Which is the best frequent flyer program in Europe?
For each of the 3 alliances, Oneworld, Skyteam and Star Alliance there’s one best frequent flyer program.
You can’t say that only one frequent flyer is the best, as you wouldn’t have the possibility to earn miles with the other alliances.
Let’s start with Oneworld…
Oneworld
Oneworld members
The list includes Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian, Royal Air Maroc, S7 Airlines, SriLankan Airlines, and Fiji Airways as a connect partner, along with some 30 affiliated airlines.
The best Frequent Flyer program for Oneworld
Now, let’s talk about the best frequent flyer program for Oneworld, which is the British Airways Executive Club.
When you fly with Oneworld members, you earn Avios (award miles) and Tier Points (status miles).
- Tier Points (status miles) can only be earned through flights and affect your frequent flyer status.
- On the other hand, Avios (award miles) can be earned while flying or from partners on the ground, but they are only redeemable for rewards like “free” flights, upgrades, or other products.
So, how can you earn a maximum in Avios? ?Here are some ways:
- Credit Cards: Get a credit card that earns you points for every €/£/$ you spend on daily expenses, which you can convert into Avios. .While there are many different credit cards available, American Express is always a good choice, and you may also get a huge points/miles bonus if you apply for a new credit card.
- Buy Extra Avios with a Discount: From time to time, there are promotions where you can buy extra Avios with a discount. .If the discount is high enough or if you need some extra Avios, this can be a good option. .Check out this page to see if there’s an ongoing promotion.
- Flights: You’ll earn Avios when you fly with Oneworld partners, and the number of Avios you earn depends on the booking class and routing. .Generally, you’ll earn more Avios in First class than in Business class and more in Business class than in Premium Economy class, and so on. .Also, you’ll earn more Avios if you aren’t flying directly to your destination. .For example, flying from London Heathrow to Los Angeles on a direct flight in Business Class (R,I) on a return flight as a new member (Blue) will earn you 16,326 Avios. .But if you choose a routing LHR-JFK-LAX, you’ll earn 17,776 Avios on the return flight.
- Daily Expenses: Use your credit card for your daily expenses and try to earn some extra Avios with each purchase. .You can visit British Airways eStore, log in to your Executive Club account, and earn Avios from tons of different retailers.
British Airways Executive Club
British Airways Executive Club has 4 different Status Levels:
- Executive Club Blue = no equivalent for basic membership
- Executive Club Bronze = Oneworld Ruby
- Executive Club Silver = Oneworld Sapphire
- Executive Club Gold = Oneworld Emerald
Benefits for Bronze:
- Priority check in and boarding.
- Free seat selection 7 days before departure.
- 25% bonus Avios.
Additional Benefits for Silver:
- Free seat selection at booking.
- Access to airport business lounges.
- Extra baggage allowance.
- 50% bonus Avios.
- Fast track at London Heathrow Airport.
Additional Benefits for Gold:
- First class check in and boarding.
- Access to First lounges.
- More Extra baggage allowance.
- Additional reward flight availability.
- 100% bonus Avios.
How to reach a Status Level
For Bronze, you need 300 tier points and 2 BA flight or 25 flights if you don’t have 300 tier points.
Silver, 600 tier points and 4 BA flights or 50 flights if you do not have 600 tier points.
Gold, 1500 tier points.
(at the moment the tier points you need to reach a status are reduced by 25%, due to the pandemic)
Tier points have to be earned during one year, the beginning for each collecting year is the date you have signed up for the Executive club.
Skyteam
Skyteam members
Aeroflot, Aerolíneas Argentinas, Aeroméxico, Air Europa, Air France, Alitalia, China Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Czech, Delta Air Lines, Garuda Indonesia, Kenya Airways, KLM, Korean Air, Middle East Airlines, Saudia, TAROM, Vietnam Airlines, XiamenAir
The best Frequent Flyer program for Skyteam.
The best frequent flyer program within the Skyteam alliance is FlyingBlue
For flights with Skyteam members, you will earn Award miles, and you will earn XP’s, these are the Status miles.
Status miles (XP):
- Can only be earned through flights
- Affect frequent flyer status
Award miles:
- Can be collected while flying or from partners on the ground
- Only redeemable for rewards: “free” flights, upgrades or other products
How to earn a maximum in Miles?
Credit Card
To start, get a credit card. .Every €/£/$ you spent for your daily expenses will give you points that you can convert into Miles.
There are a lot of different credit cards available, we can’t tell you which card is the best for each country, but we can tell you that the American Express card is always a good choice.
It is for sure the best credit card if you live in Belgium, Luxembourg or France. .Very often you will get a huge points/miles bonus if you apply a new credit card.
Flights
That’s quite obvious, you will earn Miles and XP’s when you fly with Skyteam partners.
The number of Miles and XP’s vary depending on the price and the routing and booking class.
To make it very simple, you will earn more miles the higher the ticket price.
You will earn more XP’s the higher the booking class and for a longer routing.
To obtain Gold status you will need 180XP within 1 year. .Below in the table, you can see how many XP’s you will earn for the different distances and classes.
Daily Expenses
Not only you should use your credit card for your daily expenses, but you should for each purchase try to earn some extra Miles.
Visit the Flyingblue E-shop, and login to your account.
Air France/KLM Flyingblue
Flyingblue has 4 different Status Levels:
- Flying Blue Explorer = no equivalent for basic membership
- Flying Blue Silver = SkyTeam Elite
- Flying Blue Gold = SkyTeam Elite Plus
- Flying Blue Platinum = SkyTeam Elite Plus
Benefits for Silver:
- Extra baggage allowance
- Priority check-in
- Priority baggage drop-off
- Priority boarding (after SkyPriority and before Economy)
- Free Standard seat selection
- Earn 6 Miles per € spent
Additional Benefits for Gold:
- Priority boarding
- Airport lounge access
- Priority at immigration and security
- Priority service at ticket offices and transfer desks
- Priority baggage delivery
- Earn 7 Miles per € spent
Additional Benefits for Platinum:
- Free extra legroom seat selection
- Free front section seat selection
- Free seat extra legroom seat selection
- Earn 8 Miles per € spent
How to reach a Status Level
For Silver, you need 100XP, for Gold 180XP and for Platinum 300XP within one year.
Star Alliance
Star Alliance
Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Avianca, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, THAI, TAP Air Portugal, Turkish Airlines, and United.
The best Frequent Flyer program for Star Alliance.
The best frequent flyer program within the Star Alliance program is Miles-and-More
Point Sharing with your family is now possible, so you can collect miles together with your family or even with friends.
Miles-and-More has one big advantage, you can convert your Payback points to Miles-and-More miles.
How to earn a maximum in Miles?
Credit Card
To start, get a credit card. .Every €/£/$ you spent for your daily expenses will give you points that you can convert into Miles.
There are a lot of different credit cards available, we can’t tell you which card is the best for each country, but we can tell you that the American Express card is always a good choice.
Very often, you will get a huge points/miles bonus if you apply a new credit card. .With the American Express card you can convert your points to Miles-and-More.
Flights
That’s quite obvious, you will earn Miles as well when you fly with Star Alliance partners.
The number of Miles varies depending on the booking class and the price you pay.
Magazine Subscriptions
Well yes, with Miles-and-More you can even collect some miles with magazine subscriptions, and it is pretty easy.
Daily Expenses
Not only you should use your credit card for your daily expenses, but you should for each purchase try to earn some extra Miles.
Miles-and-More:
This can be done for Miles-and-More members if you visit the Miles-and-More shopping portal, login to your account and start earning miles while shopping. .And don’t forget that you can collect Miles and More as well with your Payback card.
Miles-and-More
- Miles-and-More Frequent Traveller = Star Alliance Silver
- Miles-and-More Senator = Star Alliance Gold
- Miles-and-More HON Circle = Star Alliance Gold
Benefits for Silver:
- Priority waitlist and priority airport standby.
Benefits for Gold:
- Priority airport check-in.
- Extra baggage allowance
- Star Alliance Gold Track access
- Airport lounge access
- Priority boarding
- Priority baggage handling
- Priority reservations waitlist
- Priority airport standby
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