I visited the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge before flying to Istanbul in business class with Turkish Airlines. Although this is not one of the best lounges I have visited, the service was very good, and there was a wide range of seating as well as good food and drink available.

Introducing the Air Canada Lounge

The Air Canada lounge embodies a fusion of modernity and comfort, providing an oasis away from the busy atmosphere elsewhere in Terminal 2. Air Canada has lounges in 16 airports across Canada, the U.S. and Europe. Other European lounges include:

Frankfurt: Terminal 1, Concourse B

Paris Charles de Gaulle: Terminal 2A, by Gate 37

Skytrax has given the Maple Leaf Lounge at Heathrow 4 stars for facilities and staff service.

How to Get to the Canada Maple Leaf Lounge 

The Air Canada Lounge is located in Zone B, after security, near gate 44. It takes 15 minutes + depending on how fast you walk, to get to the lounge from security. After passing security, go down one floor in the lift or via the escalator and follow signs to zone B. All the signs also have signs to relevant lounges too. 

Although the lounge is a long walk, I found it easier to find than the Plaza Premium Lounge I visited previously. After going on several travelators, you will reach Zone B, where you need to start following signs to the Air Canada Lounge.

Once you reach the lounge, you can enter via the stairs or lift.

Who Can Use the Air Canada Lounge at Heathrow Terminal 2?

You don’t have to be flying with Air Canada to use the Maple Leaf Lounge. I was travelling with Turkish Airlines! You can access the lounge if you meet one of these requirements:

Air Canada Business Class: You can access the lounge automatically with a business class ticket with Air Canada. Because Air Canada is part of the Star Alliance, you can also access the KrisFlyer Lounge. Lufthansa and United Lounge.

Aeroplan Elite 50K, 75K, Super Elite Members: Members of Air Canada’s Aeroplan Elite tiers have access to the lounge.  Members can also bring in their spouse, one guest and up to 5 children at no extra cost. Additional guests can enter for £25 each.

Star Alliance Gold Card: If you have Star Alliance Gold, you can access all 4 Star Alliance lounges at Heathrow Terminal 2 free of charge with one guest. If you wish to bring more guests, it’s £25 per guest.

Business Class on a Star Alliance Flight: If you’re flying in business class on any Star Alliance airline, you can access all 4 Star Alliance lounges in Terminal 2. All but the Lufthansa lounge are located in Zone B, a long walk from the shopping area and a long walk back with no travelators (on the return) if you depart from Zone A or C. I was flying with Turkish Airlines, which doesn’t have its own lounge at Terminal 2. In this case, I recommend you choose a lounge near your departure gate.

If you Have Purchased Entry: Premium Economy, Latitude, comfort, or Flex fare, customers travelling on Air Canada can purchase a one-off lounge pass.

Don’t Meet The Criteria?

If you want to enjoy the lounge experience at Terminal 2, but you’re not flying in business class or do not have Star Alliance or equivalent status, I recommend the Plaza Premium Lounge, which I enjoyed in March before flying to Bangkok.

More food and drink options are available, and the lounge is larger. I preferred this lounge to the Air Canada and United Lounge. I will be publishing a full review of the Plaza Premium Lounge soon.

Opening Times

The lounge is open from 6:30 – 17:30.

My Experience

I received a friendly welcome at the desk on arrival. There was no queue so I entered straight away! Upon entering the lounge, you’ll be at the food station. If you go round the corner, there are lots of seating options.

My first impressions were that the lounge was one of the smallest ones I have ever been in, with little variety of food.

However, the lounge was not very busy at the time of my visit, and it did have everything I would need from a lounge and was close to gate B47, where I was departing from.

Seating

From plush armchairs to ergonomic workstations, you’ll find plenty of spaces to relax, indulge, take in the views or catch up on work in the Air Canada Lounge.

This seating area had access to plugs after opening a floor-level cover. They were not the most popular areas to sit in, and it was pretty hard to work with a chair spinning slightly and a low table. However, this area would be a good choice if you travel with a companion and are not working.

These plush window seats were in groups of 4. They were the most popular seating option with in-seat sockets, a resting table, and views of aircraft parking. If you are flying with Air Canada, you should also be able to see your plane from here.

Quiet Zones

Around 4 of these quiet zones were available, and only one was occupied during my visit. I would choose the Air Canada Lounge if I ever needed to catch up on some sleep at Terminal 2! This is one of the most private rooms I have seen in an airport lounge.

Food

Plenty of sandwiches, salad, cheeses and ham were available. This is not a wide variety, but it’s perfect for a healthy snack.

According to other lounge users, the cakes and cookies were delicious! The olives were also very fresh.

There was also a live cooking station where one chef was preparing toasties and paninis to order. In addition to this, there were some choices of ready-cooked hot food, including Thai curry and rice. There was also a pasta dish available.

Drinks

There was no bar menu during my visit, but all the drinks seemed to be complimentary (unlike some in the Plaza Premium Lounge). I was told that all the drinks were displayed when requesting the menu. There were also no mocktails available.

Toilets and Showers

According to Air Canada, the lounge features a ‘spa-like shower area’, but this was locked during my visit. The toilets were a lot nicer than the toilets outside the lounges in Terminal 2, but they were not the best lounge toilets I have been in!

Other Lounge Options at Heathrow Terminal 2

There are five other lounges available at Terminal 2:

Star Alliance Lounges

• Lufthansa Business Class Lounge
• Singapore Airlines – View the full review here
• United Airlines United Club Lounge

If you are unsure which lounge to visit, read the TLFL comparison guide here.

Other Lounges

• Aer Lingus Lounge
• Plaza Premium – Review coming soon

Final Words

If I was departing from gate B, I might opt for the United Lounge another time. However, I would revisit if I needed to catch up on sleep or were flying with Air Canada. Also, if the United Lounge were too busy, I would switch to the Air Canada Lounge.

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Turkish Airlines is rapidly expanding, with a current fleet of 414 aircraft flying to more destinations than any other airline and more routes and aircraft orders confirmed.

Turkish is part of Star Alliance status and offers a status match to several airlines including BA. With Turkish Gold status, you can get lounge access, Heathrow Express upgrades, extra baggage, priority check-in and more. You can also earn and redeem points with 26 Star Alliance member airlines. You can find all the details in this article.

On the way to attend the new Turkish Airlines menu press trip, I flew in business class from Heathrow to Istanbul on a late afternoon flight (16:40-22:30). With the rapid expansion and handy status match in their loyalty scheme, I think it’s time to see what travelling in business class with Turkish Airlines is really like!

Booking and Fares

It’s easy to book a flight with Turkish Airlines on the website or app. Remember to add the number of your preferred loyalty scheme in the Star Alliance when booking! I chose to collect KrisFlyer miles on this route.

A return flight from London Heathrow to Istanbul starts from £338 in Economy Class and £1,182 in Business Class.

When flying in business class, you can take two cabin bags as long as they are 23x40x55cm or smaller and the weight of each bag does not exceed 8kg (16kg total). You can also bring a personal bag with you as long as it’s not larger than 40x30x55cm and no heavier than 4kg.

The maximum weight of one piece of baggage (not more than 158 cm in size) is 32 kg for Business Class.

Check-In and Fast-Track Security

Before checking in, you can choose your seats using the app or website. Ensure you do this early – I have the last window seat available.

You can check in using the Turkish Airlines app 24 hours before your flight departure. After adding your passport details, you can choose your seat and select special meals. I found the app relatively slow, and there were lots of errors when I tried to input my details. I ended up switching to a laptop to check in.

After a short journey to Heathrow Terminal 2 from The Radisson Heathrow, I had a short walk to the Turkish Airlines business class check-in area. Although I was travelling with just hand luggage due to trying out WizzAir later in the week, I was able to print my boarding pass.

I headed over to fast-track security. There were only two security belts open rather than the usual four, so the queue was longer and slower moving than usual. However, it was much quicker than the non-fast-track queue.

What Lounges Can You Use at Heathrow Airport When Flying with Turkish Airlines?

You can use all Star Alliance lounges when flying with Turkish Airlines. This means that at Heathrow Terminal 2, you can use:

• United Club Lounge
• Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge
• Lufthansa Business Lounge
• Air Canada lounge.

 I spent around 30 minutes in the Lufthansa lounge before heading to the Air Canada Lounge. I will be posting a full review of the Air Canada Lounge soon.

The Air Canada Lounge was very near the boarding gate. We boarded on time, and everything went smoothly.

Boarding

When we arrived at the gate, we queued straight away to be the first on the plane.

You can also board in the priority lane if you’re not travelling in business class but hold Star Alliance Gold or above.

We were directed left into the business class cabin when boarding the plane. I prefer this plane layout because you don’t get the whole flight walking through the business class cabin to board.

I had chosen seat 8K, a window seat right at the back of the business class cabin.

On-Board

The plane was organised in a 1-2-1 formation with single window seat seats and two seats together in the middle. The console position alternates on each row so some seats are closer to the window and have the console table on the aisle which gives slightly more privacy and less chance of being knocked as people pass. 

The safety video was played on the inflight entertainment systems.

After takeoff, we were offered a welcome drink. I chose a raspberry lemonade. The other options included other types of lemonade and water.

The Seat and Controls

Overall, I was impressed with the Turkish Airlines business class seating. My single window seat was very private, with all the controls needed. The head pillow came out at the sides, and the seat was comfortable. 

There was enough legroom to stretch out fully when sitting or lying down. I would have happily flown long haul in this seating arrangement.

The tray table had different size options and pulled in and out to reflect the seating position chosen.

The storage compartment was spacious, but I prefer their design in Finnair’s business class when it’s next to your seat.

The seat controls were extensive and done on a touch screen.

In-Flight Entertainment

Overall, the flight entertainment was very good. The screens were large and responded well to touch. There are lots of films and TV programs on offer, as well as options to watch live news channels.

You could watch a live camera in front and below the plane. The map feature was also included.

There was a good range of documentaries. I watched the two available episodes of  Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy.

The kid’s entertainment was very good too. I found Turkish Airlines to be very child friendly.

Compared to other airlines, it was on par with the Finnair inflight entertainment, much better than Thai Airways (where the screen hardly worked), but not as good as the entertainment on my Singapore Airlines economy flight.

Turkish Airlines Business Class Food 

Although it wasn’t announced on the flight, this was the first day of the new business class menus being rolled out. I ordered a vegetarian meal, so the food I had wasn’t on the menu. I was told it was “potatoes and cheese” when I asked. I would have liked to be given something to let me know what I was eating.

I was given the beluga lentil and lebneh salad. The Turkish Meze was roasted aubergine. Everything on the plate was delicious! The fruit and veg all tasted very fresh. The vegetation option included fruit instead of chocolate cake. Maybe it was the same as the vegan meal?

After the cold dish, I was given paneer curry with Indian potatoes. Although this dish wasn’t presented as well as the cold dish, it was just as lovely!

Drinks

Before being served our meal, the cabin crew came to ask each person what drink they would like with the meal. The cabin crew called everyone by name, which I thought was a nice touch.

I went for the Kavakledere wine, which was very nice, although it wasn’t on the list of the top wines I’ve tasted. I had a chance to try the homemade lemonade with fresh mint at the menu launch, and I highly recommend this option as a non-alcoholic alternative.

Having tried the Torres wine on the way back, I would probably go for Torres on my next Turkish Airlines flight.

Arrival into Istanbul

The flight arrived on time! There was a very long way to go from landing to our allocated space. We disembarked the plane very fast. Istanbul airport is huge and feels bigger than airports like Bangkok and Singapore because it’s not split into terminals. However, if

you’re flying in business class, there is a separate passport control area, and your luggage will be unloaded as a priority.

For people transiting in Istanbul Airport, someone was there as soon as we got off the plane directing people where to go.

The Verdict

I really enjoyed my flight overall. The seating was comfortable, the food was delicious, and we had a fuss-free airport experience at Heathrow and Istanbul.

Would I fly with Turkish Airlines again? YES! I was considering Turkish Airlines on a recent trip to Thailand and would have gone for it if it had not been for the stopover during the night rather than the one during the day in Bangkok with ThaiSmile. My only comments would be the lack of a vegetarian menu card and the limited wine choices, but these would definitely not put me off rebooking. 

If you’re planning on flying with Turkish, they fly from  Heathrow to Istanbul up to seven times a day and from Gatwick up to three times a day. You can also fly from Birmingham, Edinburgh, and Manchester. 

If you plan a trip elsewhere in Turkey, you can also travel directly from the UK to Antalya and Bodrum. You can find more information and book here.

The post REVIEW: Turkish Airlines Business Class London Heathrow to Istanbul [Boeing 787-9] appeared first on Turning left for less.

Today’s article is by Callum, the newest member of the TLFL writing team. You can read all about him here. 

Lufthansa and Thai Airways lost my bags: here’s what happened next

It was bound to happen. Last week, I began my journey to the Philippines with an ex-EU flight to Bangkok. My journey was not a simple one but thinking that this summer would be okay, I decided to book a rather complex itinerary for my trip to Asia consisting of the following:

• British Airways Heathrow to Stockholm (Business Class return at £200)
• Lufthansa/Thai Stockholm to Bangkok via Frankfurt and Brussels (Around £1200 booked in February for a return in Business, with the inbound in January 2023)
• Gulf Air Bangkok to Bahrain followed by one day in Bahrain and onwards to Singapore (Business Class error fare at £250)
• Singapore Airlines from Singapore to Manila (redemption with KrisFlyer)

I always knew this was a complex itinerary, but I built in enough buffer time along with protected connections between Stockholm and Bangkok. I could have opted for a simpler routing on Lufthansa or Swiss, but decided I wanted to try out Thai Airways for the first time, thinking I have less chance of getting a cheap fare with them in future. 

Doomed from the start?

The trip was first thrown out of sync by British Airways cancelling my Stockholm positioning flight, with the option to either take the last flight of the day with BA, which presents inherent risks when you have a 6am ex-EU departure or Finnair via Helsinki. Knowing I could use the Cathay Pacific Lounge at Terminal 3 as well as the earlier departure, the latter felt like a safer bet. The first legs of my journey were a success.

I knew something was wrong when I checked in at the SAS desks the night before my flight. The airline wasn’t able to print my boarding passes due to them requiring a visa for Bangkok, however, they advised me to go to the boarding gate at Frankfurt to get it sorted the next day.

I arrive at Frankfurt with the first agent constantly telling me that I need a visa for Thailand. Another, more helpful agent was able to help. Due to my outbound being in July and inbound in January, I needed to provide the airline with either a visa for that length of stay or proof that I was leaving the country within the visa-free period. After 45 minutes of my 80-minute connection, I was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief – or so I thought.

AirTags – friend or foe?

Realising the current chaos at airports, I decided to invest in Apple AirTags for my two checked suitcases. These are both a blessing and anxiety-inducing thanks to the knowledge of knowing your bags are on the plane as well as knowing they are not… The pilot at Frankfurt came on the overhead speakers to note there would be a delay in aircraft being loaded due to issues with staff at the airport. I thought the bags were near the aircraft however, upon arrival in Brussels, it was clear they were miles away in Germany. At this point, there was little I could do to resolve the problem other than knowing the luggage wasn’t making the flight.

Brussels Airport was far worse than Frankfurt due to the chaos at the Schengen Border for both EU and non-EU passengers taking over sixty minutes. Irate passengers almost led to arguments with staff and fellow travellers – it was far from the holiday mood. I headed to the underwhelming lounge at the non-Schengen Zone to refresh and recuperate from the stressful few hours. One positive of this lounge was the excellent runway views, where you could see our Thai Airways A350 positioning to stand. Knowing this, I headed to the gate to see if the agent could check if the bags were going to be rescheduled onto another flight – after a few minutes, he advised they were loaded on the plane. That answer was best rephrased as “they were loaded onto a plane” – likely the one I had boarded in Stockholm. I boarded the flight to Bangkok, knowing my bags were going to be stuck in Europe for an unknown amount of time. 

After arriving in Bangkok and with an Airalo eSIM pre-installed for data connection, I checked the ‘Find My’ app to confirm the bags were still in Frankfurt – which they were. Breezing through immigration within 15 minutes and with a cursory glance at my Covid Pass, a far cry from the Test & Go experience in December, I searched for the Thai/Star Alliance luggage office.  Waiting in a branded envelope, a helpful member of staff had already printed off all the details to retrieve the luggage.

Having the AirTags saved me from waiting unknowingly at the baggage carousel for the luggage never to arrive and gave me a couple more hours in Bangkok during my 12-hour connection. As my ultimate destination was Manila, and despite being on separate tickets, Thai Airways agreed the bags would be delivered to my address in the Philippines – which came as a surprise. 

I went about my travels across to Bahrain with the excellent Gulf Air, along with a subsequent stop in Singapore and an awful 2am departure/5am arrival in Manila. Two days passed after my bags arrived at Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport with promises from Dnata about baggage delivery coming to nothing. Even with Manila traffic, it made more sense to take a £6 Grab taxi across the city and acquire it myself. This wasn’t without challenge and did require speaking to several airport officials and going through a bureaucratic process before gaining access, but finally, the luggage was back in my hands. 

My advice for people travelling this summer and beyond

While I fell afoul of this, if you are travelling within Europe for a long weekend or week stay, try to stick with just hand luggage. It will save you a lot of trouble. If, like me, you need checked luggage, then be practical and do not pack any valuables away in your checked luggage. While it would have been irritating if my luggage had been permanently lost, there was nothing in my that wasn’t replaceable. Do pack a couple of days’ clothes within your hand luggage so you at least can cover yourself in the event of delayed or missing baggage.

AirTags are not a must-have item, but they do provide some convenience and information to prove if your luggage isn’t where it should be. If you have an Android phone, then alternatives include Tile, but I have not tested the effectiveness of their trackers – Apple AirTags benefit from a wide variety of devices they can emit location information to track.  As members of the frequent flyer community, we all know the stresses that European airports are under currently, even if some of it is self-inflicted by management decision, but it is not the fault of the staff you are talking to. Taking a calm approach for both reporting and reacting to a lost luggage situation will make the whole scenario easier for all involved – despite the frustration.

Buy an AirTag from £27 on Amazon here.

How have you found your baggage experiences this summer? Let us know in the comments below.

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This is a review about flying in Swiss A220 business class. This is the second part of my review of my press trip with the Geneva Tourist Board. You can read about my outbound flight here. 

Check-in

I was planning to travel hand baggage only again, so wanted to check-in online. It is worth noting that if you upgrade an economy fare with Swiss the original baggage conditions of your ticket remain, you don’t then get an increased allowance which is rather odd. 

I had a lot of issues trying to check-in online for Swiss A220 business class and trying different ways to do it. I think there may have been an IT issue at the time as an hour or so later I managed to do it with no issues. 

I arrived at the airport around 1 hour 50 minutes before the flight. The standard security queue looked pretty long but not like some of the crazy queues we are seeing in the UK and Amsterdam. I had Fast Track which was definitely not very fast but the queue was not that long luckily. There was only one scanning desk and I suspect that they may have been switching staff as at one point the queue did not move at all for around 5 minutes. It probably took around 10 minutes to get through so it wasn’t bad at all. 

Swiss Business Lounge Geneva

Once you get through security you will see a sign for lounges on the mezzanine level. At this point, it doesn’t mention Swiss business lounge, but in fact, all the lounges are together on the same floor. There are several lifts up to the lounges, so if you want to look at the shops, you will find more lifts and escalators as you wander around. 

There are several Swiss lounges with the business class one being furthest away down a long corridor past the BA lounge. 

The lounge has the typical Swiss style that you see on board with the wood and dark brown finishes in a simple style. There was no view of the airfield which was sad. 

There were plenty of places to sit in the lounge with a busy dining area and then much quieter areas with comfortable seating further in. 

The food selection was pretty basic but there was a good selection of drinks.

There was mainly cold food with a couple of salads, snacks such as pretzel mix, whole fruit plus a hot dish. 

There was also a lot of bread if you needed to fill up!

The wine selection included plenty of choice of white wines including local Swiss wine and a sparkling wine. I liked that they had some Limoncello on ice!

Soft drinks were in big bottles which you don’t often see but I guess is more sustainable.

As well as the white wines, there were three red wines, three beers and a reasonably large selection of spirits. 

If you wanted to work there were quite a few power sockets by some seats or you could use the dedicated workbench.

I headed to the gate and although boarding was slightly delayed, again it was pretty orderly in terms of groups (if not other things!), with me being in group 2 this time. There was a very strange system which I have never seen before. You had to hand your passport in to one person who then handed you a piece of paper that had a stamp on it that you then handed to the person that was literally stood next to them! Surely one person could do this? They also did not make it clear that you needed this bit of paper to board so people were all over the place trying to push through the queue to get to the stamping person first once they overheard them telling people to do it. 

Then there was a rather annoying flight of steps to climb to get to the airbridge. Having watching one old man with a stick struggle up them, I do wonder why airports make things so difficult for people with mobility issues. Obviously, in a wheelchair you could get a high lift to the plane, but there did not seem to be any other alternative at the gate. 

Seats and cabin

The seats were the same on the way out on the A220-300, but this time I was in business class. The seats for business class were in a 1-2 configuration with a seat blocked on each side.  This has to be the nicest layout in European short-haul business class if you are seated on the A side as I was. I was in 5C but sat in the A seat for the window views. On the A side the blocked seat alternates between A and C and on the other side the middle seat is blocked. 

At the seat was a bottle of water and a hygienic wipe.

Again the seat was very comfortable, especially when you have the row to yourself! It felt like there was more legroom than economy even though both classes say 30-32″ seta pitch, I’d say this was definitely 32″ and it felt very spacious.

There was still no Wi-Fi or seat charging and the two small seat back nets for your belonging. 

The service

Shortly after take-off a single cabin crew member served the six rows with a drink of your choice and the meal. I tried the white wine but there was also Duval Leroy champagne available. The wine was a bit warm!

I’ve been reliably informed that the Turicum Gin from Zurich is the thing to have!

It’s a fairly short flight at around 90 minutes so we were served a single tray cold meal with no choice. I was also offered a lovely crusty bread roll (best airline roll for a while). I’d say BA are definitely better in terms of short haul catering giving you more choice and hot selections. I thought the food was tasty and high quality but it could be quite divisive. The salad contained tapenade and capers which can be very hit and miss in terms of people liking them. I enjoyed it, and one of the cheeses that looked shaved was particularly tasty. 

The dessert was also very tasty, almost a bit like a trifle without jelly or cheesecake with fruit at the bottom and it was nicely presented. 

Afterwards, they came round with tea and coffee which was served in a proper cup with cream for your coffee. Full marks on this!

Finally, just before landing, we were handed the customary Swiss chocolate – I do like airlines that have a little touch like that which makes you remember them!

We arrived pretty much on time which made a very pleasant change from all the delays I have experienced recently! Once at Heathrow there was no queue for the e-gates. I liked the baggage hall layout much better than T5 at T2 as you walk straight down the middle to get out rather than walking miles to the end if you have no luggage. 

How to upgrade

Other than using miles to upgrade, there were two other options. You can bid for an upgrade where you choose how much you are willing to pay and see if it is accepted. I tried that on the outbound but I was not successful as it was full. You can also just do a straight upgrade which is what I did on the way back which cost around £70 which I don’t think was too bad. I can’t believe I am saying this, but other than Fast Track, I’m not sure if I would bother to upgrade again if I can pick a seat on the a side on an A220 as it’s a very comfortable way to fly even in economy. 

Pricing

If you fancy booking business class outright, there are some surprisingly low prices available for Swiss business class to Geneva over the summer months starting at £255 for a weekend break. You can check prices and book here. 

Conclusion

While the food and lounge was not overly exciting, in the current climate of delays and cancellations, Swiss A220 business class is performing very well. It doesn’t even feature in the top 20 European airlines for cancellations this summer. I found them efficient, reliable and the overall offering was good.  It was a pleasure to fly on with their new A220. I’d say other than airlines using a long haul aircraft for short haul, the A220 has to be my favourite European short-haul seat and I would definitely consider Swiss again. 

Like our Swiss A220 business class review? You can read more flight reviews here. 

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Today’s reader review is about Heathrow Terminal 2 Star Alliance lounge from Fernando Garcia, a London “Blue Badge” Tour Guide. He visited all the Star Alliance lounges at Terminal 2 on 26 May 2022.

If you would like to submit a reader review please email admin@turningleftforless.com.

Look out for a competition coming soon for reader reviews judged on which one is the most popular with readers based on views. All submissions from 1 June until the closing date will be considered. You will need a minimum of at least 3 relevant photos of your own to be considered. 

I would also like to point out we are still getting unpleasant comments on reader articles. I am sure it is not generally regular readers. However, there will be a zero-tolerance on rude comments or personal attacks on reader reviews. Such comments will be removed and the poster banned from commenting again. Constructive comments such as “I’d like to have heard more about x” etc are fine. 

Heathrow Terminal 2 Star Alliance lounges

T2 has 2 zones. Zone A (short haul); and Zone B (long haul). They’re at least 10 minutes apart if you walk very fast. After security you enter Zone A. Then Zone B is further away. It takes longer to walk back from B to A (which you would have to do if you lounge hop and then need to return to A for your short haul flight), as the very long electric walkways are unidirectional from A to B. 

Zone A: Lufthansa Lounge only. 3/10. Plenty of seats. Light and airy but barely any views to the runway. Very poor food and drink options (the worst of all lounges). There is no service as such. This isn’t a lounge. It’s purgatory. 

Zone B: Singapore (5/10) and Air Canada (6/10) are close together. United (8/10), a little further away.

Singapore Airlines lounge is dated, with very few food options. Cute cocktail bar. Most of the lounge is dingy. Some of the lounge has views to the runway. I’d opt for this one if United is heaving and in the unlikely event I had no desire for champagne!

Air Canada has the best view of all the lounges.

 
If you want a cute, quiet and non-champagne-serving lounge (!) with good views to the runway, this may be your lounge. Plenty of seats by the huge windows. Food is very limited. Cute drinks bar but it’s stuck in an ugly dark corner so not a place to linger. 

United: by far the best Star Alliance lounge in T2. Food options aren’t great but offers the greatest variety. A long, pretty and rather fabulous bar with excellent, attentive staff. This is the only lounge that serves champagne!! Hallelujah!

Choice of seating from armchairs to high bar stools. Decent enough views out of the very long windows.

If you’re flying short haul, you’ll need LOTS of time to get to the Zone B long-haul lounges and back again (but if you have the time to do or this, stick to United). The alternative, which is to stay in the short-haul Zone A, is Lufthansa which is pretty bloody awful.

Michele: It’s worth knowing that if you have a Platinum American Express Card you can also access the Lufthansa lounge even if flying in economy providing you are flying with a Lufthansa Group (including Austrian and Swiss) airline. If you are flying in business class you can access the Lufthansa Senator lounge. You can find Star Alliance lounges for airports here. 

There is also a Plaza Premium lounge in T2 that technically you can enter with the Platinum Amex, although in T5 they were turning away cardholders due to capacity. 

I will be visiting T2 in a couple of weeks so I will try both Lufthansa and Plaza Premium if I have time. 

Like our Which Heathrow Terminal 2 Star Alliance lounge should you visit reader review? You can read more airline lounges here. 

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Back in the 1980s and 1990s, the “frequent flyer” programme was invented. If you are a regular overseas traveller, you are undoubtedly aware of the ability to earn miles that you subsequently exchange for reward flights. Over time, these programmes became less about “frequent flying” and more about “loyalty”, as it became easier to earn miles on the ground – from credit cards, supermarkets, car rentals, etc. – than actually flying around the world.

Nonetheless, people regularly make a simple mistake. They book a flight on a given airline and sign up for that airline’s loyalty programme to earn some miles for their trip. A few years later, those miles expire unused. Instead of taking the time to understand airline alliances and partnerships, a handful of miles are wasted.  Potentially even worse, somebody might sign up for their national carrier’s programme, without understanding that there might be better options available.

With that in mind, these are the airline loyalty programmes that a British resident SHOULD be a member of.

1. British Airways Executive Club

The Google search algorithm is impressive, but I would be shocked if it brought you here without already being a member of British Airways Executive Club.

There’s no need to go into much detail. In the UK, Avios are easy to earn, even without flying. And despite certain downsides, they are the easiest to spend.  Everybody should have an account, even if they don’t fly British Airways very often.

2. Iberia Plus

Iberia Plus shares the same currency – Avios – as British Airways Executive Club. As long as you have an “activated” Iberia Plus account, you can move your Avios freely between Iberia Plus and Executive Club. Therefore, all Executive Club members want to have an active Iberia Plus account, even if they don’t quite know why yet. To activate an Iberia Plus account, you must:

• Earn at least 1 Avios with Iberia Plus (flight, car rental, hotel stay, American Express point conversion, e-store purchase, etc.)
• The account must be at least 90 days old

Why Iberia Plus?

Despite both programmes using Avios, Iberia Plus tends to charge fewer Avios and surcharge. Iberia Plus also runs very lucrative promotions, such as this recent 50%-off reward flights.

Whilst true that flying via Madrid can be a pain, you could be spending as little as 17,000 Avios for a return ticket in Business Class to New York, Chicago or Boston. Surcharges are also much lower than BA’s equivalent.

Since Avios are easy to earn in the UK – usually within British Airways Executive Club – you can make them stretch far further by using them over at Iberia Plus…

3. Aer Lingus AerClub

AerClub also uses Avios as its currency. Its website looks and feels much like the old Avios.com, which of course is exactly what it used to be, before IAG transferred many avios.com accounts over to British Airways Executive Club…

Why AerClub?

Occasionally you can pick up more Avios by booking a hotel stay or using the Aer Club e-store.

But ultimately, it is British Airways Household Account holders that NEED an Aer Club account. If you are a member of a Household Account, you CANNOT receive Avios directly from Iberia Plus.

The workaround is simple, however. You move your Avios from Iberia Plus –> Aer Club –> British Airways Executive Club. Thanks to this simple workaround, you can enjoy both the benefits of a BA Household Account as well as Iberia Plus.

4. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Finally leaving the world of Avios / IAG, the next loyalty programme you should sign up for is Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. With its re-capitalisation secured, you don’t need to worry about the airline (and Flying Club) collapsing in the very near future.

Why Flying Club?

Turning Left for Less contributor Jenna Rank recently wrote a two-part series about Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, which you can read by clicking here for Part One and here for Part Two.

In a nutshell, however:

• Virgin Atlantic gives you the second best option to get to your destination using miles (if BA doesn’t have award space available, Virgin might, and vice versa…)
• It is nearly as easy to accumulate Flying Club miles as it is to collect Avios

The Bright Side…  I have flown 18 times on Virgin Atlantic (apparently) and I have not once paid for a flight on Virgin Atlantic. Credit cards, Tesco, E-Rewards, car rentals, etc. have all helped me earn tons of Virgin miles, which I have used to enjoy Upper Class and the Heathrow Clubhouse repeatedly.

5. A Star Alliance Programme

In theory you COULD decide to only ever fly on British Airways and its Oneworld partners. But you’d often end up paying more for your flights. You’d also miss out on a number of wonderful experiences, from Lufthansa’s First Class product (complete with stand-alone terminal at Frankfurt airport) to Turkish Airlines’ catering and Istanbul lounge to Singapore Airlines and its overall brilliance…

Unfortunately it’s not so easy to decide WHICH Star Alliance programme to recommend. Much depends on whether you are keener on elite status benefits or on earning and redeeming miles.  I have covered both topics before:

• Earning and redeeming miles
• Elite status

Whether it’s Miles & Smiles or Miles & Go or Aeroplan or LifeMiles or Asiana Club or United Mileage Plus, you should be a member of at least one, if not several, as they all have something unique to offer…

6. Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

Becoming a member of Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is not only for those who wish to visit Alaska (or its home base of Seattle). In fact, you might never get around to flying on Alaska Airlines itself. But if you are open to buying miles to subsequently spend on reward flights – or even to simply credit your British Airways flights somewhere other than Executive Club – then Mileage Plan is your best choice.

Why Mileage Plan?

If you normally fly from the UK to your final destination and back home again, Mileage Plan isn’t likely to appeal to you. But if you enjoy redeeming miles creatively – travel hacking if you like – then Mileage Plan offers some interesting opportunities.

For example, you can fly from New York to Hong Kong or Tokyo in First Class – on Cathay Pacific or JAL – stopover in Hong Kong / Japan for as long as you like, then continue onwards to Delhi, Tel Aviv, Dubai, Johannesburg, etc.  for a mere 70,000 miles.  Miles that you can purchase for less than £1,000 during one of Mileage Plan’s regular sales. If you enjoy champagne, and I mean REALLY good vintage bubbles, you can easily drink £500 or more during your 14+ hours between North America and East Asia.

You can find out more about Mileage Plan by clicking here to read Jenna’s introduction.

Conclusion

Could you live your travel life 100% loyal to British Airways Executive Club? I suppose… if you’ve never experienced the London Clubhouse or a mind-blowing First Class flight (as opposed to BA’s weak effort) you might not know what you’re missing.

But it’s undoubtedly daunting to keep track on dozens of different airline loyalty programmes. So start with 6 and imagine the possibilities…

The post The 6 Airline Loyalty Programmes That You Should Definitely be a Member Of appeared first on Turning left for less.

Mr Brightside, our anonymous points and miles expert, is something of an elite status junkie. Since British Airways Executive Club makes it almost TOO easy, he occasionally turns his thoughts towards the Star Alliance.

I recently looked at the various options for earning miles when flying on Star Alliance airlines. You can click here to be taken to that post if you wish to remind yourself. That post is almost irrelevant, however, if your main focus is reaching a certain level of elite status. The very best options for earning and redeeming miles might NOT be the best options for earning elite status. This is especially true for the infrequent Star Alliance flyer who would nonetheless like to enjoy elite status.

As a quick reminder, the Star Alliance groups 26 airlines into a single alliance. The largest member airlines are Lufthansa and United. Other popular Star Alliance airlines are: Singapore Airlines, Air Canada, All Nippon Airways, Thai Airways and Turkish Airlines.

How does the Star Alliance determine elite status?

The Star Alliance doesn’t actually hand out elite status cards; each individual frequent flyer programme sets its own rules. However, the higher tier status levels of each member airlines’ frequent flyer programme are mapped against the two uniformly-recognised Star Alliance status levels  – “Star Alliance Silver” and “Star Alliance Gold”. These two status levels entitle you to enjoy select benefits and privileges, although some airlines have started to limit the benefits they provide to “somebody else’s” Star Alliance Gold status.

I would say that Star Alliance Silver is equivalent to BA’s Bronze level. Nice to have, but lacking in the benefits that make elite status truly worthwhile.

As a result, Star Alliance Gold is what you want to aim for…

What Does Star Alliance Gold Get Me?

The standard benefits for Star Alliance Gold members are:

• Airport lounge access
• Priority boarding
• Priority check-in at Business Class desks
• Fast track security
• Extra baggage allowance (not on Hand Baggage Only fares offered by Lufthansa, Austrian, SWISS, Brussels Airlines and SAS)
• Priority baggage handling

What Are My Best Options for Achieving (& Retaining) Gold Status?

Aegean Airlines Miles + Bonus

Qualification

Reaching Gold status with Miles + Bonus – equivalent to Star Alliance Gold – is a two-stage process.

First, you must reach Silver status. Silver status can be reached two different ways:

• Earn 24,000 Tier miles on ANY Star Alliance airline
• Earn 12,000 Tier miles on any Star Alliance airline AS LONG AS you have flown TWICE on Aegean or Olympic Air

You have a rolling 12-months to collect the required number of miles.

Once you have reached Silver status, a new 12-month period will immediately begin. To upgrade your status to Gold, you must:

• Earn 48,000 Tier miles on ANY Star Alliance airline
• Earn 24,000 Tier miles on any Star Alliance airline AS LONG AS you have flown FOUR times on Aegean or Olympic Air

A bit of fancy footwork is required (or two trips to/via Greece – because you must have reached Silver status before your 3rd-6th Aegean flights will count towards Gold) but 36,000 Tier miles and six flights on Aegean is pretty easy way of reaching Star Alliance Gold status

Renewal

Once you reach Gold status, your 12-month renewal period begins immediately. To retain your Gold status, you are required to complete:

• 24,000 Tier miles on ANY Star Alliance airline
• 12,000 Tier miles on any Star Alliance airline AS LONG AS you have flown FOUR times on Aegean or Olympic Air

The 30-Second Lowdown

If you enjoy visiting Greece every summer, then you will have little problem picking up the four Aegean flights that halve the mileage requirements for Gold status. Although there might be simpler ways of EARNING Gold status from a different frequent flyer programme, Aegean offers the easiest way of RETAINING it. However, elite status with Aegean lasts for one year only.

Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles

Qualification

Miles & Smiles offers two tiers of elite status that are equivalent to Star Alliance Gold – Elite Plus and Elite. In order to qualify, you must complete the following number of Status Miles within a rolling 12-month period:

• Elite Plus – 80,000 miles
• Elite – 40,000 miles

Renewal

Once you reach Elite status, your account will be upgraded for TWO years. You can also continue onwards towards Elite Plus status using the same 40,000 miles that got you Elite status.

Because of the two-year cycle, Elite members have two ways of renewing their Elite status (assuming that you are resident outside of Turkey):

• 25,000 status miles during Year 1 of their renewal cycle
• 37,500 status miles over both years of their renewal cycle

Similarly, Elite Plus members have two ways of renewing their Elite Plus status:

• 40,000 status miles during Year 1 of their renewal cycle
• 60,000 status miles over both years of their renewal cycle

Miles & Smiles also allows you to purchase up to 10,000 status miles for USD700. i.e. $70 per 1,000 status miles. In theory, this is only possible during the second year of your renewal cycle, but some accounts seem to be able to buy status miles during year one.

Why Elite Plus?

Although both Elite and Elite Plus are equivalent to Star Alliance Gold, Elite Plus comes with the following advantages:

• A soft landing to Elite status – therefore you are guaranteed at least FOUR years of Star Alliance Gold status
• Complimentary upgrade certificates (for Turkish Airlines flights only). Elite Plus members can upgrade any economy fare into Business Class twice per year.  (i.e. Manchester to Istanbul to Beijing uses one upgrade certificate, with the return trip also costing one upgrade certificate). BA Gold Guest List members often refer to the BA equivalent as GUFs, except that the Turkish upgrades book into revenue inventory instead of award inventory. I would also argue that an Economy –> Business upgrade is more valuable than BA’s one category upgrade.

The 30-Second Lowdown

If you hold Gold status with British Airways, you can request a status match. If not, the two-year status cycle means that you enjoy elite status for longer, and can re-qualify quite easily… especially if you focus your Star Alliance travel on achieving a year one renewal.

Asiana Club

Qualification

Asiana Club offers two tiers of elite status that are equivalent to Star Alliance Gold – Diamond and Diamond Plus. In order to qualify, you must earn the following number of miles within 24 months of your “base date”:

• Diamond Plus – 100,000 miles
• Diamond – 40,000 miles

Your “base date” refers to the exact date that you signed up for Asiana Club (post 2008) If you are signing up for this first time, this means that you should join Asiana Club on the day of your first flight, thereby taking full advantage of the 24-month window.

You can also qualify for elite status based on Asiana sectors flown. I would be shocked if any readers could manage 50/100 flights on Asiana Airlines without living in South Korea or nearby. But then again, a few of you have done some crazy BA Tier Point runs… so flying back and forth between Seoul and Busan or Jeju wouldn’t be out of the question!

Renewal

Once you reach Diamond status, your account will be upgraded for the rest of your two-year qualification window PLUS two more years. You can also continue onwards towards Diamond Plus status using the same 40,000 miles that got you Diamond status.

To be clear, if you sign up on 1 April 2020, your two-year qualification window will run until 31 March, 2022. As soon as you reach 40,000 status miles, your new elite status will be valid until 31 March, 2024. (the rest of your current window plus two more years)  You would only start the re-qualification process on 1 April 2022.

In order to renew your status, you must earn:

• 75,000 miles for Diamond Plus
• 30,000 miles for Diamond

The 30-Second Lowdown

It can be quite the mental hurdle to start crediting your Star Alliance flights to the frequent flyer programme offered by an airline based half way around the world, especially if you are also unsure about how easy it will be to redeem those miles for award flights. But Asiana Club is probably the easiest option for achieving and renewing Star Alliance Gold. I should also mention that Asiana Club offers lifetime status, starting at 500,000 miles – offering a longer-term incentive as well. Your interest should also be tempered by Asiana’s financial difficulties. As BMI lifetime status holders can attest, “lifetime” isn’t YOUR life time…

Egyptair Plus

Egyptair Plus is worth considering because of their Family Account. Forget everything you know about BA’s Household Account or other similar offerings. With Egyptair Plus, ALL of the miles earned by the family are directly credited to the main account holder – and these miles count for elite status!

According to the EgyptAir Plus website, the “Main Member” is restricted to adding five family members of the first degree, which is defined as:

• Spouse
• Children
• Parents
• Grandparents
• Siblings

A substantial amount of supporting documentation is required. Unfortunately there is no reason to expect that Egyptair will accept the unconventional family structures (unmarried partners, LGBT+, etc.) that are broadly accepted in the UK.

Qualification

Reaching Gold status with Egyptair Plus – equivalent to Star Alliance Gold – is a two-stage process.

First, you must reach Silver status. Silver status can be earned by flying 30,000 miles. I have been unable to find reliable information to determine whether this is 30,000 miles within a specific two-year period, or whether it refers to a balance of 30,000 miles achieved through flying. (taking into account the fact that miles expire after 3 years)

Once your account status is Silver, the process is clearer. You have 24 months (from the date of achieving Silver) to earn an additional 30,000 miles.

Renewal

Oddly enough, it is even harder to renew Gold status than it is to earn it! From the moment that your account is upgraded to Gold, you have 24 months to earn 40,000 miles.

The 30-Second Lowdown

Egyptair Plus is your best option if you are the head of a “conventional family” (as much as it pains me to write that) that takes long-haul holidays together in Business Class. One family trip could easily earn enough miles for the Main Member to reach Silver outbound, then Gold status with the return. It is worth pointing out that you must call Egyptair (or visit an airport ticket office) to redeem your miles, and nobody seems to know whether they add fuel surcharges to award tickets – so you should really be in it for the status, not the redeemable miles…

Which is the Best Option?

Nobody said it would be simple…  I haven’t mentioned the fact that each frequent flyer programme has its own way of determining how many miles are earned on a given flight. Earning 40,000 status miles with Asiana will be far more difficult if you typically fly on Economy fares that only earn 25-50% credit. Those same flights credited elsewhere might get you to Star Alliance Gold faster. And of course, you are hopefully also interested in spending those miles on award flights, which will be determined by each programme’s award chart.

As a result, there’s no single answer, but if elite status is your main focus then choose:

• Aegean Miles + Bonus if you love visiting Greece
• Egyptair Plus if you travel as a family
• Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles if you can reach Elite Plus and take advantage of those upgrade vouchers
• Asiana Club if you are tempted by an achievable lifetime target and the easiest qualify / renew hurdles

The post Which Star Alliance programmes offer the easiest route to elite status (Gold)? appeared first on Turning left for less.

If you are based in the UK and reading Turning Left for Less, you almost certainly are a member of British Airways Executive Club. You might even have earned elite status. Bronze is almost inevitable, but not particularly useful. Silver is fairly straightforward to reach, and gets you into executive lounges. Gold is rather harder, but still achievable. In particular, you’ve probably reached Gold level because British Airways is the most convenient airline, at least for Londoners. And because of that, you might be loyal to the Oneworld Alliance more generally, because of those precious BA Tier Points!

But Oneworld can’t always cover your requirements. You might need a direct flight from Frankfurt to Rome, or from Bangkok to Singapore. Or your company travel policy might insist that you take a cheaper connecting itinerary on Lufthansa or Turkish Airlines instead of the direct BA flight. In those situations, you might really want to have Gold status with a Star Alliance airline… but one that is easy enough to achieve without having to fly too regularly on Star Alliance airlines.

This is where the Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles status match might be useful…

Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles will match to what they call “Elite” status, which is equivalent to Star Alliance Gold, but isn’t their highest level of status.

Which Competing Statuses Will Miles & Smiles Match?

Miles & Smiles will not match elite status from any Star Alliance airlines. M&S will match:

• Oneworld Emerald (i.e. BA Gold)
• Skyteam Elite Plus (i.e. Flying Blue Gold or Platinum)
• Emirates, Etihad or Oman Air – Gold or better

How Do I Apply for a Status Match?

If you are not yet a member of Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles, you must obviously go ahead and sign up. Once you are a member, you then need to fill in a feedback form online. You can find the feedback form on Turkish Airlines’ homepage.

This is what the feedback form looks like (you should choose “Membership Processes”)

You are generally required to provide the following, so you might as well include them in your initial status match request:

• A scan of your competing loyalty card showing your current status
• An account summary showing some recent activity

Miles & Smiles may respond via e-mail with a request for additional information. Do NOT reply to the email. Instead, come back to the feedback form and select “Previous Feedback”.

If all is in order, Miles & Smiles should send you an email informing you of your successful application, along with the terms of the status match and what you must do to extend your status.

How Do I Keep my New “Elite” Status?

The status match process requires completing a series of hurdles, which are…

Stage 1 – A 4-Month Trial

You will have four months to try out Elite status. (instead of the standard 2-years)  No strings attached.

Stage 2 – Fly Once on Turkish Airlines Within those 4 Months

To extend your Elite status beyond that 4-month introductory period, you must fly at least once on Turkish Airlines. A reward flight will not count. It must be a paid flight credited to your Miles & Smiles account. Codeshares won’t work either. It must be a paid flight on Turkish Airlines itself in any cabin / fare class that earns miles.

Once you take your flight on Turkish Airlines, your status will be extended for an additional eight months. In other words, you will have a year of Elite status from the date that your status match application was approved.

Stage 3 – Earn 15,000 Status Miles on Turkish Airlines Within Those 12 Months

To extend your Elite status beyond those initial twelve months, you need to accumulate 15,000 status miles on Turkish Airlines. (again, I wouldn’t trust codeshares and Star Alliance partners are not relevant)

That first flight you took in Stage 2 DOES NOT COUNT against your 15,000 status miles, so make sure that it’s a relatively short flight such as the UK / Continental Europe to Istanbul.

However, now that you are an Elite member, you would earn 160% of miles flown on the cheapest Business Class fares offered by Turkish Airlines. Unlike many other loyalty programmes, Miles & Smiles gives additional status miles to those members who already have elite status. This naturally makes it a bit easier, in general, to retain your elite status with Turkish Airlines. Anyhow, an inexpensive Business Class long-haul return should net you 15,000+ status miles on Turkish Airlines. You can sometimes find an interesting fare sale departing the UK, or start your trip in Scandinavia.

At the end of your first year, assuming that you managed at least 15,000 status miles on Turkish Airlines, your Elite status will be extended for another 12 months. (i.e. 2 years from the date of your status match)

Stage 4 – Earn 37,500 Status Miles During Your Second Year of Elite Status

Now that you have completed the requirements for the status match, your thoughts might turn to re-qualification. Here’s where it gets tricky…

Standard Elite members – IMPORTANTLY! NOT those who completed a status match – have two ways to re-qualify for status. From the exact date that one qualifies for Elite status, a two-year re-qualification cycle commences. Elite members have two options:

• Earn 25,000 status miles during the first year of their two-year cycle
• Earn 37,500 status miles during their entire two-year cycle

However, because of the strange rules that Miles & Smiles applies to the status match, every status mile you earned during Year One is irrelevant. You can still redeem those 15,000+ miles for reward flights, but they won’t help you re-qualify for Elite status.

This means that you must complete 37,500 status miles, but only during the SECOND YEAR of your Elite status.

The Entire Process Summarised… Assuming a 1 March 2020 Start Date…

1. Apply for status match. Receive “Elite” status for four months from the date that your request is approved. i.e. 1 March – 30 June 2020.
2. Fly once on Turkish Airlines within those four months to have your Elite status extended for eight more months. i.e. 1 July 2020 – 28 February 2021.
3. That first flight does NOT count. Now you must earn 15,000 status miles on Turkish Airlines ONLY within the twelve months since your request was approved. i.e. between 1 March 2020 and 28 February 2021.
4. Starting from the one-year anniversary of your successful application, you have 12 months to earn 37,500 status miles on any Star Alliance airline. (crediting to Miles & Smiles of course)  i.e. 1 March 2021 – 28 February 2022.
5. Assuming that you complete all of the above, you become a standard Elite member with two more years of Elite status. i.e. 1 March 2022 – 29 February 2024.

Should I?

The first part of the process is appealing. Turn your BA Gold into a year of Star Alliance Gold, just for taking a single paid flight on Turkish Airlines.

The second part gets tricky. You must earn 15,000 status miles on Turkish Airlines during the first year, with another 37,500 status miles (on any Star Alliance) required the year after.

Considering that you can earn Elite status on Turkish Airlines simply by earning 40,000 status miles within ANY 12-month period, the status match process actually feels more difficult in a way. After all, if you earn 40,000 status miles by paying to fly in Business Class – there is no shortage of Business Class fare sales at the moment – then your “Elite” status will have added little benefit. i.e. you’re already receiving lounge access, fast track security, Business Class check-in, etc. due to your ticket.

No matter which method you choose, earning two years of Star Alliance Gold status is an appealing and even relaxing option, certainly when compared to the annual process of renewing your British Airways status.

Tomorrow we will be looking at other options for Star Alliance status. 

The post BA Gold Member? You Might Be Interested in the Turkish Airlines Status Match appeared first on Turning left for less.

With some amazing deals around in the Swiss and Lufthansa first and business companion sale which is currently on, the big question is where do you credit your points to? Today Mr Brightside, our anonymous points and miles expert, takes a look at where to put those Star Alliance points. 

The Star Alliance groups 26 airlines into one large network. But since the demise of British Midland, there hasn’t been a UK-based member in the club. For many readers, I suspect this gap causes doubt about which loyalty programme is best for crediting any paid flights on a Star Alliance airline. However… choosing the Lufthansa Group’s Miles & More because it’s big and close-to-home is NOT the automatic answer!

26 airlines is exhausting work! I think I might have something useful to say about maybe 10 of them at most… so apologies if Shenzhen Airlines or TAP happen to be your favourites…

Wheretocredit.com

With Oneworld and British Airways Executive Club, you can book practically all publicly-available fares – regardless of the operating airline – safe in the knowledge that you will earn some amount of Avios / miles. Not so with the Star Alliance. Certain Business Class fares will earn you ZERO miles with most Star Alliance partners.

So, before you can ask the question about the BEST place to credit any given flight, you need to ask the question about HOW MANY miles you might be able to earn.

The website wheretocredit.com is a brilliant tool for this. You need to figure out the fare class – i.e. those one-letter codes that refer to the fare –> F, J, Y, P, Q, etc. – and check Wheretocredit before booking. That will save you from booking that amazing-looking Business Class fare on Ethiopian Airlines and then finding this…

And if you are thinking of booking a codeshare…  DON’T! At least if you care about earning miles…  The booking code that the marketing carrier sells you is rarely the same as the booking code that the operating carrier is using. And it’s the operating carrier who must agree to pay for the miles with your chosen Star Alliance programme, and they might have decided to book your cheap Economy fare in a code that earns you nothing!

Expiry Policies

Another negative to the Star Alliance is that some, but not all, programmes operate hard expiry policies. It doesn’t matter how active or inactive you might be… those miles could still expire exactly 3 years after being earned! Here are the expiration policies of the major Star Alliance frequent flyer programmes:

• Aegean Miles & Bonus – Miles don’t expire, but your account will be suspended if you do not credit miles from a Star Alliance flight once every 5 years.
• Air Canada Aeroplan – Your miles expire if you haven’t earned, redeemed, donated or transferred any miles in 12 consecutive months.
• ANA Mileage Club – Miles are valid until the end of the 36th month after accrual. Hard expiry – no way to extend…
• Asiana Club – Miles are valid until 31 December of the 10th year after accumulation.
• Avianca Lifemiles – Miles expire after 12 months. You can extend this by EARNING more miles but REDEEMING miles does not reset the clock.
• Lufthansa Miles & More – Miles expire 36 months after being earned (actually slightly longer, as expiry only takes place at the end of March, June, September and December). Miles do not expire if you hold and use a Miles & More co-branded credit card.
• Singapore Airlines Krisflyer – A member’s KrisFlyer miles will expire after three years at the end of the equivalent month in which they were earned. Hard expiry… no way to extend without paying for a 6-month extension.
• Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles – Miles are valid until 31 December of the 3rd year after accumulation.
• United Airlines Mileage Plus – Miles never expire.

Topping Up Your Account

If you are an infrequent Star Alliance flyer and have managed to get your head around the hard expiry policies, you might not accumulate serious amounts of miles from paid flights. Yet if you’re like me, you’ll certainly want to spend those miles on a First / Business Class reward flight, not burn a soon-to-expire 10,000 miles on a toaster or 25 euro voucher. The answer is to top up with points from a transferable currency, the two most flexible being Marriott Bonvoy points and American Express Membership Rewards (UK).

• Aegean Miles & Bonus – Marriott only.
• Air Canada Aeroplan – Marriott only, with regular hotel point conversion bonuses.
• ANA Mileage Club – Marriott only.
• Asiana Club – Marriott only.
• Avianca Lifemiles – Marriott only. However, Lifemiles is renowned for frequently selling miles at a substantial discount.
• Lufthansa Miles & More – NONE, although you can get the co-branded credit card in the UK.
• Singapore Airlines Krisflyer – Marriott and American Express.
• Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles – Marriott only.
• United Airlines Mileage Plus – Marriott only, with a 10% bonus over and above the standard Marriott –> miles conversion rate.

Spending Those Miles

Many of us simply use our Avios for short-haul routes. Between the distance-based reward pricing and the cap on taxes/surcharges, there really aren’t any better options for short-haul travel. (with the possible exception of United Mileage Plus)

So, you might think of using your miles in a Star Alliance programme to travel further afield. Far be it for me to decide what might interest you, but I can at least highlight my favourite redemptions (from Europe) in each of the programmes mentioned. (k=1000 – return prices unless otherwise noted)

• Aegean Miles & Bonus – 110k in Business to South America.  150k for First Class if you can find Lufthansa award space, although Aegean pass along airline surcharges. (recently devalued)
• Air Canada Aeroplan – 110k in Business to North America. No surcharges if you fly on United, Swiss or Turkish.
• ANA Mileage Club – 68k in Business to Middle East / Africa. Yes… even South Africa! No one-ways though.
• Asiana Club – 80k for Etihad First Class to Middle East. 100k for Lufthansa First Class to North America!
• Avianca Lifemiles – “Boomerangs” – no… that isn’t flying to Australia.    Otherwise, Lifemiles rewards generally cost more miles, but they at least don’t add surcharges.
• Lufthansa Miles & More – The monthly list of Meilenschnaeppchen discounted reward flights. Also US domestic reward flights.
• Singapore Airlines Krisflyer – Whenever I want to fly on Singapore Airlines itself in First or Business Class.  SQ doesn’t release long-haul award space to partners (in premium cabins).
• Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles – 90k in Business to Asia. 110k in Business to Oceania. Booking partner rewards is excruciating however.
• United Airlines Mileage Plus – Excursionist Perk. Three flights for the price of two with some clever structuring.

As you can see, nothing is simple with the Star Alliance. Everything I’ve written so far only really matters if you have no interest in obtaining elite status with a Star Alliance airline. If you do… then you’ll have to wait for my next post on the subject of Star Alliance.

The post Where Should You Credit Your Star Alliance Flights? appeared first on Turning left for less.

Swiss & Lufthansa First and business sale from £832

It is very rare to find a First sale from Lufthansa and this one offers some great deals if you are willing to start your trip from Scandinavia or Finland. The offers all require 2 people to fly together and must be booked by 25 June 2018. They are available for travel until 31 May 2019. The minimum stay is 6 days or a Saturday night.  There are also some excellent value business class offers which are about as good as you will get on a decent airline apart from during a Qatar sale.

Here is the table of prices from all three major starting points. Fares are also available from Helsinki, Gothenburg and Billund as well. Stockholm is the cheapest overall but I have included all of the fares as the First class ones are extremely limited on dates. It seems easiest to find them on the Swiss site directly (see below) or they are a bit cheaper if you use Momondo to search the online travel agents.

Swiss First

I have flown Swiss first class and would highly recommend it (in the good old days of the BMI Diamond Club if you remember that and the fantastic deals you could get for First). It may not be as fancy as some of the Middle East airlines, but it is a sophisticated product with great food (including caviar) and service. Some of the prices are similar to what you would pay for a normal business class ticket, so they offer good value for money.

Lufthansa First Class 

Lufthansa First is still on my bucket list but all the people I know that have flown it have been impressed. The seats aren’t as fancy as the Etihad Apartment or the Singapore Suites but they do have some great features for their First Class product. The First terminal at Frankfurt is pretty special with private bedrooms, a huge selection of fine spirits and great champagne and a Porsche chauffeur service to the aircraft. On board they also have a caviar service and Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle champagne.

Swiss Business Class

The Swiss cabins have a sophisticated feel to them with light wood with dark accents and seats. There is one flaw, in my opinion. The business class seats are not very comfortable for sleeping on the older A330 aircraft. They feel like they have a slight slope and are very low to the ground. They also had quite large gaps between the seat cushions when in bed mode. However, at these prices, you may well think it is worth it, even for the older aircraft. I found them perfectly comfortable for sitting. The new seats on the B777 are much better and a good quality product. The B777s are available on quite a few routes such as Zurich to Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong. You can see more about the Swiss B777 in this video.

Here are all the links you need for the Swiss and Lufthansa offer pages:

Denmark offers page and Finland bookings

Sweden offers page

Norway offers page

Lufthansa booking page

HT: You have been upgraded

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