Where should I credit my flights if spending 12 months in Europe?

Frequent Flyer Programs
1

I am flying Qatar to Europe (business class) and then will be taking a further 10 flights between countries in Europe (also business class) over the next 12 months before returning to Aus. Airlines booked for internal flights include KLM, Lufthansa, Finnair and British Airways.

Currently I have points with Qantas and ~80 status credits. I will be doing a lot of travel over the next 12 months incl 1 or 2 more trips between Aus/Europe.

Looking for advice on whether I should use my Qantas account to earn points/status from all these flights or whether I should instead consider opening an Avios account (or even Qatar points account for the main flight).

I will be in Europe for 12 months and will take some personal flights so helpful to have points available to use on these flights and then also potentially for a trip back to Aus.

I also have some status credits with Virgin (not a material amount) so ideally would just use the one program to benefit from the next 12 months of travel.

Appreciate the help!

2

I think you’ll have to credit to a couple programs here because of the diaspora of airlines. I would do some back of the napkin math and see if it is possible to earn status on either Qantas or Virgin or British Airways with your travels. The only hurdle with choosing a program is there is a qualifying segment requirement for the programs. I.e. you need to fly at least a few flights with BA for BA status, VA for virgin status or QF for Qantas status, etc. This may or may not be a deal breaker for you! If in Europe, VA is the weakest, while QF and BA is relatively similar in terms of reach as they are both in oneworld.