Best Skyteam program - or status matches?

[suey]

Hello I am currently a qantas gold and virgin platinum, plus turkish airlines gold member. (Virgin and turkish status matchedx thanks to qantas WP that I had last year). I will most likely keep qantas, but lose virgin and turkish later this year, as I don't use them enough to keep them.

Currently I am doing a lot of domestic in China and going between China and Vietnam and Skyteam airlines seem to be the most common ones - most airlines aren't covered under OW or Star Alliance (except Shenzhen airways, which I use when I can).

So I was thinking it might be a good idea to get a Skyteam membership, in case I do end up doing over 20 flights in a year, which is likely due to the number of domestic segments, so I think I would end up with the equivalent of Silver status.

I am not hoping to get too much out of it - lounge access would be nice, but not essential as Asian lounges tend to be a bit on the average side anyway, mainly I would like to get better seats - front row etc, as its no fun getting stuck with a middle seat in cramped Y, I am too used to my usual exit row and bulkhead seats I'm not too fussed on the points, as I doubt I will get many, but they do add up over time. I wouldn't be choosing skyteam airlines over my normal FF partners, more that if it is the only choice, I might as well earn something.

So what would be the best skyteam airline to sign up with? Or do any skyteam airlines do a status match?

Thanks!

 

[Supersonic Swinger]

It partially depends on what type of tickets you are flying on. Most of the Chinese carriers discount economy fares don't earn much or at all in most other Skyteam programs. If you're going to be losing your VA Platinum, you could look at Delta Skymiles, because you'll be able to earn miles and status from Virgin Australia as well as Skyteam airlines.

Air France KLM's Flying Blue ran a status match program a little while ago but I don't think that offer is still open.

 

[elbarto]

I believe Aerolineas Argentinas are doing a status match. Might be worth checking out.

 

[1k650]

Just be aware that there is a reason why Delta skymiles are called skypesos - almost impossible to redeem....

 

[suey]

Just thought I would update this with what I ended up doing, as it has worked out fairly well.

I decided to go with Vietnam Airlines Golden Lotus Plus and after just 3 1/2 SYD-CAN return flights in Y, I have earnt enough miles to get elite skyteam status. There is no lounge access for domestic - but I am usually not missing much, will try the international lounge on my next visit. Best thing is that I don't need to queue in CAN now, I can go to the priority desk (big plus) and get priority luggage so far, better seats every time I have tried etc. 3 more trips and I will be at elite plus - which gives a whole lot of better benefits - I think that is like platinum and elite is like gold?

The earn on CS flights is way better than with CS's own FF program, so I am really happy with that result. Just thought I would share in case this benefits anyone else.

Oh and the mile redemption looks like it will be a bit of a nightmare, so I will just save it up and try do something big as a one off, to avoid the admin redemption hassle. I'm not really doing it for the points though, so I'm not too worried.

 

[TheEmu]

Hi suey, thanks for the update, glad you're happy with your decision.
A couple of quick questions:
By CS I presume you mean China Southern (CZ)? CS is Continental Micronesia.
I also presume the SYD-CAN legs you mentioned were direct on China Southern rather than Vietnam Airlines (VN) via SGN?
How do you find CZ in Y, now having done a few trips with them?

 

[suey]

Yes I do mean CZ - I had airline code dyslexia... I have been going on CZ direct, rather than via VN, as the VN flight times with connections aren't great, also the only advantage of CZ is the direct flight and for me, convenient flight times - I can get in (early) and go straight to the office in China for a full day's work, so I don't have to be away as long.

However, normal Y on CZ is pretty average, those seats are crammed in and the service/food is pretty average, so would make a very uncomfortable trip if you couldn't get a bulkhead/exit row. I have done all my SYD-CAN flights in Y+, which is like a normal seat/service with slightly better legroom, but the Y+ cabin is usually pretty empty, so I have been able to get a row of 4 to myself so I can lie down (although the arm rests don't stay up, so its not great). Well worth the extra $200 upgrade at the airport if I am not already in that cabin (twice I have been just put in the Y+ cabin - possibly due to expensive last minute tickets/booking class?). If it wasn't direct + convenient times for what I need + cheap, it wouldn't be my first choice, but is handy when I need to do a quick trip there and back and I do appreciate the generous luggage allowance (2 x 23kgs).

I've done the A380 a couple of times as well and as they don't have Y+ on that service, again, unless you can get a bulkhead/exit row, its a pretty uncomfortable trip. They do seem to save the first couple of rows for staff travel, last trip I asked if I could move once I saw all pax were on board I could have had an exit row seat or the second row of 3 to myself (went for that option), as these were empty on an otherwise almost full flight. I made sure I moved before the flight took off though, otherwise someone else would have nabbed it for sure.

Also, now I have the elite status, I can use the Sydney QF business lounge before the flight, which is great!

 

[gaz0303]

I've recently found myself by necessity on Vietnam and Garuda airlines for internal south-east asian flights. I'm still using QF to get me to the major hubs. I doubt I will make status with only 6-8 short hops a year on a Skyteam. No desire to fly Skyteam partners out of Australia. Any Skyteam partners better for redemptions or getting any value from points?

I can't find any status match promos at the moment for my QF SG

 

[zainman]

I've recently found myself by necessity on Vietnam and Garuda airlines for internal south-east asian flights. I'm still using QF to get me to the major hubs. I doubt I will make status with only 6-8 short hops a year on a Skyteam. No desire to fly Skyteam partners out of Australia. Any Skyteam partners better for redemptions or getting any value from points?

I can't find any status match promos at the moment for my QF SG

Try applying for a status match with Air France/KLM. They may/may not respond...

 

[prozac]

I have family flying SYD-CGK-AMS return on Garuda (GA) next week. Which airline FF scheme should they join and credit miles to?

 

[dajop]

I have family flying SYD-CGK-AMS return on Garuda (GA) next week. Which airline FF scheme should they join and credit miles to?

From memory a lot of fare classes don't earn with anybody other than Garuda.

However, unless they're going to make it a regular thing to fly GA or Skyteam, it may be worth looking at Etihad Guest Miles, which GA are a partner of. It seems to have a variety of different partners (including of course VA) , and could be useful for accumulating miles from airlines you wouldn't normally bother with.

 

[prozac]

I just looked into the Garuda Skyteam partners and cannot see Etihad on the list. Same on Etihad, GA not listed as a partner. Maybe it changed when GA joined Skyteam.

edit: Just opened a new page on Etihad Guest and there is Garuda staring out at me. Apologies dajop, I was looking at the Equity Partners page.

Do you think points will post at 1:1?

edit 2: Just found the table for that thanks.

 

[slc767338]

It seems CI have matched in the past, as they are *S it might be prudent to approach them?

http://www.statusmatcher.com/company/21299

 

[yohy?!]

China domestic flights are good for cheap F upgrades also if you want to build status faster

 

[Kefci2000]

Look at the Alitalia status match page