lipoff

I fly about 50,000-60,000 miles annually, of which I can usually allocate 40,000 miles to Star Alliance, because sometimes when Delta or American have much lower fares I need to travel on them. Much of my travel is several trips a year from BOS to PEK.

Realizing that I would be unlikely to get Premier Gold this year, only Premier Silver, I went for *G on A3 instead. I received *G via A3 this year , and now want to continue to earn miles on MileagePlus, into which I already have 60,000+ active miles, and avoid earning only 50% of the miles flown when I'm in a discounted fare class.

My first trip on UA as a *G was a one-way SEA-BOS (via ORD). I booked the itin with my A3 number to receive the *G luggage allowance, the domestic lounge access, and priority boarding. At the gate, I asked the GA to change to my MP number; she did not issue a new boarding pass but pointedly (and I thought rudely) indicated that I would loose priority boarding. When I arrived in ORD I wanted to use the United Club. The dragon at the club would not let me in until she changed the boarding pass to my A3 number. When I got to the gate after a delicious sandwich at Tortas Frontera they were starting pre-boarding so instead of having the GA change my FF number back to MP, I logged onto UnitedAirlines.com on my phone while in line and used the confirmation number in my e-ticket email to add the itin to MileagePlus. Both segments successfully credited to MileagePlus within one business day.

I'm not 100% sure if the club dragon actually changed my FF number back to A3, or if it was the GA on the first leg that was the critical step, so in the future, do I need to bother a GA at all to change my FF number before boarding, or can I just use the website, and avoid both waiting for the GA and the possibility of issuing a new BP?

Alternatively, should waving the physical Aegean Gold card get the benefits of a free checked bag, priority access security, group 2 boarding, and lounge access even if the ticket never has had the A3 number associated with it?

1353513636

Use the website, it's easier and you don't have to deal with a grumpy United agent, however, if the A3 number is in the reservation, even if it's on your MP profile, miles will go to A3. What I usually do is go to concierge in the UC (you have to do this every flight) right after entering and ask to have number changed back to my MP number. No, you will not lose priority boarding even if you change your number, that was the case with US Airways but not with United, just show your BP with A3 number on it.

As for waving your card:
Free bag - no experiences
Security - fine, I can often use the priority security lane even when not flying *A with my A3*G card
Group 2 - Most GAs don't know who goes in each group and will just rely on what the BP says so you first need to print a BP with your A3 number and Group 2 on it.
Lounge - They have to put the A3 number in so that they can get paid by A3 for lounge access.

Air Rarotonga

And therefore you also should credit the miles on A3 and not on UA!

tkyoshi

+1!!!!!

flyer05

I'm not sure about UA, but many times when I flew on AC I was able to give them a boarding pass with no FF# on it and just show them the A3*G card to gain lounge access (this worked in YYZ and PEK). In fact, I am in a similar situation to OP - crediting some of my flights to UA for better earning while flying as a A3*G - and once I had my UA MP number on my boarding pass but still got lounge access in YVR with the card.

I have been able to retain all the *G benefits this way, except free baggage, which the check-in agents in both YYZ and PEK have informed me is not possible without putting the *G number on the boarding pass. As demonstrated by your experience at the lounge in ORD, though, YMMV. I usually don't go the way of changing FF#s in the middle of the itinerary, just to be safe and ensure that my miles are credited to the right place (in fact, sometimes I don't put FF#s at all into the reservation and just retro-credit the appropriate flights to the corresponding programs - this usually happens with multi-segment journeys).

LXboy

I am A3 Gold and traveling A LOT on united. This is how to do it:

- Get status match to one world (i did it through AA, gave me Gold)
- Use one world status to match to united, gave me Silver

Traveling on united, I always use the UA Silver:
Free baggage: Check
Priority Boarding: Check
Eco+ during check in: Check
Upgrade list: Check
Mileage Bonus: Check

Going to the lounge, I show BP and Aegean card. Works just fine (ah so you wanna use that card just for the lunge). More often than not they just wave me in.
Lounge: Check

Key is to turn your Aegean Gold into a United Silver....

jmw

I've changed the reservation back to MP at the gate online. I've even changed it on the plane after boarding while the plane was still connected to the gate. The website returns an error if I change it after boarding, but the miles still end up at MP.

JustCruising

How do you change the FF# for an existing booking using UA website?
It allowed me to change some general setting, but I think that this one is for future uses...

flymexico2010

I am also in the OP situation. Would like to use the future to match TK *G to get the baggage allowance and then change it to my UA silver card.

Reportedly, the feature to change the FFP was now working lately on the UA site. Maybe just a temporary issue, but who knows...

Xandrios

How about earning the points with the programme that pays for your lounge access? Sending the miles to an UA account while you charge the expenses to A3 is not nice. That would be considered abusing the system, instead of simply using your status.

NWIFlyer

Whilst I sympathise greatly with this viewpoint, and it's not something I'd do personally (unless the fare bucket I was travelling in didn't earn at all in A3, which would be a different situation to that described), what is suggested is perfectly within the rules of *A which A3 signed-up to.

FT is a community that, in many ways, helps flyers maximise their experience and earning. I've taken advantage of that recently (on a BA ex-EU fare which clearly is not intended for a UK resident, and I would only have known about through the BA forum), and most of us could cite other examples where FT 'advice' has helped us take more from the airlines than perhaps they'd wanted to give us in the first place.

As far as I'm concerned, whatever my moral view of it, if a question is legal it's fair game on FT.

ObserverA3

I agree with all of that. I'd still advocate against stretching the use of *G so blatantly/deliberately; "use" of (any) *G card outside of the parameters you described will simply lead to a change of the rules (which should be simple to make and easy to implement); from that point onwards, we will then not be able to use our *G cards at all unless they are associated with the PNR. I'm very rarely in a situation that I have to use my A3*G without being able to credit to A3; but when that happens, I'd still like to be able to.

djtsukasa

Is it unethical?? I frequently use *G programs for the lounge that I'm not crediting to, not restricted to A3.

ObserverA3

I'm having difficulties with this one. I'd call it unfair, not unethical - on the basis that the airline issuing the card will pay for the lounge visit and will not get any benefit from the operating airline in the form of "payment" for miles posted. Having said that, I think the rule that the card issuing airline, not the operating airline, pays for lounge access is stupid. At the end of the day, the operating airline benefits from the status (they are getting paid for the ticket). For many of my flights, I pick a *airline (not A3) over a non* because of my A3*G (and the desire to keep it) - and not because the *airline is cheaper.

djtsukasa

I guess you're right. Forgive me for my knowledge of these transactions is minimal; but is it beneficial for the airline to have miles posted to their program? For example, what if I flew on UA metal, which means I paid UA money for the ticket, but used A3 as my FF#? Therefore money goes to UA and the miles posted go to A3. In the end, wouldn't A3 suffer for that since if I redeem the miles, they would have to pay? Or is there something behind the scenes that I'm missing?