MilesBuzz! - American Advantage vs. UA mileage plus

I am running into a decision here as I currently have both close to 20k miles on UA and AA. Due to routing and so forth just couldn't squeeze it all on one airline. However, my next project has routing that allows me to fly either carrier. I am wondering which one is better. As far as upgrades, reward tickets, and just perks in general. What do people think?

I flew both airlines for several years. The deciding factor for me wasthat AA typically had 12 seats on their MD 80s and United only had 8 on their 737. More seats equals better chance for upgrade. Perhaps this has changed in the last couple of years but it is worth checking into.

I flew both airlines for several years. The deciding factor for me wasthat AA typically had 12 seats on their MD 80s and United only had 8 on their 737. More seats equals better chance for upgrade. Perhaps this has changed in the last couple of years but it is worth checking into.

Typically, AA had 14 F seats (not 12) on its MD-80s (some ex-TWA had 16 and before the 738s arrived some MD-80s had 20 F). Now, all AA MD-80s have 16 F seats, which definitely makes for better upgrade chances compared to many UA narrowbodies. AA's 738s have 16 F and AA's 757s have 22 F.

You're thinking of the old 727s which had 12 F. :)

What do people think?

How many miles are you planning to fly on your carrier of choice this year? Answers will vary depending what kind of status you anticipate. Are you going to do over 100K or 100 segments?

Op Here:

I plan on getting to at least 25k if not 50k...just depends on the variablity of the project. So, in essence I would like to throw my business to one airline to grap as much status as possible. Just wondering which one offers more benefit overall at the 25k and 50k level. thanks

if you don't make an upgrade on american, you sit in coach.
if you don't make an upgrade in United, you sit in economy plus if you have status and get some extra leg room.

I am running into a decision here as I currently have both close to 20k miles on UA and AA. Due to routing and so forth just couldn't squeeze it all on one airline. However, my next project has routing that allows me to fly either carrier. I am wondering which one is better. As far as upgrades, reward tickets, and just perks in general. What do people think?
I'm not clear where your home airport is, where you fly to most often, and especially if all your flying is "domestic" or if also international (beyond North America).

One big difference between UA and AA applies only to international upgrades: On UA you have to buy a higher fare to qualify to upgrade (with miles), and then if your upgrade doesn't go through you are still out that fare. On AA, you can upgrade from almost every economy fare (a very few deep sale fares excluded), but you have to pay a $250 co-pay each way (in addition to the miles). With that $250, you often end up at roughly the same amount of total spend as with the (cheapest qualifying) higher fare at UA, except if your upgrade doesn't go through you're not out that $250, whereas with UA you had to pay for the higher fare no matter whether you got to actually upgrade. (This difference is a factor most when you can buy advance purchase fares. Obviously, if you're buying last minute international fares, you're getting a higher fare anyway, and in that case UA may be cheaper unless the fare is high enough to not need the co-pay at AA.)

One other thing: At AA you can be elite faster, through the Gold Challenge or Platinum Challenge (go to the AA forum and there's either a sticky or you can just search on "challenge"), where you have 90 days to earn 5000 elite qualifying points for Gold or 10000 for Platinum. If you do that in the second half of the year, you're Gold or Platinum (whichever you successfully challanged for) through the end of the FOLLOWING year.

So if you want to try both airlines, but are afraid that you can't qualify for both, if you can do the AA Challenge well before the end of this year, you might want to do that, because it then won't matter THIS year how much more you fly on AA (because your requalification won't start until January). So then you can try UA later this year. And then hopefully by January you'll be able to decide where to focus you (re)qualification on.

(I dunno if UA will match your status at AA if you get the AA status by challenge.)

Btw, once you're elite with AA (whether through challenge or "the old fashioned way"), you have access to exit row seat reservations. Those seats IMHO are just as good as Economy+ on most planes (it's just that there aren't as many of them), so it depends how far ahead you tend to book as to whether you're likely to snag them or not.

You may also want to compare what kind of planes each airline is likely to put you on to your most likely destinations. If one airline gets you there on a mainline plane and the other on a regional jet (on which you can't upgrade, and all seats are much worse), that is something else that could be a deciding factor!

On another thread there was mention that AA doesn't allow you to fly to London on their partner BA. don't know if that restriction applies to all partners.

On another thread there was mention that AA doesn't allow you to fly to London on their partner BA.

The workaround for that is to travel via Canada or Mexico on BA. A lot of FTers do their award travel with that kind of routing so they can fly BA. You also have to watch out for partners that only give 25-50% miles (all this is spelled out on the AA web site).

AA.....AAll the wAAy......You have to be top dog(1K etc) on UAL or DL to not go with AA.....

On another thread there was mention that AA doesn't allow you to fly to London on their partner BA.
I assume you mean for award travel. They really can't stop you from buying a ticket...

On another thread there was mention that AA doesn't allow you to fly to London on their partner BA. don't know if that restriction applies to all partners.

The restriction is only for US-UK flights and there actually is an exception (JFK-MAN BA flight as long as it's AA coded). The restriction does not apply to any other partner, but earning limits should be studied before one commits to any partner flying wherever. Let's not forget, it's not AA that sets the limits on earning miles. When you buy a ticket from Qantas and fly Qantas, it's Qantas that will pay AA for the miles to be posted, not AA, so it's Qantas that makes the decision which fares will earn AA miles, not AA.

btw, you could fly BA all you want :) , you just won't earn AA miles, and the same is true in reverse, flying AA US-UK won't earn any BA miles (with one exception, ORD-MAN AA flight, but must be BA coded).

AA and BA are both members of the OneWorld alliance, but they are competitors on US/UK transatlantic routes and this precludes reciprocal earning or redemption of miles on those routes only. You are, of course, able to purchase a ticket to fly BA tranatlantic, but US/UK flights on BA cannot be credited to AAdvantage, and the reverse is also true: US/UK flights on AA cannot be credited to BA Executive Club.

I assume you mean for award travel. They really can't stop you from buying a ticket...

I assume you mean for award travel. They really can't stop you from buying a ticket...
Yes, but they can stop you from wanting to buy a ticket!

You can't earn or redeem AA miles on US<->UK BA flights (except on the rare AA codeshare), so assuming you're not also a member of BA or another OW airline, you're not to going to earn any miles by flying those BA routes. This is AA/BA specific; there is presently no such restriction between any other pair of OneWorld airlines (OneWorld being the alliance that AA and BA are a part of).

Another advantage (sorry about that pun) for AA is that int'l award travel (economy) to Europe, South America, Japan/China/Korea has a high and low season. Low season awards are only 40K miles instead of 60K during high season. Asia is 50K and 65K repectively. And the AA program allows date/time changes on award travel without charge on its partners.
Many of the UA flyers that I know say that AA.COM is better than United.bomb :eek:

For tall people like me, E+ seating in UA is a big reason I go with them. Being able to reserve exit row seats online as a 1P is a good benefit as well. I was an AA flyer for a while, but I'm happier with UA now since I moved to DEN.

To me, it's all about Economy Plus on UA. If you're only getting 25k miles on AA, the benefits are minimal. But 25k on UA gets you access to E+ on all their flights. If you're talking 50K or 100K, the programs are very comparable.

if you don't make an upgrade on american, you sit in coach.
if you don't make an upgrade in United, you sit in economy plus if you have status and get some extra leg room.

Once you make status on AA, you can grab emergency row seats using the online seat selection. Not exactly economy plus, but it helps.

Once you make status on AA, you can grab emergency row seats using the online seat selection. Not exactly economy plus, but it helps.Which in fact, begs the question: Just how diffferent, other than in number of such seats per plane and federal (not airline) restrictions on who can sit there, is there between Economy+ and exit row seats on other airlines?

In some (many?) cases, doesn't an exit row actually give you more legroom than the typical Economy+ seat? (This could, of course, vary on a plane by plane basis.)

My assumption has been that the main difference is availability. First of all, you don't have to be over 15 or able/willing to operate the exit row door to sit in E+. Second, there's more E+ seats on the plane than exit row seats, so especially if you're not booking well ahead of time it may be easier to get an E+ seat than an exit row seat.

But does UA let you see whether there's an E+ seat available before you commit to booking? AA lets you see whether there's an exit row seat available, and if fact I always use that to pick a flight (even a date for the trip) when I can reserve an exit row seat. And thus (since my plane travel is almost all leisure) I don't have much of a problem with there bieng only a few exit row seats per plane.

Btw, you don't need to fly 25k EQMs on UA to get access to Economy Plus, you just need to pay $299:

http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6722,51326,00.html

But that (plus the fact that people who aren't allowed to sit in exit row seats and thus don't reserve them on AA do reserve E+ seats on UA, plus because certain fares automatically put you in E+ on UA but not so for exit rows on AA) means that you're in way more competition for those E+ seats than AA elites are for exit row seats! Which may offset the fact that there are more E+ seats on UA than exit row seats on AA?

I prefer United over AA for the following reasons:

UA's Economy+ vs American's Less Room Throughout Coach
UA's In flight entertainment on all their planes vs nothing on AA's MD80
UA's meal service in F vs AA's maybe there is a meal on Thursday but not Friday on the same flight
UA's jets vs AA's MD80s
Some of UA's regional jets have F vs AA's ratty Eagle service

I also have found the people at United to be much more helpful than the people I encounter with AA, but AA fans seem to find it the other way around. So much depends on the routes you are flying.

I used to consider the hub in DFW to be a major drawback to flying AA, but the city has done a good job refurbishing the airport and improving the previoiusly antiquted tram system that this is no longer a drawback.

AA's elimination of More Room Throughout Coach was the final straw for me, as I am tall, and what AA gives you in coach for legroom is shameful. AA's domestic F product is what their coach product was 15 years ago.

I also see more unhappy employees at AA than the other carriers, well maybe Northwest has a few more, but I get so tired of AA's mentality of nickle and diming the passenger. I had full fare ticket and changed the return and the fare had gone up $5 and I was charged this PLUS a phone fee for changing the ticket. I had another full fare ticket, arrived at the airport earlier than I had anticipated and saw that I could catch the United flight instead of the American. The agent at the counter told me that they "normally charge $90 to print a paper ticket." When I told her I would call our corporate travel department and ask them about this she printed the ticket without the fee.

About the only time I fly AA now is when there is no alternative, or when their schedule works better than the competition. Sadly this still puts me as a Platinum member.

Oh, almost forgot the #1 reason to go United vs AA:

UA's vermin free planes vs AA's 767 with rats living in the oxygen maks.

OK that one was a cheap shot.

I am committed to UA for the long haul and closing in on 1,000,000 butt in seat miles, which means Premier Executive status for life, so I am past the point of no return. If, however, I were just starting out, and lived in a city which was served equally well by UA and AA, I think I might go with AA because they typically have much better pricing.

The one thing I really do like about being a UA 1k, is getting the six system-wide upgrades each year and I have no idea if AA has complimentary international upgrades for their top status fliers. That would be deal breaker for me.

I find the bash against AA's LRTC and the rah rah UA E+ crowd funny sometimes. What most seem to forget is, that yes while MRTC is officially over, a good number of seats still have MRTC pitch, especially on the MD80.

And FWIW, since being elite I never missed out on an exit row seat except by choice.

Anyways, we still don't know OP's route, and when all is said and done, the deciding factor for most people seems to be schedule.

The one thing I really do like about being a UA 1k, is getting the six system-wide upgrades each year and I have no idea if AA has complimentary international upgrades for their top status fliers. That would be deal breaker for me.

Hi Punki-

Good to see you posting again. AA gives out 8 systemwides a year, and unlimited space available upgrades for top tier flyers on domestic flights. I've cleared all 46 domestic upgrades I've asked for this year (100%). Never had a problem in 5 years getting my systemwides to clear, either (already in place for the London Do in November on a $416 base fare). I don't pretend to be the typical AA flyer, as I know I'm flying outside some of the high demand periods.

As to fares another poster mentioned, I find AA very competitive out of the Bay Area. I'm on a $140 SFO-DCA fare right now that UA did not match (of course, AA didn't have that glitch where UA matched Southwest fares at 50% off).

Tom at a rainy DFW this morning

Oh, almost forgot the #1 reason to go United vs AA:

UA's vermin free planes vs AA's 767 with rats living in the oxygen maks.

OK that one was a cheap shot.

Be careful what you say about AA's rats, I hear they have a union now.

Hi Punki-

Good to see you posting again. AA gives out 8 systemwides a year, and unlimited space available upgrades for top tier flyers on domestic flights. I've cleared all 46 domestic upgrades I've asked for this year (100%).


To me, this is the main reason AA beats UA for top tierflyers. My understanding is that on UA, there are no free upgrades, even for 1K members. UA flyers, please correct me if I am wrong.

I am a United fan and while AAdvantage may have a few strong points in relation to UA, on the whole I find UA better. In-flight, schedules (ex ORD), planes, IFE/PTV's on more aircraft, and in terms of SWU's, you can use them on Lufthansa (great value), and can use the new Star Alliance Upgrade program on Thai, Lufthansa, ANA, and other greats, plus in my opinion Star>OW

Thanks, Tom911!

Maybe I should spend more on my AA card, and see if I can rack up top status without ever flying them. :D That had actually been my plan at one point in time, but since I already have unlimited spending on so many credit cards which I use all of the time, Citi was reluctant to give me that privilege with my CitiBank card.

Their reasoning was that it could be scary if I ran up $100,000.00 on my combined cards in a single month? My response was, "Yes, that is what I usually do, but I always pay them off each month". I suspect they would be happier with people who ran up big balances and didn't pay them off each month. :D They would make a lot more money off of them.

Maybe I should spend more on my AA card, and see if I can rack up top status without ever flying them. :D That had actually been my plan at one point in time, but since I already have unlimited spending on so many credit cards which I use all of the time, Citi was reluctant to give me that privilege with my CitiBank card.

Their reasoning was that it could be scary if I ran up $100,000.00 on my combined cards in a single month? My response was, "Yes, that is what I usually do, but I always pay them off each month". I suspect they would be happier with people who ran up big balances and didn't pay them off each month. :D They would make a lot more money off of them.
I'm not aware of any way to get Exec Plat without flying.

The highest I know of that you can get without flying is Plat (which is AA's mid-level status), by accumulating 2 million miles (from all sources) over the liftetime of your AAdvantage account. If you really run up that much each month, even if inefficiently, you should be able to get to lifetime Plat as long as the points you earn on a signficant number of that spending are somehow convertible to AA miles. Examples include:

Diners Club: Club Rewards points convertible to AA miles 1:1 without limit, and DIners Club is a charge card (tho also from Citibank, but they may treat you differently since it's a charge card rather than a credit card).

Starwood AMEX: SPG points convertible to AA miles 1:1.25 (when converted in multiples of 20k), no limit that I know of (but double check). Since it's an AMEX that's been around for a while, I presume it's also a charge card, but I've never had it so I'm not absolutely sure.

AMEX with Membership Rewards: Here it gets inefficient, but you can get to AA miles (with a big loss in value) by going through a hotel program. You'd need several million MR points for each million AA miles, but at the rate you spend, that still might be achievable in a reasonable amount of time.

And, btw, AA allows you to move your miles out of their FFP (tho with a limit on how many a year), so if you had no use for that many miles there when done, you could (at at least 50% loss) move some of them out over time (again, through a hotel program, potentially then into another airline's FFP).

But, of course, I'm not sure why you'd want mid-level status from AA if you were never going to fly them after that. This is simply an exercise to show you that, if you're willing, it can be done, whether it makes sense or not!

its settled...i'm going with united due to more flight options and the perks of e+ don't hurt. thanks for all the input.

Maybe I should spend more on my AA card, and see if I can rack up top status without ever flying them. :D

Another thing with AA's credit card is reduced mileage awards. For instance, this month I can go to Toronto or Montreal for 17,500 miles, and the last quarter to Newark, for the same 17,500 miles (I'll be booking one of those in December). As I do a lot of award travel, I can take advantage of some of these. Does UA have anything similar?

its settled...i'm going with united due to more flight options and the perks of e+ don't hurt. thanks for all the input.

I think you will be happy with 2P status on United. I don't fly AA much, so can't speak to its benefits. However, I am United 2P, and have to say I am very satisfied with the level of benefits I receive for such a low status level.

In particular, E+ seating is fantastic (except on P.S. flights where you would get P.S. anyway and there is less leg room), and these days the fact that you have shorter check-in and particularly security lines is also very handy, because it translates into less travel time. With shorter lines, check-in has less variability, so you can cut it closer when getting to the airport. Also if you check baggage from the elite line, often your checked bag comes out sooner. (Not quite sure what the deal is here, because sometimes they give my bag an orange "Priority" tag, and sometimes they don't. Yet the longest I've had to wait for my bag was when it did have the Priority tag.)

I don't know how AA is, but United also lets you board first, so you always get overhead space. There is no priority given to people traveling with small children, etc. Once you are 2P, you board first with all the other elite members (except UGS and First class).

The main drawbacks I see: Award travel is essentially impossible, though upgrades work fine--in fact I've gotten every single one I've requested, even ones I requested the night before the flight. Coach tickets are more expensive than AA. Also it takes about 45-60 minutes to talk to a human being on the phone (which unfortunately you often have to do, because you want E+ and picking seats doesn't always work on the web site). With higher elite levels you supposedly get better phone numbers that have shorter hold times.

For some people the lack of in-seat power is a United disadvantage, but I just solved that problem permanently with a $300 after-market battery for my laptop.

...For some people the lack of in-seat power is a United disadvantage, but I just solved that problem permanently with a $300 after-market battery for my laptop.

Careful with those laptop batteries! I'm surprised they allow them on board with all the fires lately.

Brian

Careful with those laptop batteries! I'm surprised they allow them on board with all the fires lately.


Yes, if the TSA bans all laptop batteries and the only way to work on the plane is to have in-seat power, I will instantly switch airlines. In fact, I'm sure my laptop battery is full of some nasty fluid or gel that's a hell of a lot more dangerous than the sealed water bottles I'm banned from bringing on board, so this is probably closer to happening than one would hope...

Maybe we can add a sticky with links to the dozens of threads on this exact same topic which can be found in the UA and AA forums. :)

Good to see you posting again. AA gives out 8 systemwides a year, and unlimited space available upgrades for top tier flyers on domestic flights. I've cleared all 46 domestic upgrades I've asked for this year (100%). Never had a problem in 5 years getting my systemwides to clear, either (already in place for the London Do in November on a $416 base fare).


How does that work? Are these upgrades paid for with miles, money, or what?
Thanks

Are these upgrades paid for with miles, money, or what?

Fly 100,000 miles a year with AA , and these perks are all free (domestic upgrades, 8 systemwides).

I've used UA miles to upgrade to biz from US (don't remember which city) to Narita at the gate, and that was easy and wonderful. I've also used AA miles to get a r/t RDU-Auckland that cost me $50, and the customer service people in the US were extremely helpful (in NZ, calling the helpline in Australia, they were less so, although they weren't surly).

AA is much easier to access from my closest airport, RDU, but there's a glut of elites around here because of that. I sometimes take the only *A carrier with much traffic here, US Air, to somewhere that I can get on a UA flight. And the vast majority of my miles are on Thai metal, so UA miles are handier for *A upgrades and such.

So I keep miles on both of them! But I'm currently leaning towards UA, because AA and its partners don't have the best schedules to where I need to go in Asia.

Maybe I should spend more on my AA card, and see if I can rack up top status without ever flying them. That had actually been my plan at one point in time, but since I already have unlimited spending on so many credit cards which I use all of the time, Citi was reluctant to give me that privilege with my CitiBank card.

Citibank AAdvantage CC miles aren't elite qualifying miles, though they are only so far as they contribute to your lifetime mile count which can achieve lifetime Gold and Platinum status. Even still, there is no lifetime status level for ExPlat(the highest "regular" elite level), so CC miles could not contribute to gaining ExPlat status in any way.