In light of the shock announcement by BA to decimate their BA Executive Club scheme, most people are asking which scheme they should choose instead. We will be looking at a wide range of schemes from the three major alliances in detail.
Today I will just do a very quick comparison of some of the oneworld options worth considering. Then you can do some further reading if you are keen to move your business immediately. In the coming weeks we will look at the schemes in more detail and the extra benefits for the tiers outside the oneworld standard benefits.
In this post:
How to choose a scheme
There are several things to consider before choosing a loyalty scheme.
- What routes will you travel? Most of the airlines have a minimum number of flights to complete to maintain status, so it’s no good picking Emirates if you never fly East!
- What class do you travel in? If it is mainly business class, most of the benefits will already be part of the fare. However, if you are still likely to fly from Heathrow, the First Wing is a very handy extra benefit. Seat selection can also save money but if you only fly a couple of times a year it may be worth just sucking up a few seats fees rather than being tied to an alliance.
- What miles do you already have and plan on still collecting? For example, if you collect Avios, Qatar and Finnair both also use them so could be worth considering to be able to move your Avios into those schemes.
Royal Jordanian Royal Club
How do the tiers match to oneworld:
Pros:
- If a member has accumulated at least 5,000 tier miles, you can buy the additional miles to move up to the next tier level. But you can only move up one level.
- Use miles for excess baggage
- Allows earning a frequent flyer status purely through segments, no minimum spend.
- As a new Bronze SUNBIRD member you get 1000 bonus award miles after your first flight with RJ. Join now online and earn an additional 500 bonus award miles.
Cons:
- Limited routes
- Partners cannot be booked online
Uses Avios: No
Minimum no of flights on RJ to maintain status: 0
How many tier points do you earn:
Here are a couple of examples of flights with RJ one way
- London to Amman – Business Saver (I, Z) 4500 Tier miles
- Amman to Bangkok – Business saver – 8600 Tier miles
How do you qualify for the tiers:
Status Match: Yes. The Royal Jordanian status match campaign offers at US$49 for Silver (OW Ruby) which can be matched using a hotel status or US$149 for Gold (OW Sapphire) which must be an airline, and the tier level is then valid for a period of one year. Ruby is worth considering if you fly business class and will have no status with BA as you would get your money back in seat selection fees in one flight if you fly with other people or are on long haul. You will also be able to use business class check-in.
Find out more about Royal Club here.
Qatar Airways Privilege Club
How do the tiers map to oneworld:
Qatar Airways Privilege Club has four main status levels: Burgundy, Silver, Gold and Platinum. These tiers are earned with Qpoints, which are awarded on Qatar Airways and some partner airline flights.
Pros:
- Interesting non oneworld partners:
-
- Bangkok Airways
- JetBlue
- LATAM
- MEA
- Oman Air
- RwandAir
- Virgin Australia
- Great business class product
- Avios awards readily available although often at a higher rate (Double)
- Lots of offers for members
- Amex Platinum membership rewards partner
- Gives the option to earn renewal over 24 months
Cons:
- Requires flying on Qatar or Qatar marketed flights
- Some partners cannot be booked online with Avios
Uses Avios: Yes
Minimum number of flights on Qatar to maintain status: You must also have earned 20% of your Qpoints – or flown at least four sectors within 12 months or eight sectors within 24 months – on Qatar Airways marketed or operated flights.
How many tier points do you earn:
Points one way
Example: London to Doha:
- Business Elite (C,J)80
- Business Comfort (D,I)70
- Business Classic (R)60
- Business BUSLITE (P)40
Example: Bangkok to Doha:
- Business Elite (C,J) 90
- Business Comfort (D,I) 70
- Business Classic (R) 60
- Business BUSLITE (P) 40
Example: London to Malaga with BA
- Business class 32
How do you qualify for the tiers:
You must earn these within a single 12-month period. Once you qualify for silver, you then have another 12 months to collect enough to upgrade to a higher tier.
| Tier | Qpoints required |
|---|---|
| Silver | 150 |
| Gold | 300 |
| Platinum | 600 |
Fewer Qpoints are required to renew your status. You can either earn a smaller number of Qpoints in 12 months or a higher number in 24 months — each calculated from your renewal date.
| Tier | Qpoints required (12 months from renewal date) | Qpoints required (24 months from renewal date) |
|---|---|---|
| Silver | 135 | 270 |
| Gold | 270 | 540 |
| Platinum | 540 | 1,080 |
Status Match: No
Finnair Plus
How do the tiers match to oneworld:
Pros:
- Can buy tier points with Avios
- Modern business class seats
- Good value long haul fares
- Consistent good service
- Uses a zone based redemption chart with some good value redemptions
- Has lifetime tiers
- Good for Asia, US and Northern Europe
- Extra perks between tiers such as lounge passes and upgrades
Cons:
- Flying through Helsinki is inconvenient for Southern Europe
- Expensive short haul from London to Helsinki
- Spend-based Avios earning
- Limited non oneworld partners:
- Braathens Regional Airlines
- Juneyao Airlines
- LATAM
Uses Avios: Yes
Minimum no of flights on Finnair to maintain status: 0 except for Lumo
How many tier points do you earn:
Tier points are earned in two ways:
- On Finnair starting at a rate of 6 tier points (for basic members) per euro spent on base fares, or partner airlines based on travel class, booking class, and miles flown
Here are a couple of examples of flights with Finnair based on average price from the UK (return prices)
- London to Helsinki – Business 4140
- London to Bangkok – Business Lite – 13800 Tier points
If you need some extra tier points to stay in your current Finnair Plus membership tier or if you want to move up to the next tier, you can exchange 3 Avios for 1 tier point with a minimum exchange of 500 tier points.
The maximum amount of tier points available for exchange is based on your current tier at the time of exchange.
- Basic and Silver members can exchange Avios for up to 7,500 tier points.
- Gold members can exchange Avios for up to 22,500 tier points.
- Platinum and Platinum Lumo members can exchange Avios for up to 40,000 tier points.
Exchanged tier points will be instantly added to your account. The points are valid until the end of your current tracking period.
How do you qualify for the tiers:
Earn the number of tier points below in 12 months (joining date is earning year start)
- Silver: 15,000 tier points
- Gold: 45,000 tier points
- Platinum: 80,000 tier points
- Platinum Lumo: 300,000 tier points (of which 250,000 are earned flying with Finnair)
The program also has two Finnair Plus Lifetime tiers: Lifetime Gold (which requires 2,000,000 tier points) and Lifetime Platinum (which requires 3,300,000 tier points).
Status Match: No
You can find more information here
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
How do the tiers match to oneworld:
Pros:
- Good value redemptions
- Not linked to spend – distance based tier points
- Earn upgrades
- Redemptions count for EQM (tier points)
- Extra perks between tiers
- Good range of non-oneworld partners:
- Aer Lingus
- Air Tahiti Nui
- Condor
- Hainan Airlines
- Icelandair
- Korean Air
- LATAM
- Oman Air
- Porter Airlines
- Singapore Airlines
- Starlux Airlines
Cons:
- No European routes, but expanding with Hawaiian merger.
- No US domestic lounge access with status
- Rather complex system of bonuses for tier points (EQMs)
Uses Avios: No
Minimum no of flights on Alaska to maintain status: Starts from 2, but this can include other airlines booked through Alaska. If you travel to the US a lot it would be easy to fly with Alaska on connecting flights.
How many tier points do you earn:
-
Miles earned by flying on Alaska Airlines, Oneworld and partner airlines, when you book with your Mileage Plan number. Minimum is 500 EQM.
- Bonuses earned from class of service.
Example: one-way flight from San Francisco International Airport to New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) earns 2,586 miles before any bonuses. You would get a 200-150% bonus for flying domestic first.
When you book a partner flight directly with Alaska, you’ll now earn more miles faster—100% of the miles for the distance you fly. You’ll also now earn 250% of the distance flown on all business class fares with all partners.
There is a complex list of bonuses depending on what route and what class you fly. For example, you would get 250% EQMs of the miles flown by the international business class.
How do you qualify for the tiers:
| Status tier | Required number of EQMs |
|---|---|
| MVP | 20,000 |
| MVP Gold | 40,000 |
| MVP Gold 75K | 75,000 |
| MVP Gold 100K | 100,000 |
Status Match: Yes but limited airlines.
You can find more information here
What will you do following the British Airways Executive Club changes? Let us know in the comments below.
25 comments
Hi Michele, it would be great if you could do a comparison like this for Skyteam. With KLM flying to many UK regional airports I think it would generate a lot of interest.
I’ve been exploring comparison between Flying Club and Flying Blue and I’m swaying a lot now to Flying Blue.
What about Iberia? Or are we assuming they will be going revenue based too?
We are hoping that Qatar, for example, step up and offer a Status Match.
If TLFL could reach out directly to Qatar, et.al. to see if they are willing; they are going to make an awful lot of money if they do.
I am curious indeed if QR will do any status match – this would be interesting for me when I start requalifying for OneWorld status and if I can start with QR Platinum this will ensure my status from 2026 (assuming BA does not continue with the soft landing).
Cheers!
Not sure why would QR who part own BA through IAG grab members from their partner? Doesn’t make sense for them to offer a status match with any OW partner, let alone BA
Respectfully disagree, Qatar are in it to win it and why wouldn’t you seize upon this golden opportunity rather than have customers completely disappear to Virgin, etc.
Indeed, if Richard Branson has eaten his Weetabix this morning I am certain that a very attractive status match offer should be coming from Virgin shortly; it’s a no-brainer gift from the gods of BA incompetence.
Airlines might be partners in an alliance, but they are still competitors.
Even though Qatar Airways owns a a percentage of IAG and have a joint venture with BA & IB, they still see BA & IB as competitors. Having Executive Club members join Privilege Club is a win for QR – they’ve got people they can market to, sell to and introduce them to other products & services that aren’t part of the joint ventures (where revenues are divvied up according to a route-specific formula). So more money for Qatar Airways and Qatar Airways Group companies.
You’ve missed out Malaysian Airlines, using Enrich points.. they’re a member of the one world
Have you had good luck with them? I’ve flown them twice and I never got any mileage credit to partners. I’m curious how crediting to their own program works.
yes, I’ve got my BA tier points and avios credited whenever I fly with them.. no problems there.
I would definitely consider MH Enrich since I fly to the East a lot.
The remarks for AY about Helsinki being out of the way and short haul flights to Helsinki being expensive is basically irrelevant when choosing a programme. You don’t need to fly on Finnair at all to get status with Finnair plus, you could even get it solely flying AA domestic flights and never even visit europe let alone Finland.
As I am travelling to southern hemisphere and Americas almost every month this year I was weighing up whether to switch loyalty from air Canada and star alliance to BA or remain, or indeed fine an alternative. How does Aeroplan and star alliance compare?
Curious about Alaska as I invariably use them at some point each year.
Does OW Emerald give First Wing access regardless of which loyalty programme it is earned on?
“Finnar: Limited non oneworld partners: Braathens Regional Airlines”
Braathens is no longer a Finnair partner – they’ve changed their corporate strategy and now only fly ACMI for SAS.
Some clarity is needed for Privilege Club:
“You must earn these within a single 12-month period. Once you qualify for silver, you then have another 12 months to collect enough to upgrade to a higher tier.”
Come October, what status will we have in this scenario:
* We take a return trip in May that earns us 260 Qpoints so earn Silver.
* We take return trips in October that earns us another 340 Qpoints so have earned 600 Qpoints in five months.
It’s not clear if the number of Qpoints resets to zero when you achieve the next status.
QR’s website states “Earn x Qpoints within any 12- month period” so in this scenario would we earn Platinum?
Seems like you missed out the most obvious one, American Airlines (AA). I have been Executive Platinum (EP) with them for the last ten years flying out of the U.K. Luckily I have financial base in the USA which allows me to hold both their credit cards too. I earn at least 6 to 8 System Wide Upgrades (good for upgrading on three sectors) a year. I mainly fly Qatar and Finnair flying east and AA flying west. I use BA in Europe. Using the First Wing is great as is lounge surfing in T3. Yes, they are revenue based but they treat their higher status flyers well. I got 11 automatic internal US flight upgrades last year and only flew coach once but got a bulkhead window for the flight which wasn’t that bad with 38 inches of leg room. Even got acknowledged by the cabin staff and served free drinks and snacks. Always been treated well on Qatar and Finnair and if I may say on BA too (occasionally). You can rack up loyalty points (tier points) rather fast flying on Qatar and on AA in premium economy or business. Seriously think it’s worth a look and they do status matches from time to time.
Isn’t American Airlines missing ?
Any information on how it could work switching to Aer Lingus as they offer Tier points and Avios. Flew with them recently transatlantic business class with Tier points based upon cabin/distance. They have a good European network and an expanding North America one too.
@staurt First paragraph literally says “We will be looking at a wide range of schemes from the three major alliances in detail.”
This is a great start and this will be a very helpful series!
I would like to see CX covered too (as I happen to have travel booked with them that no longer makes sense to credit to BA) – there doesn’t seem to be much info around on their programme.
I am looking carefully at Qatar; I’m already a Burgundy member to get an hour’s free wifi. (Even with a BA Gold card I always use QR whenever possible). But one note of caution: Michele’s example of 32 QPoints for LHR – AGP is 32 points return, it’s only 16 points each way. Having run a couple of checks and thinking that this might be a good way of retaining status, I then realised that I was not understanding this important point.
Hi Michelle
Many thanks – would be interested in looking at Aer Lingus? I know they are not one world but they seem to offer some kind of partnership with BA. From Northern Ireland I always flew BA via Heathrow to obtain my status with BA but now I am thinking the short travel time to Dublin may work best as I can fly direct to USA.
It is a different scheme Aer Club.
The examples given for QR state one-way, but having checked with Qatar’s website, it would appear that the examples are definitely for return journeys.
I did have a look at QR, mistakenly thinking BA Silver was QR Silver, where infact it was the Ruby equivelent. If you break it down, 300 points will be way more than 2 x Business R class return flights to Asia. The QPoint figures shown above are for return trips, not each way. The overall cost on this would far exceed the £7500 just to retain a BA Silver card. Sounds like the majority of pax will have to get hold of the Amex card at £300 a year and also “Top up” by buying SAF to stand a chance. An ingenoous way to “buy” Tier Points!