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Should I switch from UA / DL? DM or AAdvantage? Benefits? Differences? (consolidated)

Should I switch from UA / DL? DM or AAdvantage? Benefits? Differences? (consolidated)

Old Jan 3, 2014, 7:08 am
  #1  
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: MHT
Programs: AA Gold, Marriott Platinum, Kimpton/IHG Spire Elite
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Should I switch from UA / DL? DM or AAdvantage? Benefits? Differences? (consolidated)

Hi,

I'm a UA Gold (just shy of Plat, sadly) and for a variety of reasons will be switching this year to US/AA. Because I have status on neither US nor AA I think my strategy needs to be to get status on whichever one I can get to first. Given my planned travel for Q1 and the US Trial preferred program I would hit US Gold (possibly even Plat) before achieving status on AA since AA doesn't seem to have any trial programs and the AA/UA status match challenge ended last year.

My first US flight is 13 Jan so I'd want to sign up for the US Trial preferred within a week or so.

AA doesn't currently fly out of my home airport (MHT) and has limited choice from BOS so for the foreseeable future, US seems to make sense from that perspective as well (though some of my travel through June will likely be from BOS on either AS or B6, which is good for RDM but not PQM/PQS as I understand it.) Not sure I could hit the 4 segment requirement on AA metal this year either.

Oh -- I hit status on segments before miles, if that matters.

Does this make sense, and am I missing anything I should be considering? I am sad to give up my UA status but with US leaving *A and being the carrier I have to fly for some of my most frequent business trips, I don't see another choice.

Thanks for your thoughts!
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Old Jan 3, 2014, 7:51 am
  #2  
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: High Point, NC
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The only thing is the unknowns with the merger. Primarily whether US will stop honoring trials and if so when. While I think it's unlikely they wouldn't honor a trial that someone was in the middle of, it's one of the many questions that nobody knows the answer to. Both carriers have segment thresholds and US has them with the trial. Obviously the quicker you meet the requirements of the trial the better - once you've earned status it's unlikely that it would be taken away.

Jim
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Old Jan 3, 2014, 8:03 am
  #3  
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Status Challenges tend to be based on miles not segments, so you'd first have to determine if you'll earn enough miles to hit an elite tier with US based on your travel. Don't know the details of a US challenge, so suggest this would be better asked over on the Pre-Merger US forum since those are the rules that will be in place for whatever you do.
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Old Jan 3, 2014, 2:35 pm
  #4  
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Thanks. The Mods locked my thread in that forum because of this one here (no cross-posting, grr). Have asked them to move this one over there...

thanks all.
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Old Jan 3, 2014, 4:34 pm
  #5  
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
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US status trials do have both a mileage and segment threshold so you can qualify either way as long as they're allowing trials. Silver is 7.5K miles or I believe 10 segments in 90 days and the higher levels work the same.

Jim
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Old Jan 3, 2014, 4:47 pm
  #6  
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If you fly out of MHT, your sole option as between US & AA is to earn on US anyway. So, you might as well obtain your DM# and start using it as you fly.

There is no way of predicting exactly how and what the new AA will match, but it really doesn't matter since you don't have options anyway. While it's unlikely that the new AA will match US Gold to AA Silver, if that happens, you really wouldn't have done anything differently anyway.

It is possible that the new AA will offer some form of match to UA elites as part of the new 3-way tug-o-war with UA & DL, but that's speculation and since you're only UA Gold, that likely won't help much given your intended travel pattern.

Nonetheless, as announcements are made regarding the new program, make a point of reading them carefully (and then reading them again).
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Old Jan 3, 2014, 10:27 pm
  #7  
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
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Originally Posted by Often1
If you fly out of MHT, your sole option as between US & AA is to earn on US anyway. So, you might as well obtain your DM# and start using it as you fly.

There is no way of predicting exactly how and what the new AA will match, but it really doesn't matter since you don't have options anyway. While it's unlikely that the new AA will match US Gold to AA Silver, if that happens, you really wouldn't have done anything differently anyway.

It is possible that the new AA will offer some form of match to UA elites as part of the new 3-way tug-o-war with UA & DL, but that's speculation and since you're only UA Gold, that likely won't help much given your intended travel pattern.

Nonetheless, as announcements are made regarding the new program, make a point of reading them carefully (and then reading them again).
AA does not have Silver.. it's Gold, Platinum and Executive Platinum in the current program. What will have to be resolved ( and we don't know yet how it will go) is matching a 4 tier program to the current 3 tier AAdvantage program that will be the surviving program.
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Old Jan 4, 2014, 10:12 am
  #8  
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I have been away from AA for a while, I thought AA had a challenge program. Has that been discontinued?

I guess the difference with the challenge program is you don't get the status until you have reached the challenge while the US one gives you the status right away?

I guess the trick is to balance between getting real elite flyers over without the insulting $200 charge vs. preventing people who game the system to get status for a few months. To me, the best thing maybe to charge $200 but refund it fully or partially depending on how much the customer ends up flying...
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Old Jan 5, 2014, 10:54 am
  #9  
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: PWM/MHT/BOS
Programs: UA (lame duck)1K, US Plat,HHonors Diamond, PC Plat, SPG Plat, MR Platinum
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In the same boat as the OP - UA1k segment flier primarily out of BOS/MHT and PWM with about 40% of my segments getting me to 1k under *A on US.

I'm guessing OP might be in similar boat as I am with the merger and will be easier to go all US/AA segments with the merger and loss of *A on US.

I emailed US to see if they'd go beyond the trial challenge being it's an opportunity for them to grab 100% of my revenue away from UA and got a phone call from US a few days later. She said they won't be offering anything other then the current trial for $200 that she's aware of anytime soon. My conclusion between the call and my research with limited AA flight options for me for an AA challenge even if it was avail is to go with the US Silver Trial for the $200 and will easily get in the segments for Platinum.

Phone agent said Chairmans level is not available under the trial but thought I saw something on website saying 40 segments in the trial gets Chairmans.

I would say with the phone call (which I received last Friday 1/3) is that US has no plans on killing the trial challenges.
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Old Jan 6, 2014, 5:20 am
  #10  
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Originally Posted by username
I have been away from AA for a while, I thought AA had a challenge program. Has that been discontinued?

I guess the difference with the challenge program is you don't get the status until you have reached the challenge while the US one gives you the status right away?

I guess the trick is to balance between getting real elite flyers over without the insulting $200 charge vs. preventing people who game the system to get status for a few months. To me, the best thing maybe to charge $200 but refund it fully or partially depending on how much the customer ends up flying...
Why is it "insulting" to charge for a good or service that presumably has value? Sounds a bit entitled to assume that you should be given elite status based on DYWKIA. Some airlines grant status matches, some challenge, some charge for a challenge. Doesn't seem "insulting" if policies are standardized and people and businesses can choose what works for them.
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Old Jan 6, 2014, 9:00 am
  #11  
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
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Originally Posted by eponymous_coward
Why is it "insulting" to charge for a good or service that presumably has value? Sounds a bit entitled to assume that you should be given elite status based on DYWKIA. Some airlines grant status matches, some challenge, some charge for a challenge. Doesn't seem "insulting" if policies are standardized and people and businesses can choose what works for them.
I dont know that it's insulting nor do I think it's DYKWIA either. As a business there are folks like me who are standing here saying to AA/US "here's proof I fly 140 segments a year and give UA approx $20K in revenue each year - if you give me a challenge at no charge you will reap the benefits of all of my business due to your merger and pending split from *A" Ironically I end up doing another 10-15 segments on B6 per year to JFK from BOS that AA would likely grab post-merger and would have 100% loyalty for this gesture.

If they choose not to offer that then they take the biz risk of hoping I'll pay $200 anyways or that I'll find a way to keep my business with UA and they, in turn won't gain it, and will lose the revenue they did once get for many of those segments as *A.

Personally if I were running a business I'd rethink the policy during this time of transition and snatch up the opportunity to whisk away many UA elites. Then again I' considering paying the $200 regardless so perhaps it's a brilliant biz policy if you can snag the extra $200 and not lose those in the same boat I'm in.
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Old Jan 6, 2014, 4:44 pm
  #12  
 
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Related thread with a fair bit of info in the Pre-Merger AA sub-forum:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...dated-228.html
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Old Jan 6, 2014, 5:16 pm
  #13  
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Originally Posted by eponymous_coward
Why is it "insulting" to charge for a good or service that presumably has value? Sounds a bit entitled to assume that you should be given elite status based on DYWKIA. Some airlines grant status matches, some challenge, some charge for a challenge. Doesn't seem "insulting" if policies are standardized and people and businesses can choose what works for them.
Maybe I am just more sensitive than others If one can document his/her flying history and wants to bring his/her business to US, it is pretty crazy to ask a new customer for $200 to try US.

Of course, the problem is with people gaming the system. So, maybe a free challenge system (no status until challenge is met) is the easiest, followed by a refundable fee system.
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Old Feb 3, 2014, 10:59 am
  #14  
 
Join Date: May 2003
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moved from UA to AA - what can/should I get?

Apologies for the possible double post, but my UA one-stop connection (RDU-IAH-LHR) is oversold and they've offered to move me to the AA RDU-LHR nonstop to get over to the UK. Presumably if they're booking me on AA, it'll get ticketed in Y.

What could/should I ask for in terms of seating privlidges, etc? I think the RDU-LHR segment is a AA 767, so my next stop is to figure out where to sit??

Any suggestions or gotchas here to avoid or pay attention to?
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Old Feb 3, 2014, 11:04 am
  #15  
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Try to sit in row 21 (exit row) or MCE (rows 11-13). Avoid row 20, which is the worst exit row of any plane flown by AA.
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