[Anonymous]

[AP_Traveller]

With Qatar Airways joining Oneworld I’m wondering whether I need to try to keep my BA Silver card to continue to enjoy lounge access.

I am currently “Burgundy” with Qatar, but with a forthcoming trip will graduate to “Silver”.

I am currently “Silver” with BA (Oneworld Sapphire), but doubt that I’ll be able to retain that status with my current travel plans.

When Qatar join Oneworld, will my Qatar Silver card become a Oneworld Sapphire equivalent or do I need to get to Qatar Gold or try and renew my BA Silver?

[HarryMonk]

I guess one thing to consider is if Qatar make a ridiculously high fuel surcharge on any redemption bookings as BA do.

[stevescoots]

I am silver BA and gold QR,

QR you pay taxes on but not so high. when I use my points for a flight LHR to HKG it was around 200 pounds.

on QR if gold you are guaranteed a reward seat on any flight, however often get stung for double points usage on 1 leg if Doha is not your final destination, if trying to book less than 3+ months in advance. you wont get that on BA,

Not sure if QR will be Avios or not, maybe BA will welcome it as another airline they can dump BAEC members on who can never get a points flight on CW.

[IanFromHKG]

It would seem logical that Qatar Silver would be oneworld sapphire, with all the benefits that come with it:

http://www.oneworld.com/ffp/oneworld-benefits/

However… Although oneworld benefits are standardised, so that when travelling on another oneworld carrier you will get these benefits, you should note that your “home” airline may give you additional benefits. So, for instance, if you compare CX Marco Polo Club Gold benefits to the standard oneworld sapphire benefits, you will see that Marco Polo Club members get quite a lot of extras when flying on CX as opposed to another oneworld airline, including extra check-in and carry-on baggage allowances, guaranteed economy seats, free extra-legroom seats, and so forth.

http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_INTL/ffp/mpo/benefits

You should also take a look at whether it is easier to achieve the requisite status with a particular carrier. I just did the maths for all the oneworld carriers, and with just 55,000 miles it is possible to get oneworld emerald status with Royal Jordanian (and to maintain it thereafter with just 50,000). Compare that to 80,000 miles to get CX Gold (oneworld sapphire) and 120,000 miles to get CX Diamond, and it is a bargain! Emerald status will get you extra free baggage on all oneworld airlines, plus first class check-in and lounge access, and more besides

At the end of the day, you need to work out which benefits are most important to you, and how you can most easily get them. For example, I am sticking with CX despite the higher qualification requirement (a) because I achieve it and (b) because of the extra benefits of having membershp with my home carrier (not least, being able to use CX lounges even when not flying oneworld, plus the ability to guest two people into the lounge rather than just one). My wife, however, is likely to switch to Royal Jordanian because although she qualified for CX Diamond this year, we know she won’t be able to renew it (she would only get Gold) so it is more sensible for her to get oneworld emerald status with RJ – that way she will get largely the same benefits as CX Gold PLUS first class lounge access

It is all horses for courses…

[first_class_please]

Ian, don’t forget the minimum ‘home airline sectors’ required.

For BA, to move through the tiers, you must have a minimum of 4 BA flights.

RJ, require a minimum of 12 sectors on RJ flight numbers.

I for one look forward to BA and QR joining, I currently have Gold status with both so just using one card will be easy.

I shall stick with BA as find the Amex 2-4-1 vouchers the best deal around.

[IanFromHKG]

Thanks for the feedback. Where is the requirement to get 12 RJ sectors? I couldn’t find it…

[first_class_please]

Ian :- http://www.rj.com/en/ffp_platinum_plus.html

[IanFromHKG]

Damn!! So much for that plan… LOL

Nonetheless, the principle I outlined – that it is sensible to review the different offerings to see which results in the best benefits according to the pax’s needs and travel profile – still stands

[Ahmad]

Looks like Qatar is joining OneWorld in October. Got an email today which says they are changing class designators and qmiles earning percentages to bring them in line with other alliance carriers. Here’s a link to the relevant page on their frequent flyer programme website.

http://www.qatarairways.com/email/pvc/13/06/30/index.html

[HongKongLady]

Yes I got that email too, although I am unsure of the point of it, they jussemtex to be changing the letters used to denote the fare, or am I missing something, I did read it on my BB.
I think I will play safe and use my BA card, as I am now only Burgundy with Qatar and Gold with BA. Having not flown with Qatar for more than a year.
Ian have you flown Roayl Jordanian ? I booked once via Bangkok but chickened out.

[IanFromHKG]

I haven’t yet. Haven’t flown any middle eastern airlines, actually – we prefer to fly point-to-point 🙂

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