US Airways Dividend Miles (Pre-FlightFund Merger) - UA 1K moving to CLT next month - help!

I am currently a UA 1K based in BOS that is moving to South Charlotte and the "ultra-cheap" :o CLT airport. I have read some posts on the subject of the crazy fares and was looking for any recent advice that CLT-based flyers use.

Being in South Charlotte, RDU does not make sense and GSO seems very limited.

About 85% of my business travel is domestic and primarily: SFO, ORD, DEN, LGA, DFW, IAH, SEA

I am not a fan of flying US, although I am a Silver through '05, but am open to anything. Also, is there any meat around the latest rumor of WN shopping for gates at CLT - that would obviously change the landscape quite a bit.

Thanks in advance for any help!

There is not much advice to offer. South Charlotte traffic is terrible, airfare is high, and I sometimes use RDU and GSO. :D Besides these comments, I love living here.

From South Charlotte, I expect you could get to Columbia, SC (CAE) faster than you could to GSO (and certainly RDU). Greenville Spartanburg (GSP) is much closer than RDU; depending on where in Charlotte would determine comparision between GSP and GSO. I believe GSP has more carriers flying to it than CAE and maybe GSO. (RDU is probably 2.5-3 hours from CLT by car. CAE, GSO, and GSP are all going to be in the neighborhood of 60-90 minutes depending on traffic.)

The first 3 cities (SFO, ORD, DEN) you mention are all UA hubs, so you shouldn't have a problem getting UA metal from CLT. There should be AA direct flights to DFW and CO flights to IAH. For LGA, US is probably going to be your best bet.

I personally like CLT as an airport and feel like its one of the best designed hub airports in the country. The concourses are not too long and all connect at a central hub so that you don't need to go in and out of security to change concourses, even if you were changing airlines. Also, the taxi to and from runways is usually reasonable. As a hub airport, it has a lot of direct flights, which is one item that pushes up the price.

Many or all of the direct flights out of GSO, GSP, or CAE to IAH, DFW, and ORD are going to be on regional jets. The flights from CLT are likely to be main-line jets.

GSP is my original "home" airport, and I know that, at times, flights to GSP or CAE (including those connecting in CLT) are cheaper than those to CLT. Other times they are not, so it's hard to generalize. It's similar to the consultant's joke about telling the client he can choose 2 out of 3 factors: price, quality, or timing. The two he chooses will determines the third.

Many folks from CLT rent a one way drop car at the airport and then drive to GSO. This saves an average of about $500 on the price of the fare according to folks I fly with out of GSO on a weekly basis. Of course you then fly back to CLT to make your connection.

On your return flight, you simply get off in CLT and go to your car which is parked there. It must be a popular strategy because they always over sale the GSO flights by 5 to 10 seats, and they always clear most of the standbys. It happened this past week as the plane was over sold by five, and there were at least three of us who cleared standby on the flight. So at least 8 folks didn't make the trip to GSO. :confused:

If you need to catch the 6:30 AM flight out of GSO and need a place to stay the night before, PM me. I have a very sweet deal worked out with the Marriott at the airport and I'll put you in touch with the right person to set up a special rate,

BTW, welcome to the land of grits and gravy.

I am not a fan of flying US, although I am a Silver through '05, but am open to anything. Also, is there any meat around the latest rumor of WN shopping for gates at CLT - that would obviously change the landscape quite a bit.

Thanks in advance for any help!

First of all I believe my day of being a resident CLT victim is quickly approaching too. But there is good news and WN is not a part of it. WN will not be entering CLT anytime soon-this is from the source. Southwest has told the city of Charlotte that RDU is enough for right now. The good news is that Independence Air is very likely to serve CLT and they have already confirmed their service at CAE, not too far from South Charlotte. Once IA gets their Airbus fleet going, your routes, with the exception of Texas, should be well served on cheap fares. As for putting your miles on US I would only do it if you plan to fly USAir strictly. Free upgrades as a CP are about the only good that will come from it but remember-having anything tied in with USAir is a liability! I am not very enthusiastic about the long-term prospects for USAir.

The good side-CLT parking is the cheapest I have seen in the United States.

Southwest has told the city of Charlotte that RDU is enough for right now.

I have to think that the political forces in Charlotte would be strongly against a WN entry to any significant degree, given US's weakness and the number of people (both employees and residents) that would be impacted if US folds. That would seem to be just another nail in the coffin. Also, if there were a WN presence and if US folds, that could discourage any other mainline from creating a hub in CLT.

If the politicians in SC could unify, they might be successful in bringing a LCC to GSP (or CAE), maybe Frontier. There is a fair amount of traffic from the GSP area to the West Coast, given a large number of Asian businesses. And a LCC in GSP (or CAE) would be more convenient to Charlotte residents than RDU. However, the lower part of state (Hilton Head, Myrtle Beach, and Charleston) would want the flights in with tourists in the summer. I personally wouldn't bet on such unification in the near future.

I want to comment on the GSO. I've done this a few times, know of others who do it often, know of one who does it b/c his company gives him 50% of travel savings related to flying out of GSO.

Drive to CLT, park, head to terminal. Arrange for the Lake Norman Airport Shuttle to pick you up and drive you to GSO. Take your trip routed through CLT most likely, on the return hop off in CLT provided you carried on, take your car and go home. Your savings will range from a few hundred to several hundred dollars for a non-Saturday stay flight. I'm looking for the Lake Norman Shuttle contact info...they're the only ones I know of that run between CLT and GSO. Let me know if you want the contact information.

CLT is a great city to live in. They've trouble with infrastructure, but every large city I go to does. The downtown area (oops, uptown) is coming back to life and the lake area is bustling.

Take your trip routed through CLT most likely, on the return hop off in CLT provided you carried on, take your car and go home.


What happens to your miles for the flights if you get off?

Thank you all for the advice and comments. I am aware of the GSO-CLT-XXX-CLT-(GSO) trick and will try that assuming the fare delta is significant. I will also try GSP/CAE after I determine driving time - I am moving to Weddington, NC so I have easy access to 77.

Intresting comments aout a LCC moving to CLT. I also agree that WN is unlikely especially the limited gates and political influence of CLT. However, Independence or even B6 would change the dynamics significantly.

I also enjoy CLT as an airport - after the craziness of BOS, it is a pleasure.

If anyone has the contact for the Lake Norman service, please email me - thanks.

For GSP, it's about 90 minutes from Charlotte if you can easily get to I-77 and then go as fast as you can down I-85. The upside to GSP is that parking is cheap, the airport is pretty comfortable (which makes the lack of a US Airways Club OK), there are no runway delays since there aren't a lot of planes taking off from there and you can get from the parking lot to the gate in 10 minutes or less. The downside to GSP is that fares aren't considerably less than flying from CLT (except if you're flying from CLT to PHL or LGA or another airport where US has extensive operations). Also, sometimes flights from GSP to CLT leave a pretty long layover in CLT before the next wave of mainline flights take off.

Apparently Independence Air (the ex-United feeder) is aiming to come to GSP sometime in the future, and GSP officials are trying to lure another LCC. I don't see much coming of that; GSP doesn't have a large population base to support a LCC, and I've looked at Independence Air's finances a bit and it's not a low-cost carrier; it's a high-cost carrier that just intends to charge low fares, which is a recipe for going under.

I am moving to Weddington, NC so I have easy access to 77.

I also enjoy CLT as an airport - after the craziness of BOS, it is a pleasure.


As long as you leave your home by 6:00 am, it will only take you 20 minutes to get to I-77, any later it could take up to 40-45 minutes due to only 4 lanes on 485{Some great planning by our NCDOT}. But it is a great area to live in, except that Union County is the fastest growing in the state, it is becoming extremely crowed. It seems that everyone from Fleet is moving down here. ;)

CLT will be a welcome relief compared to BOS. Prices to GSP or CAE are rarely attractive enough for me to use those airports. With 485 open to I-85 near the speedway, it only takes 90 minutes if you drive yourself to GSO. Another new shuttle to GSO is Broach tours, to go along with Lake Norman Shuttle Service.

As long as you leave your home by 6:00 am, it will only take you 20 minutes to get to I-77, any later it could take up to 40-45 minutes due to only 4 lanes on 485{Some great planning by our NCDOT}. But it is a great area to live in, except that Union County is the fastest growing in the state, it is becoming extremely crowed. It seems that everyone from Fleet is moving down here. ;)

CLT will be a welcome relief compared to BOS. Prices to GSP or CAE are rarely attractive enough for me to use those airports. With 485 open to I-85 near the speedway, it only takes 90 minutes if you drive yourself to GSO. Another new shuttle to GSO is Broach tours, to go along with Lake Norman Shuttle Service.

I don't work for Fleet nor the banking industry although Fleet is my bank! :D Good to know about 485. Thanks for the tips.

As you probably know, the GSO-CLT "trick" is also referred to as hidden city ticketing. Some carriers may have specific rules against it, so you should check into the consequences if caught. Travel agents may get penalized by the airline if they are found to be involved. To me, CLT-GSO is short enough that odds seem lower that you would be caught than if you were ticketed CLT-MCI (Kansas City)-SFO and didn't take the MCI-SFO leg.

If you are bored and need something humorous, I think there is an older thread with someone complaining about the ticket agent not allowing her to check luggage only as far as a connection, because she was getting off there. I don't think anyone had any sympathy for her.

The hidden city tactic has worked for me the one time I tried it. Walkup fares from RDU to LAX via CLT are only $545 r/t as opposed to more than $1200 from my home airport, Charlottesville.

I parked my car at CHO, rented a car from National (which usually has the lowest rates for one-way rentals) and dropped it off at RDU. For the return trip, I got off in CLT and once there, I bought a one-way return ticket on US Airways Express back to Charlottesville for only $123.

My miles for the return LAX-CLT segment didn't show up automatically, but a friendly DM rep credited them to me over the phone without a problem.

You'll probably be okay with the hidden city tactic as long as it's only on the return segment.

What happens to your miles for the flights if you get off?

I have always got the mileage for the three segments actually flown, as well as the segment credit.

My miles for the return LAX-CLT segment didn't show up automatically, but a friendly DM rep credited them to me over the phone without a problem.


Did you ask for the CLT-RDU segment credit? If so, did US expressly refuse to give you credit for that? Did you try handing the boarding pass for the CLT-RDU segment to the gate agent but not board the plane?

Thanks; I'm just really curious about how the process of crediting miles works.

. . . Did you try handing the boarding pass for the CLT-RDU segment to the gate agent but not board the plane? . . .


That would seem to be a really bad idea to me in this day and age. If 50 people handed a ticket to the gate agent and the count on the plane was 49, I believe the plane would be delayed until the missing person could be identified and verified that he/she did not check luggage. I could see the airline & TSA requiring everyone to deplane and reboard, as well as all the luggage possibly being rescreened. With that much hassle, I expect the missing person would be highlighted and the airline would take whatever action to which it was entitled. Other thoughts?

deleted-- shouldn't have said what I said

You will not get credit for the segment you do not fly, nor should you. IMHO, I would not try anything to get credit for the flight you do not take, as you are only calling attention to the fact that you are doing something "illegal". US is very aware of the games being played here, and so far has chosen not to do anything about it.

Every agent working a CLT-GSO flight is aware of how many folks do not show up for the flight. I'm sitting right now at the gate waiting for the GSO flight and they are 10 over sold on this flight and 10 oversold on the next one and 5 over sold on the last one. My guess is that most of those seats will open up before departure. Even the yeild management folks know what is going on! :eek:

No need to be the one to rub it in their face!

Edited to add: Well, they cleared all but two of us going on the first flight, so two of us enjoyed a nice limo ride to GSO and a free bump ticket. Felt a little guilty doing it since I had used the CP over ride to get the ticket in the first place.

I think they cleared 8 of the over sales and I didn't take the chance on catchng the next flight as it was over sold too. I have the Limo/Van phone number if anyone wants it. The driver said they make several trips a day to GSO

I lived in Weddington for three years and did the GSO-CLT lather rinse repeat hidden city thing for three years...almost every week. After three years of leaving at 4 am to make the 6:30 am flight, I moved ten minutes away from the GSO airport. Good luck. As Bill says, "I feel your pain."

I loved Charlotte much more than GSO. But, I need my beauty sleep.

NYCommuter, no I didn't ask for credit on the CLT-RDU leg since I didn't fly it...and it would be pretty obvious to US Airways that I couldn't have done so since my CLT-CHO leg was in flight at exactly the same time.

I probably wouldn't be able to get away with miles for LAX-CLT on an LAX-RDU ticket if I did it all the time without returning to RDU, but this was just a last-minute change of plans that required me to be in Charlottesville earlier than I could get there if flying to RDU and driving the 3 1/2 hours back.

On a related note, I tried the hidden city tactic going in the opposite direction a couple of weeks ago on the same route, and it wasn't allowed. I was booked RDU-CLT-LAX on a flight leaving RDU at 4 p.m., and couldn't drive from CHO to RDU in time to make it. So I called a US rep and started to buy a $123 one-way ticket from CHO to CLT, but when I told her I was going to connect to the LAX flight, she said she would have to reprice the entire itinerary...$900 more. I ended up driving to GSO and catching a 6:05 flight via PIT, which happened to be a whopping $3 less than the RDU fare. Made it to the gate with two minutes to spare.

If only the smaller US Airways Express cities (and O&D pax in Charlotte) had lower fares, it'd save me a lot of driving time! Perhaps Independence Air will change things somewhat.

You need to go back to re-read my post.



NYCommuter,

Sorry if my comments caused any offense. No implication was intended that you had ever violated or would violate rules or policies.




Also, IMHO, longing4piedmont makes several good points including that an airline may tolerate a little gaming of the system but might crackdown if it thought such gaming was becoming more widespread.

TRRed-- I owe you an apology for what I posted, actually-- your post was 100% fine; I was too thin-skinned. Sorry; no offense taken, and I hope none on your end, either.

wahooflyer-- thanks for the feedback about not getting miles for unflown flights.

I lived in Weddington for three years and did the GSO-CLT lather rinse repeat hidden city thing for three years...almost every week. After three years of leaving at 4 am to make the 6:30 am flight, I moved ten minutes away from the GSO airport. Good luck. As Bill says, "I feel your pain."

I loved Charlotte much more than GSO. But, I need my beauty sleep.

I'm curious - how long did it take you to drive tp GSO from Weddington? And was that before or after they finished the 485E loop? I have priced out some options and I think the combination of ATA to Chicago; some hidden city tactics; a few back-to-backs (one on US/one on UA codeshare); etc... should work out. In the end, I hope that a LCC can change the fares but that will depend on O & D traffic into CLT. :)

Drive to CLT, park, head to terminal. Arrange for the Lake Norman Airport Shuttle to pick you up and drive you to GSO. Take your trip routed through CLT most likely, on the return hop off in CLT provided you carried on, take your car and go home. Your savings will range from a few hundred to several hundred dollars for a non-Saturday stay flight. I'm looking for the Lake Norman Shuttle contact info...they're the only ones I know of that run between CLT and GSO. Let me know if you want the contact information. ...
.

I will be flying to GSO just to avoid the high prices to CLT. I plan to drive.

How long is a drive from GSO to CLT.
Also how bad would the traffic be around 8:30 in the morning, on return I will be driving back on the afternoon from CLT to GSO.


Would I be better off using the shuttle?

Thanks

I was in south Charlotte before the loop was open. I would take 485 to 77 to 85 to 52 to 40 to 68, off at airport exit. I found that if I hit the 485/77 area after 7 am, the traffic was aweful. Traffic into GSO, especially with the new lanes open on 40 and the construction guys gone, is fine. So, if I would leave at 5:45 am from the Arboretum area, I would be at GSO in the TSA line at 7:45 am.

On the way back, hitting Charlotte in the afternoon after 4 pm is a bit trying at times depending on the weather and the number of accidents and the level of construction on 85.

GSO is small, parking in the deck is a breeze, and the club folks are wonderful. Not much of a food selection if your flight is cancelled.

Folks in the GSO metro area are as nice as the folks in CLT. My family has been treated real well in both cities.