Best Airmiles Airline For Flights From London To Bkk

[stament]

Hi,

Usually I just fly with whatever airlines is the cheapest rather than collect airmiles. So over the years I've flown Eva, BA, Jet, Emirates, Thai & Etihad.

For direct I prefer Eva as I feel they're better in terms of service and price than BA & Thai.

However, now I'm not travelling alone I have to be more conscious of price and also want a good overall flight experience. I don't want a long stop-over either. Therefore I'm thinking of flying with Qatar or Etihad as I believe these both offer short stop-overs (about 2 hrs) so ok to stretch legs and get back on another flight.

Just wondered if anybody had any experience of what the best airline is in terms of collecting airmiles (as they don't all use the same amount of miles for flights). Surely it would make sense for all airlines to redeem miles based on the ACTUAL distance? Sounds simple doesn't it? But like mobile phone networks, etc they all do their own thing in order to confuse customers it seems.

The experience has to be good quality, I don't want to fly on an airline that doesn't offer on-demand films, good service, etc.

All comments appreciated

Cheers

[IADR]

Qatar offer their loyalty members 10kg extra free baggage. We have flown then a couple of times and though they were excellent. We are now using them as often as possible to rack up the miles. They give the actual distance as far as I am aware.

[lomatopo]

Note that not all fares accrue FF miles.

How many miles do you fly each year? What routes? What fare classes? (I assume economy but if you buy the least expensive ticket you may not accrue miles, so then you have to pay more to get a fare bucket which earns miles.)

If you like EVA why not stick with them?

Striking a balance between price, customer service, routing, in-flight amenities, alliances and FF program earning and redemption can be a hugely challenging endeavor. Then FF rules change often, as do earning and redemption levels, so you run the risk of picking the wrong program.

I'd say unless you fly 50,000 miles, or more, and are willing to buy mileage-accrual fares then you may be better off just taking the lowest fare. With 50,000 miles you can go for mid-tier on one airline/alliance or bottom-tier on two airlines/alliances. Even bottom-tier status can be immensely valuable with things like extra baggage allowances, preferred seating (exit row), IRROPS support and even Op Ups (free operational upgrade).

With more detail I could fashion a more specific recommendation.

[stament]

Note that not all fares accrue FF miles.

How many miles do you fly each year? What routes? What fare classes? (I assume economy but if you buy the least expensive ticket you may not accrue miles, so then you have to pay more to get a fare bucket which earns miles.)

If you like EVA why not stick with them?

Striking a balance between price, customer service, routing, in-flight amenities, alliances and FF program earning and redemption can be a hugely challenging endeavor. Then FF rules change often, as do earning and redemption levels, so you run the risk of picking the wrong program.

I'd say unless you fly 50,000 miles, or more, and are willing to buy mileage-accrual fares then you may be better off just taking the lowest fare. With 50,000 miles you can go for mid-tier on one airline/alliance or bottom-tier on two airlines/alliances. Even bottom-tier status can be immensely valuable with things like extra baggage allowances, preferred seating (exit row), IRROPS support and even Op Ups (free operational upgrade).

With more detail I could fashion a more specific recommendation.

Thanks everyone for the response so far.

To be a bit more specific. My family of 3 (including me of 2 adults and 1 child) will probably fly return once or twice a year. I do like flying direct but think for children a couple of hours break is good. Also, a little bit worried about DVT !!! ;-)

I totally agree with your statement "Striking a balance between price, customer service, routing, in-flight amenities, alliances and FF program earning and redemption can be a hugely challenging endeavor."

And as you mention I'd probably be better off just going for the cheaper/most convenient option (this has been my reasoning up to now when I alone was flying. However, now there are 3 of us flying I wondered whether we could be better off going with the same airline and earning loyalty miles.

Cheers

[lomatopo]

Since each individual has their own FF account any status is achieved individually, as are miles accrued into separate accounts. Based on that level of flying I'd say you maybe be better off choosing airlines based on price, convenience, routing, amenities.

[snorkelador]

Etihad does allow to set up family accounts.They also give quite or at least used to give valuable rewards after as little as one return flight from Thailand to Europe.

[erikr_]

Etihad does allow to set up family accounts.They also give quite or at least used to give valuable rewards after as little as one return flight from Thailand to Europe.

agree, normally 2,5 round trip eur-asia will get you a reward ticket in the same class with Etihad. which is easy

[lomatopo]

http://www.webflyer.com/programs/ratings_and_reviews/program.php?key=EY01

EY's Guest FF program does allow for pooling of accrued miles in a Family account for redemption, and, I think, 'shared' status. (Their website is not 100% clear on this very important issue; I'd look for clarification before pulling the trigger.)

LHR-BKK-LHR would accrue 13,000 miles in Economy (Coral).

Silver is achieved at 25,000 miles, along with a 25% tier bonus.

So one round-trip per year, for a family of 3, seems like it would yield:

Silver status for everyone, 56,500 accrued miles (25% tier bonus over 25,000 miles)

Not sure about redemption LHR-BKK-LHR; I suspect it is closer to 65,000 miles or more; I can't see their redemption tables but AUH-BKK R/T is 50,000 miles.

This looks like an ideal program for families. I'd suggest further research.

[lomatopo]

So one round-trip per year, for a family of 3, seems like it would yield:

Silver status for everyone, 56,500 accrued miles (25% tier bonus over 25,000 miles)

This looks like an ideal program for families. I'd suggest further research.

Gold status at 50,000 miles!

Gold members receive this highest status after earning 50,000 tier miles or 40 tier segments; once you reach Gold, you will maintain your status for the remainder of the calendar year in which you qualify, plus an additional two calendar years.

This has to be one of the best FF programs out there! Probably worth paying ~ 15% extra for a ticket?