when there's award space. I wasn't sure if that idiom worked on that side of the pond. Apparently it's unfamiliar but works. It's very evocative.
@mike-c Was grateful to enjoy some of Tasmania's Finest on-board last year. (Heard they're ending production in Launceston, but will have a brewhouse and visitors center.) It paired nicely with a meat pie on ADL-SYD.
@mike-c I didn’t realize the MCE benefit is tied to OW status (at least with some airlines) instead of the partnership between AS and AA. Certainly changes the calculus somewhat if I could get extra legroom and F/J lounge access on domestic flights in the US.
I just wonder if any of the programs have a reliable way to accumulate status via CC spend.
@samar Qantas certainly doesn't. The opposite consideration applies to me, AA (and other credit card status accrual) isn't possible for me because I'm not eligible for US credit cards (I have no credit score there). The same thing cuts off earning redeemable points/miles as well. BA may have cards that offer either status or redeemable points.
@mike-c I just asked Claude and Gemini about it, and both said that Qatar’s premium card is the only US issued card that can earn status on CC spend and it comes with OWS the first year. After that…the spending requirement to renew the status could be very expensive (and complicated so I won’t list it here).
Think I’ll stick with earning through Atmos and missing out on Flagship Lounges on my domestic trips.
@samar Yeah, they're rare. HSBC had a Star Alliance card in AU that offered Gold with one of about six airlines after a $AU4K spend in the first 90 days (and 0.8 miles per $ spend as well, a reasonable rate in AU banking conditions but probably laughable in the US) but after the first year it went to $40K to retain Gold. It didn't offer incremental status credit with spending, just all or nothing.
That's gone now, HSBC is shutting its retail banking here so they've withdrawn all their cards. I didn't take it while I could, regrettably!