With oneworld airlines (BA and AA, amongst many others) mileage doesn&#x27;t affect status, it works on a different point system (tier points) that doesn&#x27;t depend in cost, but largely can be gamed by breaking up a direct flight into a few stops in different &quot;zones&quot;.<p>For instance, I flew LHR-CDG-DOH-KUL-PEN last year, business class, for less money that I would have spent in a more direct flight, but I got a lot of tier points for it.<p>Then I realised I was addicted to my BA gold status, and that I wasn&#x27;t getting that many perks anyway. This year I&#x27;m opening myself up to other airlines.