All Star Alliance Mileage-Upgrade Programs Are Not Created Equal: Witness These Three to Asia

This is part ten in FCF’s mileage award comparison series, in which we grade major alliance programs by how much they charge for a free- or upgrade-award ticket from Business to First Class to/from various regions. (See box to the right for a list of recent Report Cards.)

Mileage upgrades—especially from discounted Business Class fares—are frequently the best way to get to Asia in First Class. That’s because fares on many routes are very expensive, which makes the return-on-miles worth using them.