Originally Posted by
as219
What he said.
OP, what airport is your base? What route(s) do you usually fly? Domestic vs. international? Business vs. leisure? So many variables...
I'm a 1K and EXP based in NYC (was comped the latter in the Great Match and am losing 1K this year). If I had the choice, I'd probably move everything to AA. I hate EWR, an my bread-and-butter LGA-ORD is going all RJ and expensive to boot. F is being eliminated on UA's premium transcons, resulting in a net decrease in premium seats...along with the reduction in RPUs is bad news for NYCers. AA on the other hand is much better out of either LGA or JFK, offers comp upgrades on their transcons and -- critically -- allows SWU use on the lowest fares. CS for EXP is much better than for 1Ks. *A is better than OW, but with the addition of QR, UL and MH, OW's looking a lot better.
But that's just me...
would echo much of what this (and other) posters have said. tough to say wihtout knowing your home airport and flying patterns. Was GS on UA and did a EXP match to AA. Tried to fly AA as much as i could this year but just couldn't find more direct routes than UA for my travel needs. Would say i would NOT make the switch based on an assumption of upgrades (whether they be plat or even 1k) i just don't get the sense the clearance rate is something you can count on. Just to add somethign original, IF you were going int'l somewhere served by both AA and UA, i think the UA J seats (hard product only) are amongst the best if not the best biz class options that i've ever flown (even including non-US carriers)