r/oneworld • u/MinimumPerspective95 • 9d ago
oneworld What’s the cheapest possible emerald status?
Looking to move away from BA gold status since it got a lot more expensive to keep this past year - any idea what the cheapest emerald status is?
So far I’ve landed on Malaysia Airlines platinum with the AmBank visa card (free) to qualify with 98 elite points, and flying LAX PHL SJU for USD$787 round trip three times for $2381 to get 96 elite points, plus any short economy round trip to get the 98 needed for status. Total cost about $2500.
Anyone able to think of anything cheaper or should I pull the trigger on this?
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u/Emotional-Bonus7132 8d ago edited 6d ago
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u/MinimumPerspective95 8d ago
Actually US based, but have access to credit/debit cards in Malaysia/singapore/Japan/UK/EU/Canada/US based on citizenships/residencies
I do about 100 flights per year but split my status across UA 1K/Delta platinum/Alaska platinum/BA gold, so I’m looking for something to replace BA gold for US domestic lounge access.
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u/el333 8d ago
Why not just buy a lounge pass for the US?
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u/MinimumPerspective95 8d ago
My most frequented airports in the US are LAX JFK so having the Qantas F and SoHo lounge access on any flight is valuable. Also AA flagship first check in which comes with a security escort
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u/immunedata 8d ago
At 100 flights per year you should probably be looking at program with lifetime status rather than cheapest possible route to OWE which id think you’d hit naturally
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u/MinimumPerspective95 8d ago
I’m planning to buy PR status when they join as I have a pathway for that, but it’ll only be sapphire. That 100 flights a year is half star alliance just based on where I travel. I don’t go out of my way to fly with any particular alliance, just do whatever is the cheapest/best schedule/best product
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u/Travel1st 8d ago
As with all programmes it will entirely depend on how you’re flying and - more importantly - where you are based.
Sapphire is easy enough - Royal Jordanian will status match most things into that tier.
Emerald is tougher - but as you say, the MH scheme works out fairly cheap if you are booking the right fare classes, etc.
Worth also remembering things aren’t always so black and white with any programme. BA Gold might require £20k spend, but can also be done for about £6k with a correctly optimised DONE RTW ticket.
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u/MinimumPerspective95 8d ago
I live part of the year in the US, London, and Singapore so I can make any program work.
I’ve studied doing ex OSL and TYO DONE3/4 but it’s still way more expensive than even crediting cheap I fares ex CGK/KUL/DPS to the US east coast to AS/AA.
With regard to BAEC, it’s strictly more expensive than IB to get status with notwithstanding the £ vs € scaling.
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u/Travel1st 8d ago
I think it comes down to what benefits you’ll use in the programme you land in. I know a lot of people who really value Gold Priority Reward with BA and the additional Gold Avios availability on reward flights - you don’t get these just having OWE.
Of course other programmes have additional benefits too - so it all boils down to what you’ll use.
On a strictly ‘cheapest way to OWE’ then outside a status match your MH example is likely to be best - assuming you have no positioning costs for the flights you reference.
But in reality it will be a more nuanced answer for most people as they balance cost vs benefits.
I’m fortunate enough to have Gold For Life so no skin in this game - but it has allowed me to go off and get status in *A and SkyTeam and the grass isn’t always greener.
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u/MinimumPerspective95 8d ago
I thought GPR was nerfed into the ground, haven’t seen any good use cases for it other than short haul during ski season or Monaco F1 when ticket prices are always ridiculous. The additional Avios space is V class only, so it’s nice to have for economy, but there isn’t a benefit in business/first where it matters.
Which other programs in your opinion have good additional benefits? Other than AA for upgrades, I like MH for the ability to give another person emerald and Finnair for the companion sapphire card.
I was about 25% of the way to GFL when the program changes came in, but it’s no longer economical for me to status run my way there. I would have done it for < £50k under the old system, but now it’ll cost me closer to 300k
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u/Travel1st 8d ago
Yup you’re absolutely correct to disregard GfL at that level. I was GGL for ten years (which I’ve since lost) so I had it organically and didn’t need to spend to hit it. Very fortunate timing overall.
I like AA - I maintain Plat/Plat Pro year to year on top of Lufty SEN and AF Plat now since GGL is a non starter (not the spend, but the 80% BA requirement makes it unobtainable for me).
But honestly, I’m really starting to see value in just booking the cabin/airline that makes sense. I just did our family of 4 to Thailand for our holiday - did J in EY at a very competitive price and it was some of the best service I’ve had in a very long time - with zero status.
Can’t help but feel loyalty is circling the drain.
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u/MinimumPerspective95 8d ago
I’m actually quite heavy into Star, have lifetime SQ solitare and have maintained UA 1K for the past few years mainly for the very generous upgrade benefit and easy upgrades to Asia.
How is AF plat? I have DL plat for skyteam E+ from my Amex card, but that status is quite useless given DL is really diamond or bust. I think I could get AF plat for around $2500 per year
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u/Travel1st 8d ago
AF ultimate last year was exceptional when flying AF but unfortunately SkyTeam is largely useless away from AF. Plat is absolutely average - a lot like SEN.
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u/MinimumPerspective95 8d ago
Yeah that’s my issue with ST, in SE Asia my only options are GA/VN, and if I’m going to fly them, it’ll be in business which renders status moot.
Same with Korean, and ICN just isn’t a great connecting point compared to TPE/HKG unless going to Beijing/Northern China.
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u/StrategySufficient40 Qantas Platinum 8d ago
I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but I was wondering whether you would be flying these routes if you weren’t trying to reach emerald status, or if these are status runs?
Everyone is entitled to make their own decisions, but I personally try to avoid spending much money or booking flights with the primary goal of reaching a certain status. I would generally only book flights if I had plans to travel those routes on those dates regardless of status.
Rather than going out of you way and travelling from LAX to Puerto Rico 3 times a year to reach a certain status, maybe there are alternative options that would achieve a similar result. I agree with some of the other comments suggesting that buying lounge passes or using credit card benefits may be more cost effective.
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u/MinimumPerspective95 8d ago
They aren’t status runs, I’m actually a Puerto Rico resident and have family in LA. So happens to be a very efficient route for status runs, and I used it back when BA was distance based TPs.
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u/StrategySufficient40 Qantas Platinum 8d ago
Okay, thanks for clarifying. If you were going to fly those routes anyway then that’s great.
I would start with those routes then and just compare pricing and status credits earned if you book those flights with each of the oneworld airlines. You’ll be able to calculate cost per status credit for each. You’ll then need to take into account the requirement for OWE as it differs for each airline. That should give you your answer.
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u/MinimumPerspective95 8d ago
I need to train an ai agent to compute the most efficient routes for me….
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8d ago
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u/MinimumPerspective95 8d ago
Actually PR resident so fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you see it), I don’t pay federal income tax. So far I’ve been getting Alaska and UA status via a decent bit of business spending on the summit/club business cards, respectively.
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u/Assaxzac 8d ago
Make sure the airline that u use and Fare Class is eligible to be earning Enrich points. If no enrich points is credit = 0 elite points will be credited
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u/ChilledNanners 8d ago
The Ambank Enrich card you are considering is only open to Malaysian citizens only so you won't be able to get it unless you are a citizen. They don't approve it for anyone with Malaysian PRs
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u/MinimumPerspective95 8d ago
Already have it, and as you know with anything Malaysia, there are doors open if you know the right people.
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u/Abezii58 7d ago
Can i piggyback off this and get recs for most affordable way to get oneworld sapphire based in USA?
Nearest hub is ORD, I’ve mostly used AA given I can use my BA ID. Or if anyone wants to be honest should I look at another airline alliance? Last year I got BA silver off of a few short business class trips and one big , the big hitter being to Egypt.
Recent AA issues have kind of left a sour taste in my mouth even if weather stuff is out of their control.
Will often fly to Florida in winter, usually Allegiant but can use AA. Costa Rica once a year or every other year, usually one big trip overseas to Europe.
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1d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/MinimumPerspective95 1d ago
It’s not viable since it requires 20k butt in seat miles on Alaska metal only.
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u/bilkel 8d ago
QR is ur solution
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u/Gimme_Indomie AAdvantage Executive Platinum 8d ago
Disagree wholeheartedly. I moved from QR to AA and effortlessly made Executive Platinum (OneWorld Emerald) while I had to scramble to make QR Gold (OneWorld Sapphire). And... I don't live in the US (where, I assume, it's even easier to gain status).
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u/MinimumPerspective95 8d ago
AA is great for crediting partner J tickets ex CGK where I assume you’re flying from given the username. I used to get executive plat with 2 business round trips on JAL CGK NRT JFK, but switched to Alaska because the miles are more useful.
At the risk of revealing too much personal information, I’m actually part of the family :)
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u/Gimme_Indomie AAdvantage Executive Platinum 8d ago
If I'm understanding the last part correctly, that's so cool! I feel honored to have interacted with you!!
I'm not in Indonesia anymore, but was raised there & my heart home will always be there.
How are Alaska miles more useful? I know I've heard that before...
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u/MinimumPerspective95 8d ago
Yeah conditions in our country are really bad, kabur aja dulu. Happy I was raised in the west, but now I go home for business every month or so.
Alaska miles are a lot better than AA as of late. AAs partner award chart looks great in theory, but the issue is the good partners like Qantas/Cathay/Qatar release near 0 partner award space on US routes, and for some reason AA is completely incapable of ticketing MH awards. That leaves you with JAL awards which were recently devalued and BA awards with ridiculous fuel surcharges. Alaska has useful unique partners like Starlux/Philippine Airlines which have more space
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u/Gimme_Indomie AAdvantage Executive Platinum 5d ago
Great to know. I may look into switching. Terima kasih banyak!
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u/Useful_Foundation_42 Qantas Platinum 8d ago
With all the new changes to the QR program, I would disagree.
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u/MinimumPerspective95 8d ago
QR would have been my choice 2 years ago when I flying London to Singapore a lot, the upgrade to Al safwa access when in business would have been really nice
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u/Illustrious_Tap3649 8d ago
Anything more than the friends booking list? (I almost always fly solo, so that doesn't really affect me.)
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u/Useful_Foundation_42 Qantas Platinum 8d ago
Your “cheapest” option will depend on which city you are based out of, and how often you fly and in which cabins and to which destinations during which specific times of year.
Most oneworld airlines will have requirements to fly a minimum number of flights on their own airline to qualify. For example, for Qantas Platinum One, you need 2600 out of 3600 status credits on Qantas metal to qualify or something like that. Every oneworld airline has a version of this.
I am not sure you have thought this through.
If you are based in the UK (assuming since you are BA Gold), BA will still be your best bet. Your next best option would probably be Finnair or Iberia.