I'm flying Lufthansa next year and I'm wondering where to credit my frequent flyer points to.

I'm flying Lufthansa next year and I'm wondering where to credit my frequent flyer points to.

I remember AusBT once did a article on Aegean's Miles&Bonus and how it could get me Star Alliance Gold pretty quickly. I think that's over now though, but I was just wondering if there was another program out there like it.

Do you currently have status with any airline? What class will you be flying? If, for instance, you have Qantas Gold status you could get a status match to Turkish Airlines Gold (which will give you lounge access even if you're only flying Economy) and is one of the easier Star Alliance programmes for requalifying if you'll do a bit of flying over the next couple of years.

I currently have Silver status with Virgin Australia, but near gold.

Don't think I'll be flying them anytime soon though, so that's a bit useless.

Ultimately it depends on your end game.

If you're going to be flying Lufthansa on a single trip and then don't expect to fly Star Alliance again for a while, reaching for Star Alliance Gold isn't going to be worthwhile. Crediting these flights to a FFP with a valuable points currency (and one you can top-up through hotel points transfers or points purchases) is going to give you better value; United MileagePlus or Singapore KrisFlyer are good options.

If you expect to continue flying with Star Alliance carriers, crediting to Aegean M&B (even after the changes) or Turkish M&S will allow you to earn Gold status relatively quickly so that you can reap the benefits of elite status.

Thanks for that.

I think you're right. I'll probably only fly Lufthansa once in a while but I do take a few trips with Air New Zealand ever so often.

You mentioned crediting these flights to a program with valuable points currency. I think that's what I'll do. Are there any options other than United and Singapore? Or would I be better off with Miles & More (Lufthansa's own FFP)

How many points you'll earn for your chosen FFP will depend on the fare codes of your Lufthansa flights.

You can refer to wheretocredit.com/Lufthansa for some sample rates on different FFPs.

United and Avianca Lifemiles are well known for their lucrative redemption rates. However, I tend to prefer United as they're easier to deal with (there's no language barrier for starters). Both tend to be good for redemptions between Australia and Asia.

Crediting to Singapore gives you some added flexibility if you're based in Australia. Aside from the KrisFlyer credit cards, you can also convert points to/from Velocity at a 1:1.35 ratio. It's good for redemptions particularly within Asia.

Lufthansa M&M points are not reknown for their redemption value.