RSSrsvp

As NYC based GM's on DL, my wife and I are being forced to switch because of DL's 1/2 MQM earning cap for discounted fares. Our frequent travel destinations are LAX, FLL/PBI, DTW, CDG and various vacation points in Europe. Our annual traveling is never enough to be top tier on any airline, but 50k miles is always obtainable.

Part of our decision making process has to include a linked credit card. The DL Platinum card was great as you received 10k elite miles if you spent $25,000 annually. To the best of my knowledge, no other card comes close to that type of perk.

So who would you, our fellow FT'ers recommend if you lived in NYC?

[This message has been edited by Rssrsvp (edited Jan 09, 2004).]

chalf

You might wish to consider AA. It depends on exactly what is important to you, but the AA forum has many loyal fans who would be glad to help compare the various provisions. Making AA Gold/Platinum is also very possible even on discounted fares.

fromYXU

There was a discussion recently on low yield travelers that you may find interesting.

Start with where you are - what are the airline candidates? Where do they fly? This will narrow it down a bit. Next, what perks are you interested in? Upgrades, bonuses, more room in coach...

Good luck.

Beckles

The US Airways Platinum card with BofA was the first to offer such a perk I believe and AMEX actually copied them. On top of that, there is usually at least one promo each year where you can earn double status miles on US just by purchasing your tickets on a Dividend Miles credit card, making it the best airline credit card for earning and maintaining elite status in my opinion.

As for the mid-tier status on US, I think it's as good or better than anyone's, especially now that they will start offering unlimited upgrades domestically, they give you two free transatlantic upgrades annually, and you can upgrade most fares. Compared to AA the big advantages is unlimited domestic upgrades, on AA you'll either be flying coach a lot or spending a lot of money on upgrades.

RSSrsvp

The downside to US is that they do not fly transcons on the JFK-LAX route which I can travel on 5-6 times a year.

magic111

I whom am also a 'mid-level elite' kept my DL Platinum card when I left flying DL enough to keep status in their program in 1998.

Of course I am a firm believer in keeping miles in a number of programs 'just in case.'

gleff

Well, you could fly a one-stop to LAX on US metal, or catch a UA flight... which earns US status miles... and your status will get you Economy-plus seating, priority checkin and boarding, and day of departure upgrades (though you'll need to buy UA upgrades).

dhammer53

Rssrsvp,

I fly 5 transcons on United to LA and SFO.
Five trips x 4950 miles per trip brings you to 24,750. If you fly JFK/LAX/ONT, that brings the R/T to 5950. That extra 5000 is what pushes me over the top to PremEx.
Lately, all my upgrades are clearing to C. The JFK based transcon crews are .

If you're FL bound, and you don't mind flying thru a USAir hub, you can credit your miles to United. Change planes in PHL or DCA to maximize those trip. Be advised that flying US metal won't qualify for the free E 500's in your mileage tab.

UA also offers credit card sign up bonus'. And if you get an extra card for the wife, a bonus there too.

The UA terminal at JFK is pretty, and not congested. Haven't see AA in 10 years so I can't compare. The RCC at JFK is somewhat spacious. And it's downright deserted in the early morning.

landspeed

My bets would be for AA or UA(US). The basics of both FF programs are pretty close for mid-tier elites- no systemwides, and you have to "pay" for upgrades for domestic.

As an NY-based AA'er, it's pretty easy for me to get where I need to go, and often without having to connect (domestically). For the destinations you mention- good, frequent 3-class service JFK-LAX (and LRTC 757s on "jetblue" routes if you need to get to the west coast cheaply), lots of non-stops to LHR (for connections to BA), non-stops to many FL airports (no PBI, IIRC, though). 2 CDG flights, probably rjs to DTW (just a guess), etc.

I'd read up on the AA and UA boards to gauge the current "vibe" of posters on each. Definitely look into the challenges on AA, and also look into the NYCfreeticket offer and the triple miles offers, as well.

As someone who's been all three tiers on AA over the past few years- I really miss the VIPOWs that EXPs get, but I think that AA treats PLTs really well, too. Plus, the oneworld benefits are great for PLT and EXP.

pinniped

Regardless of whether or not you want to stick with AA long-term, you really should hit them hard this spring and load up on the bonuses that they are giving to NY and Boston fliers.

If JFK is your home airport (as opposed to EWR) I would probably suggest AA simply because you'll spend less time connecting. As an AA Plat, you will have limited upgrades, but you will usually get the upgrades you really want. You will spend a slightly larger percentage of the time in coach (as compared to an unlimited-upgrade system) but it's a much better coach product than most carriers.

In the end it will all depend on times/routes and which of the three airports you want use.

Carolinian

I would NOT choose AA from NY if you travel on discount fares for some of your travel to Europe. While AA has not pulled a DL type move on miles on its own metal, take a good look at what they have done with partner flights. Most of their partners should more properly be called ''limited partners'' or in the case of BA a ''very lmited partner''.
From NY, you should have good partner airline availibility to Europe, but if you use AA, you will be shortchanged on your miles if you use a partner.

I am a mixed fare refugee from DL myself, and this treatment of partner flights by AA, made it a no-brainer to reject AA as a reasonable alternative.

One alternative you might consider is AF, which has a pretty good mid-tier program in some respects. For me, NW was the ticket.

landspeed

While it's true that a number of the Europen partners offer only a % of miles flown in discount coach (and, at least in the case with BA my guess is that BA drove the change,given what they did to their own program) this is partially offset, IMHO, by the fact that AA is _finally_ code-sharing with BA (not sure how many cities they've added, but it was planned to be a lot).
edit to add:
http://www.aa.com/content/travelInfo..._Partner.jhtml

As with the JL/CX codeshares- just make sure you have AA code on most/all of your trip, and you'll be fine.

Plus- since most of my connections to BA are from AA at LHR, I'm already earning 6,904 elite miles, and the extra miles from the BA flights are "gravy"- I can deal with earning 250 or 500 miles (or whatever it is) rather than 1000 for LHR-CDG or AMS, for example.

To me, the oneworld benefits on those BA flights make up for the (now) less than "full" miles earned from them.

[This message has been edited by landspeed (edited Jan 11, 2004).]

StSebastian

US gave 2 transatlantic upgrades for each of the last 3 years to all levels of status, and has 11 Europe destinations at the moment (some are seasonal only). Also, US just announced that all status levels get free unlimited domestic upgrades on US metal. The top US tier already had this, so the largest benefit is to the mid-tier, who doesn't have to be as frugal with their upgrades as before.

Having said that, it really matters what works the best for you. If those non-stop transcons are important, then you've got to go with a carrier that provides those. In that case I might look at an AA Gold or Plat challenge in conjunction with the Fly 2 Get 1 Free promotion since you already go in that direction. If that can be combined with the Q1 triple/double/5K miles promotion, that would be even better.

opus17

I think DL still has one of the best mid-tier programs. The ability to earn 1.5* or 2.0* MQMs more than cancels out the 0.5 MQM flights (unless you fly those exclusively). And DL now has free upgrades, and full earning ability on all the Skyteam partners, CO and NW.

I really like the fact that I can earn GM by flying just 2 discount business class RT's from the west coast to Europe, using AF. The discount business class fare is only slightly higher than the upgradeable fare.

RSSrsvp

The negative is still the 1/2 MQM. In addition you have to consider the major shift by DL to one class aircraft with RJ's and Song. I still like a front cabin.