America West FlightFund (Discontinued Program) - HP best from SNA?

Hi folks - A couple of other FT posters have suggested that HP may be my best bet so I would appreciate any feedback. I'm DL platinum but with the changes being made to the program have no incentive to re-qualify. I'm based in SNA(Orange County, CA) typically qualify for elite status on miles rather than segments, make one or two trips to Edinburgh - Scotland, otherwise fly domestic, mainly to the South East (Fl - Palm Beach, GA - Atlanta, SC - Florence, TN - Nashville etc) North East (NY, PA, DE mainly) Mid West (Chicago mainly, but also IA, MO & KS) and West (TX, AZ, NV, NM etc) and very little in CA. Anyone know enough about HP to tell me if it might be right for this travel pattern? I've already approached AA & NW for a comp but not sure which program is better for upgrades etc. (really the only benefit that matters to me)

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Vaze:
Hi folks - A couple of other FT posters have suggested that HP may be my best bet so I would appreciate any feedback. I'm DL platinum but with the changes being made to the program have no incentive to re-qualify. I'm based in SNA(Orange County, CA) typically qualify for elite status on miles rather than segments, make one or two trips to Edinburgh - Scotland, otherwise fly domestic, mainly to the South East (Fl - Palm Beach, GA - Atlanta, SC - Florence, TN - Nashville etc) North East (NY, PA, DE mainly) Mid West (Chicago mainly, but also IA, MO & KS) and West (TX, AZ, NV, NM etc) and very little in CA. Anyone know enough about HP to tell me if it might be right for this travel pattern? I've already approached AA & NW for a comp but not sure which program is better for upgrades etc. (really the only benefit that matters to me) </font>

How many miles per year do you fly? If you fly enough, I'd suggest using Northwest as your primary carrier and America West as your secondary carrier.

AA is great for international mileage upgrades. However, with only one or two roundtrips a year, this shouldn't be a big deal. Northwest and America West are clearly the best for domestic upgrades. Domestic upgrades are complimentary, unlimited, and automatic. They will happen almost all the time on NW & HP. As for AA, you'll need to purchase a lot of stickers to cover all of your upgrades.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by TransWorldOne:
How many miles per year do you fly</font>

In 2002 it was 80 segments and 102,000 actual miles, last year was about the same, next year will probably be slightly more

If you book online, your 80 segments (20 roundtrips @4segments per trip -- or more?) would get you 60,000 miles just from the 3K online booking bonus (of course, assuming that the 3K is extended -- very likely since I doubt HP would give such competitive advantage to WN -- people will flee in droves). And after a few months, your status would almost always get you upgraded. My (carried-over-due-to-9-11-and-now-about-to-expire) Gold Status ALWAYS got me an upgrade flying out of hub PHX -- where Elite Status is common. The only thing to be wary about is the always-expanding pain of HP Express. Mesa Air took over several daily flights between SAN and PHX -- which is why I reduced HP and went WN. I won't do RJ's. If having an upgrade is important, you may want to check to see if they are doing RJ's to SNA.

[This message has been edited by RobertTheTraveler (edited 12-19-2002).]

IMHO, I would have to say HP/BA for your european travel. It would be more convenient for you go (LAX or SFO)-LHR than NW's DTW-LHR. Plus you miles can be credited to your HP accnt.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by ByrdluvsAWACO:
...It would be more convenient for you go (LAX or SFO)-LHR than NW's DTW-LHR... </font>

It would be more convenient for Vaze to fly BA LAX/SFO-LHR... because NW doesn't fly to LHR. But since Vaze travels to EDI and preferably from SNA, it's probably more convienent to fly SNA-MSP/DTW-AMS-EDI and just as convienent LAX-AMS-EDI as it is LAX-LHR-EDI.

[This message has been edited by IndustrialPatent (edited 12-19-2002).]

I frequent SNA, and I would think NW/CO is the way to go also. HPs program is good like CO/NWs, but RJs are starting to fly into SNA from PHX, and those stink! CO is no prize either with RJs, but for the routes you mentioned, only a small amount would be RJs. NW most likely not unless it is just an RJ city you are flying into.

If you don't mind RJs, then it won't matter which way you go I guess. But IMO, go NW/CO.

If you get an RJ on AWA operated by 'Freedom Air', and not Mesa, it will have a 6 seat 1st class section.

Also, upgrades are very hard to come by going to Newark for some reason. I did that commute for 19 months and sat in the back about 20% of the time as a PLAT. They're easy to get just about anywhere else though (as a PLAT anyway).

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">
But since Vaze travels to EDI and preferably from SNA, it's probably more convienent to fly SNA-MSP/DTW-AMS-EDI
</font>

Oh cmon! More convenient? Now you're just being biased. How is it more convenient to go to DTW, transfer to a AMS flight, then backtrack to EDI on KLM? The difference between LAX and SNA is only 36 miles, and he can fly non-stop to LHR thus avoiding any possible delays/cancellations in DTW/MSP.

I do however, agree that the LAX-AMS-EDI is just as convenient if not a teeny bit longer.

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God Bless America West and British Airways

HP - Platinum/970k miles
BA - Dirt/Soon to be Gold
NW - Dirt/Soon to be Plat
UA - Dirt/19k miles
AA - Dirt/Only using to get BA Tier points/miles.

ByrdluvsAWACO: bias, no. Depending on where Vaze lives in Orange County and what time s/he's traveling, LAX could be a two hour longer drive than SNA. Dang traffic...

When I stay in Orange County, I am the far south end of the county, only about 5 minutes from the San Diego County line border. SNA is about 25-30 min away whereas LAX is about 75-90 min away, no traffic.

I would say NW/CO is still the way to go.

Thanks for all your feedback guys, based on all the info - it seems like AA is my best bet so I guess I'll be frequenting the AA forum now. Thanks once again for taking the time to help http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif