US Airways Dividend Miles (Pre-FlightFund Merger) - Welcome to our new partner -- United

http://www.usairways.com/dividendmiles/programinfo/us_ual.htm

US miles for UA flights starting 11/1. Preferred status for UA flights starting 1/1.

This tiny bit of predictable information is just fine........BUT, what we're all waiting for is the final determination on upgrade benefits for VFFs.

It is important to note that UA has become considerably stringent on its upgrade policies while US (with a much weaker network has perhaps the most liberal upgrade policy in the biz. I often see UA flights with 40% of F empty while every single US flight I'm on it jammed with ugrading cockroaches.

A sinking feeling tells me we cockroaches are in for a rude awakening when it comes to UA privleges. Time will tell.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by sbtinme:
This tiny bit of predictable information is just fine........BUT, what we're all waiting for is the final determination on upgrade benefits for VFFs.

It is important to note that UA has become considerably stringent on its upgrade policies while US (with a much weaker network has perhaps the most liberal upgrade policy in the biz. I often see UA flights with 40% of F empty while every single US flight I'm on it jammed with ugrading cockroaches.

A sinking feeling tells me we cockroaches are in for a rude awakening when it comes to UA privleges. Time will tell. </font>

I'm not sure where you go but I NEVER see a single empty seat in UA F. It's brutal to get upgraded on UA in my experience...I think you're right, we're in for a rude awakening, but because we will never be able to get into an F seat on most flights. Tip for the day: if you want an upgrade on UA and aren't a 1K, find a 777 or a 747 and you might have a chance.

My guess is that cross-airline awards will only be available by cashing in miles. Personally, I would have no problem with that--all I ask is that we be eligible for Economy Plus.

Well I'm pretty happy this is happening 11/01/02 - I was trying to figure out if buy UA FRA-MCT/MCT-FRA - and it looks like that sealed the deal (flight in November 2002).

Until the other Star Alliance partners offer awards, the UA link doesn't help much. NW is dropping out. I suspect QF will drop out next.

As far as upgrading, I've found it harder to upgrade on West Coast flights in recent months. The UA link won't help.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by bowdenj:
Well I'm pretty happy this is happening 11/01/02 - I was trying to figure out if buy UA FRA-MCT/MCT-FRA - and it looks like that sealed the deal (flight in November 2002). </font>

Just make sure you realize US preferred miles won't be awarded for UA flights until 1/1/03. With all the Get Out More, etc bonuses, those 6500 R/T miles are a drop in the bucket! If you have any other UA miles this year, you might keep your UA MP number for that flight.