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The Power of Op-Ups as a Loyalty Tool (OneWorld)

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  • The Power of Op-Ups as a Loyalty Tool (OneWorld)

    jjpb3
    Founding SQTalker
    The Power of Op-Ups as a Loyalty Tool (OneWorld) « Thread started on: Aug 10th, 2006, 01:52am »

    Yes, I know we here are not big fans of "op-ups as policy towards frequent flyers", but dammit, op-ups feel good.

    I've flown 5 WT+ segments on BA as part of my current project, and I received my second op-up on this 5th segment (LHR-ORD). It's a heart-stopper when you check in at the SSCI machines, or in the case of my first one, at the gate's BP reader.

    Now my internal debate about my OneWorld status is whether to get that status on BA (better treatment and access to more lounges when flying BA [which is my most frequent travel]; higher chance of getting to and maintaining Emerald; minimum miles and tier bonuses; credit card miles) vs. CX (higher priority for CX op-ups; more useful miles for redemptions to Asia; but a second-best option for travels between LHR and SE Asia

    paffendorf
    Founding SQTalker
    Re: The Power of Op-Ups as a Loyalty Tool (OneWorl
    « Reply #1 on: Aug 10th, 2006, 02:04am »

    mmm.... I would go for BA... the lounge access anytime is a nice perk

    CGK
    Founding SQTalker
    Re: The Power of Op-Ups as a Loyalty Tool (OneWorl
    « Reply #2 on: Aug 10th, 2006, 02:18am »
    on Aug 10th, 2006, 02:04am, paffendorf wrote: mmm.... I would go for BA... the lounge access anytime is a nice perk

    I don't know why I would rather have BA card than ones of traitors air.

    jhm
    SQTalk PPS Club
    Re: The Power of Op-Ups as a Loyalty Tool (OneWorl
    « Reply #3 on: Aug 10th, 2006, 05:27am »
    Quote: more useful miles for redemptions to Asia

    That's definitely true although BA is not totally hopeless it seems. I don't have enough BA miles to redeem to Asia at the moment but Raffles (who seems very much on the ball) on TOF posted in May:

    Quote: There a few threads if you do a search on destinations with good award availability. The Carribbean, Dubai, Mexico (we did MEX this year and loved it), Tokyo, Shanghai are usually OK. Haven't checked but I imagine India is probably better than it was now the new routes have launched.

    Hong Kong tends to open up 2-3 weeks before departure, but booking further out is always very difficult.

    There's apparently sometimes limited availability going out but coming back is okay! So perhaps use BD miles for the outgoing.

    Surely it depends how often you'll take T'Air ? Unless you do a lot of leisure travelling, it seems (for me at least) that it's a choice between SQ and CX for building status...
    Last edited by shortfinals; 1 November 2006, 05:04 PM.

  • #2
    MANFlyer
    Founding SQTalker
    Re: The Power of Op-Ups as a Loyalty Tool (OneWorld) « Reply #4 on: Aug 10th, 2006, 05:58am»

    I'm currently having a BA dilemma. Well, I'm sat on 400 tier points at the moment and have until 6 December to get the other 200.

    I've never had any status with OneWorld but as I got 40 tier points on some QF domestics, while I was in Dubai recently I decided to do a AUH-MCT turnaround in F to get me up to 400.

    I have been racking up a lot of BA miles through Tesco and a BA Amex Card - we are going to Barbados in F later this month with these and an Amex 241 - so I decided to give a year at BA Silver a try.

    Raffles is right. We looked at SIN, BKK and HKG for redemptions on BA and there was hardly anything available. But US West Coast, Caribbean etc had loads of availability. I know the Caribbean can get a bit wet at this time of year....

    I think the Amex 241, the various cards and other miles earning opportunities in the UK would make BA a better bet for you jjpb3. Plus you'll get called a traitor a bit less.

    « Last Edit: Aug 10th, 2006, 05:59am by MANFlyer »

    CGK
    Founding SQTalker

    Re: The Power of Op-Ups as a Loyalty Tool (OneWorld) « Reply #5 on: Aug 10th, 2006, 06:09am »
    on Aug 10th, 2006, 05:58am, MANFlyer wrote: I'm currently having a BA dilemma. Well, I'm sat on 400 tier points at the moment and have until 6 December to get the other 200. I think the Amex 241, the various cards and other miles earning opportunities in the UK would make BA a better bet for you jjpb3. Plus you'll get called a traitor a bit less.

    200 should not be hard right? Traitor's air while in Asia, or do those silly AA F US domestic to rack up highest point. Also the BA promo that Paffendorf posted ex Italy in CW is pretty interesting.

    SQFAN
    SQTalk Elite Gold
    Re: The Power of Op-Ups as a Loyalty Tool (OneWorld)
    « Reply #6 on: Aug 10th, 2006, 06:11am
    on Aug 10th, 2006, 05:58am, MANFlyer wrote: I'm currently having a BA dilemma. Well, I'm sat on 400 tier points at the moment and have until 6 December to get the other 200.

    Assuming you are Silver at the moment.

    « Last Edit: Aug 10th, 2006, 06:12am by SQFAN »

    jjpb3
    Founding SQTalker
    Re: The Power of Op-Ups as a Loyalty Tool (OneWorld)« Reply #7 on: Aug 10th, 2006, 06:15am »
    on Aug 10th, 2006, 05:58am, MANFlyer wrote: I think the Amex 241, the various cards and other miles earning opportunities in the UK would make BA a better bet for you jjpb3. Plus you'll get called a traitor a bit less.

    The Amex 241 went unexpired the last time I got it because I didn't have anyone to use with. I guess I didn't advertise it enough among my friends.

    I'm leaning towards BA as well; thanks to all for the advice. The chance to avoid the "traitor" moniker is an added bonus, although CGK told me once he reserves that term for a well-known SQ Talker. You really wouldn't call me a traitor, would you now, MAN Flyer?

    jhm
    SQTalk PPS Club
    Re: The Power of Op-Ups as a Loyalty Tool (OneWorld)
    « Reply #8 on: Aug 10th, 2006, 06:17am »

    MAN Flyer, if you're going to be travelling more on OW next year, I'd definitely go for the missing 200 points. One I class Club Europe return (e.g. I paid £190 for KRK) for a weekend away will get you 80 points - three weekends away between now and X'mas and you're silver/OW sapphire!
    Last edited by shortfinals; 1 November 2006, 05:10 PM.

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    • #3
      jhm
      SQTalk PPS Club
      Re: The Power of Op-Ups as a Loyalty Tool (OneWorld)
      « Reply #9 on: Aug 10th, 2006, 07:27am»
      on Aug 10th, 2006, 06:09am, CGK wrote: 200 should not be hard right? Traitor's air while in Asia, or do those silly AA F US domestic to rack up highest point.

      Just to mention that MANFlyer needs, I believe, 4 qualifying BA flights as well as 600 tier points to get silver. He's already done two so needs at least two more so can't fly exclusively AA/T'Air for the rest of this year!

      If jjpb3 is, as I think he mentioned, building up BD (rather than BA) miles and doesn't shop at Tescos, he could always move to Europe of course ... I can't remember the exact thresholds required - something like 400 for silver and 800 for gold ?

      jjpb3
      Founding SQTalker
      Re: The Power of Op-Ups as a Loyalty Tool (OneWorld)
      « Reply #10 on: Aug 10th, 2006, 07:46am »
      on Aug 10th, 2006, 07:27am, jhm wrote: If jjpb3 is, as I think he mentioned, building up BD (rather than BA) miles and doesn't shop at Tescos, he could always move to Europe of course ... I can't remember the exact thresholds required - something like 400 for silver and 800 for gold ?

      Yes those are the correct thresholds for European BAEC members. It's an option, but Amex miles are a very powerful way to build miles when most of my BA travel is on intra-Europe business trips. Given the high thresholds for BAEC redemptions (not true for MFUs, but this options is in practice useless or too hard to exercise to SIN or HKG), I hesitate to use the option of moving my address to Europe.

      jhm
      SQTalk PPS Club
      Re: The Power of Op-Ups as a Loyalty Tool (OneWorld)
      « Reply #11 on: Aug 10th, 2006, 08:15am »
      Ah, I had assumed you had the option of using your bmi credit card for business expenses (so that all of your spending, business and personal, will accrue BD miles) but presumably you have to use Amex.

      Of course, still better than people like me with no business travel or spending!

      Having recently got a bmi card and my first tranche of 20,000 miles, I'm undecided whether to use that or carry on using my Amex to build up a decent BA miles balance. Originally, I thought the latter but I've read so many reports about how BD cash+miles is, as MANFlyer puts it, the dogs thingy to wonder whether I'm doing the right thing...

      jhm
      SQTalk PPS Club
      Re: The Power of Op-Ups as a Loyalty Tool (OneWorld)
      « Reply #12 on: Sep 4th, 2006, 10:58pm »
      on Aug 10th, 2006, 01:52am, jjpb3 wrote: Now my internal debate about my OneWorld status is whether to get that status on BA [...] vs. CX [...].

      on Aug 10th, 2006, 05:58am, MANFlyer wrote: I'm currently having a BA dilemma.

      I just thought I'd add to all the soul searching in this thread.

      By December, I will have taken SQ this year a total of 21 times - 6 in Y (including 4 long hauls), 12 in J and 3 in F. My shiny new SQ status is good until the end of next September. My BA year ends next May and I should easily requalify for silver. Should I be:

      (i) a traitor by trying out CX J for the first time and praying for an op-up ?; or

      (ii) a whore by doing a BA tier point run to get gold ?; or

      (iii) both by thinking about a xONEx ?

      Answers (if any) on a postcard please!

      CGK
      Founding SQTalker
      Re: The Power of Op-Ups as a Loyalty Tool (OneWorld)« Reply #13 on: Sep 5th, 2006, 12:20am »

      xONEx should be able to cover the two points (CX J as well as BA Gold runs).

      KeithMEL1985
      Founding SQTalker
      Re: The Power of Op-Ups as a Loyalty Tool (OneWorl
      « Reply #14 on: Sep 5th, 2006, 12:34am »

      I'm going with the xONEx as well - why not have your cake AND eat it?

      p/s CX to/from YYZ is usually heavily booked.

      « Last Edit: Sep 5th, 2006, 12:35am by KeithMEL1985 »

      Comment


      • #4
        jhm
        SQTalk PPS Club
        Re: The Power of Op-Ups as a Loyalty Tool (OneWorl
        « Reply #15 on: Sep 5th, 2006, 12:51am »

        So I should be a traitor and a status whore ? I guess I need to do some reading up then ... as I understand it, there's no overall mileage restriction for xONEx which seems to mean that I could rack up a serious amount of flying.

        If I ever do a OW RTW, I guess I can get occasional SQ fixes by visiting SKLs around the world. In fact, thinking about it, I could do a LHR-AMS-LHR turnaround one weekend - some tier points/miles and I get to visit the LHR SKL (which I've never been to) and also the AMS SKL (whatever that's like).

        jjpb3
        Founding SQTalker
        Re: The Power of Op-Ups as a Loyalty Tool (OneWorl
        « Reply #16 on: Sep 5th, 2006, 01:30am »

        If you're doing a tier points run, doesn't that mean you'll be flying BA? If so, at LHR you won't be in T3 so you won't be able to visit the SKL. You'll also have to time your BA flight in AMS so that the SKL is open (when I've flown in the early and late afternoon, it was closed).

        Being a status whore isn't as easy as it sounds, ya know.

        jhm
        SQTalk PPS Club

        Re: The Power of Op-Ups as a Loyalty Tool (OneWorld)
        « Reply #17 on: Sep 5th, 2006, 01:40am »You're right! Actually, it doesn't look like it's possible to fly LHR-AMS and visit both SKLs - BA leaves from T4; both BD and KLM leave from T1; and that seems to be all the airlines which fly this route!

        « Last Edit: Sep 5th, 2006, 01:41am by jhm »

        KeithMEL1985
        Founding SQTalker
        Re: The Power of Op-Ups as a Loyalty Tool (OneWorl
        « Reply #18 on: Sep 5th, 2006, 2:50pm »
        on Sep 5th, 2006, 12:51am, jhm wrote: ...there's no overall mileage restriction for xONEx which seems to mean that I could rack up a serious amount of flying.

        There are sector limitations however. You are limited to 20 sectors in total, 3-4 sectors per continent (last time I checked this was for an xONE4 as it's a bit hard to do an xONE3 from down here!). You can buy more coupons at an additional cost per sector though.
        Last edited by shortfinals; 1 November 2006, 05:17 PM.

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        • #5
          JPB
          SQTalker
          Re: The Power of Op-Ups as a Loyalty Tool (OneWorld)
          « Reply #19 on: Sep 6th, 2006, 11:00pm »
          on Sep 5th, 2006, 01:30am, jjpb3 wrote: If you're doing a tier points run, doesn't that mean you'll be flying BA? If so, at LHR you won't be in T3 so you won't be able to visit the SKL. You'll also have to time your BA flight in AMS so that the SKL is open (when I've flown in the early and late afternoon, it was closed).

          Being a status whore isn't as easy as it sounds, ya know.

          Could fly BA to MIA which leaves from T3

          jhm
          SQTalk PPS Club
          Re: The Power of Op-Ups as a Loyalty Tool (OneWorld)
          « Reply #20 on: Sep 7th, 2006, 01:42am»
          on Sep 6th, 2006, 11:00pm, JPB wrote: Could fly BA to MIA which leaves from T3

          Not if your aim is to visit both the SKL LHR and the SKL AMS!

          paffendorf
          Founding SQTalker
          Re: The Power of Op-Ups as a Loyalty Tool (OneWorld)
          « Reply #21 on: Oct 10th, 2006, 3:52pm »
          During last weekend i got my 5th op-up on OW, flying IB between MAD and MXP.
          I was not looking for it, since i was busy at the phone. Machine started beeping and the dragon told me "sir, i have to re-seat you in biz class"...

          I have to say that IB in Y has simply NO SERVICE (they only give you a glass of water IF you ask for it), otherwise everything is for purchase.
          In Biz Class, the lunch was quite tasty.
          luke

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