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Should I apply for LH FF card?

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  • Should I apply for LH FF card?

    Hi, I need some inputs from the experts here. I plan to switch part of travel habit, that is to switch to LH for SIN - CGK.

    Should I apply for LH's program or should I credit the miles to SQ's KF? I will fly about 12 to 15 times in a year and in C.

    Finally, is there any other airlines that you would suggest that I should consider?

    Thanks in advance.
    Last edited by psan; 25 October 2007, 06:24 PM.

  • #2
    Credit your miles into Asiana club. At least the miles don't expire and it is easy to maintain the status.

    Comment


    • #3
      When you mentioned 12-15 times, do you mean 12-15 round trips or 12-15 flights? And do you do any other flying?

      It would of course also be helpful if you'd outline what you're aiming to achieve out of the FFP. Cheap awards? Upgrades? Status benefits?

      Just going by ease of award redemption, I would suggest that you check out BD.

      The earn rate on LH M+M would be the same as BD diamond club for flights booked on LH in C (200%).

      According to Great Circle Mapper, SIN-CGK works out to be 567 base miles. This translates to approximately 1134 award/status miles per flight in C.

      You will earn an extra 25% bonus award miles on LH C after achieving *S on both programs, and 25% bonus status miles for LH*S. LH*S kicks in at 35 000 miles, whilst BD*S can be had for 19 000 miles.

      So the earn rates for awards on both LH M+M and BD dc are somewhat similar.

      Now let's look at the redemption rate - here's where the differences are stark. BD awards are significantly cheaper, even more so due to Cash and Miles. BD miles do go pretty far indeed.

      So on the basis of a superior accrual/redemption ratio, I'd recommend BD dc.

      Status wise, it would be worth looking at LH M+M if you do lots of long haul flying in premium cabins and you're able to achieve LH SEN status for that comes with upgrade vouchers on LH/LX/LO/OS and certain SQ, UA and NH fare buckets. However if you're only doing SIN-CGK 12-15 times a year I'd suggest going with BD dc.

      Hope that somehow made sense to start you off in your decision-making. Good luck!
      Last edited by KeithMEL; 25 October 2007, 10:26 PM.
      All opinions shared are my own, and are not necessarily those of my employer or any other organisation of which I'm affiliated to.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by KeithMEL View Post
        According to Great Circle Mapper, SIN-CGK works out to be 567 base miles. This translates to approximately 1134 award/status miles per flight in C.
        BD gives a minimum of 600 miles for partner flights. I thought LH also offered minimum mileage?
        ‘Lean into the sharp points’

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        • #5
          Originally posted by jjpb3 View Post
          BD gives a minimum of 600 miles for partner flights. I thought LH also offered minimum mileage?
          Min 1000 miles for C.
          But I wasn't very sure about the exact formula for calculating when min miles is involved. Taking the SIN-CGK example:

          Is it 1) 567 x 2 = 1134 miles (and thus no need for min miles since 1134>1000)

          or 2) 567<1000, and thus attracts min miles of 1000 which is then x 200% = 2000 miles?

          I based my analysis on (1).

          edited to add - Just logged into my account to check. And (1) prevails.

          For example, SIN-BKK on LX C earned 1794 miles (excluding executive bonus) which is exactly base miles of 897 x 2 and doesn't attract the min miles of 1000.

          What's the formula that BD uses?
          Last edited by KeithMEL; 25 October 2007, 11:03 PM.
          All opinions shared are my own, and are not necessarily those of my employer or any other organisation of which I'm affiliated to.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by KeithMEL View Post
            Min 1000 miles for C.
            But I wasn't very sure about the exact formula for calculating when min miles is involved. Taking the SIN-CGK example:

            Is it 1) 567 x 2 = 1134 miles (and thus no need for min miles since 1134>1000)

            or 2) 567<1000, and thus attracts min miles of 1000 which is then x 200% = 2000 miles?

            I based my analysis on (1).

            edited to add - Just logged into my account to check. And (1) prevails.

            For example, SIN-BKK on LX C earned 1794 miles (excluding executive bonus) which is exactly base miles of 897 x 2 and doesn't attract the min miles of 1000.

            What's the formula that BD uses?
            awarded base miles = maximum(600, actual). So LHR-ZRH in Y is 900 miles, because LHR-ZRH is 490 miles or so.
            Last edited by jjpb3; 25 October 2007, 11:20 PM.
            ‘Lean into the sharp points’

            Comment


            • #7
              In that case, one would get 1200 miles on BD for SIN-CGK in C. (500ish base miles, rounded up to min 600, x 2 = 1200) Hope I got it right this time.
              All opinions shared are my own, and are not necessarily those of my employer or any other organisation of which I'm affiliated to.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by KeithMEL View Post
                In that case, one would get 1200 miles on BD for SIN-CGK in C. (500ish base miles, rounded up to min 600, x 2 = 1200) Hope I got it right this time.
                Not much of a difference, so your analysis was correct.

                I didn't know whether LH awarded minimum miles, and if so, whether they calculated them the way BD did. Now I know.
                ‘Lean into the sharp points’

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by jjpb3 View Post
                  I didn't know whether LH awarded minimum miles, and if so, whether they calculated them the way BD did. Now I know.
                  That only applies for intercontinental flights and flights outside Europe. For flights within Europe, the actual distance flown is completely irrelevant. A set amount of miles are awarded based on fare bucket, and whether they're cross-border or German domestic flights.

                  http://www.miles-and-more.com/online...nodeid=1596102
                  All opinions shared are my own, and are not necessarily those of my employer or any other organisation of which I'm affiliated to.

                  Comment

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