Asiana Club - SEA to BKK - United status useful?

I just booked travel in economy "Q" class from Seattle to Bangkok via Seoul.

I have premier exec status on United. Any chance this will earn me an upgrade, lounge access, or any other perks on Asiana?

In the past I've gotten complimentary upgrades when flying on AA when I was platinum.

No complimentary upgrades, but you will be higher in priority if the flights are overbooked.

You will get all the normal Star Gold perks, including:

1. Priority Check-in
2. Priority Baggage handling
3. 1 piece extra allowance
4. Lounge Access
5. Priority Boarding

In the past I've gotten complimentary upgrades when flying on AA when I was platinum.



Must have been domestic AA flights. I'm yet to find any carrier that gives out complimentary upgrades on trans-Pacific. If you're anticipating operational upgrades, your best bet is sticking to the carrier in which you have elite status, which is United.

You should have lounge access in Seattle and any international locations as a star gold......

Must have been domestic AA flights. I'm yet to find any carrier that gives out complimentary upgrades on trans-Pacific. If you're anticipating operational upgrades, your best bet is sticking to the carrier in which you have elite status, which is United.

Transatlantic actually. In 2005 I had to take several trips from Chicago to London, and several times I was given an upgrade to business class. I was either flying on American or BA code-shared with American. I had platinum status from lots of domestic flying. In one case, the check-in agent even asked me to keep quiet about getting the upgrade (apparently that would have upset some of the other passengers?). I dunno - it was all pretty unexpected. None of the upgrades were requested.

Good to hear about the lounge. I also have a corporate Amex platinum which supposedly gets me lounge access in some places. I suppose I should cross-reference the Asiana lounges with the Amex lounges and see which ones are better ;)

Transatlantic actually. In 2005 I had to take several trips from Chicago to London, and several times I was given an upgrade to business class. I was either flying on American or BA code-shared with American. I had platinum status from lots of domestic flying. In one case, the check-in agent even asked me to keep quiet about getting the upgrade (apparently that would have upset some of the other passengers?). I dunno - it was all pretty unexpected. None of the upgrades were requested.

Good to hear about the lounge. I also have a corporate Amex platinum which supposedly gets me lounge access in some places. I suppose I should cross-reference the Asiana lounges with the Amex lounges and see which ones are better ;)



If you had platinum status, then you perhaps did NOT have lots of domestic flying based on FlyerTalk's standard. I understand that you're a newbie, so you probably haven't realized that AA's platinum status is not something to be distinguished here where there are thousands of executive platinum members. That said, UA's premier executive status does not mean much. There are roughly almost 250,000 premier executive members out there, so don't expect too much. On Asiana, you will be recognized even less important because their own elite members.

If you had platinum status, then you perhaps did NOT have lots of domestic flying based on FlyerTalk's standard. I understand that you're a newbie, so you probably haven't realized that AA's platinum status is not something to be distinguished here where there are thousands of executive platinum members. That said, UA's premier executive status does not mean much. There are roughly almost 250,000 premier executive members out there, so don't expect too much. On Asiana, you will be recognized even less important because their own elite members.

In addition, most non US carriers will rather fly with an empty business class than just give away complimentary upgrades. A lot of them will not even sell upgrades at the gate and leave the seat empty instead.

If you had platinum status, then you perhaps did NOT have lots of domestic flying based on FlyerTalk's standard.
I have no idea what FlyerTalk's standard is, but I have been flying ~45 roundtrips a year for the majority of the last 8 years. Most of that is domestic (US). I don't always get a lot of choice about which airlines I fly, though most of it has been concentrated most of it on American, United (or their partners) and Southwest.

That out of the way ...

I understand that you're a newbie, so you probably haven't realized that AA's platinum status is not something to be distinguished here where there are thousands of executive platinum members.
I understand that all too well. Flying regularly in and out of O'Hare on United/American makes it plainly obvious that status doesn't mean much, domestically.

don't expect too much. On Asiana, you will be recognized even less important because their own elite members.
Understood, and I'm not expecting anything.

When American gave me complimentary upgrades to business class (maybe I was platinum exec at the time, but I don't think so), I was pleasantly surprised. It happened three times when flying between O'Hare and Heathrow.

Out of 6 longhaul segments (LHR-ICN v.v.) I've been op-upped twice based on being AC*G. It was especially surprising since both upgrades were ex-ICN where you would expect a more strict adherence to the "pecking order" (i.e. OZ's own elites first). A very pleasant surprise each time.

Plus, another time when I stopped being AC*G so I was supposed to be nobody, but the system had not updated my status so it still showed as AC*G. The check-in agent printed a lounge pass and tagged my bags priority, and I almost got an upgrade but the flight wasn't quite full enough...

When American gave me complimentary upgrades to business class (maybe I was platinum exec at the time, but I don't think so), I was pleasantly surprised. It happened three times when flying between O'Hare and Heathrow.



Once again, correct nomenclature for those upgrades is "OPERATIOAL UPGRADES, NOT complimentary upgrades." American does not give away upgrade for sure unless economy goes full on international flights, even to Platinum Exec. In those three occassions, you got upgrade not because they wanted to offer you better service but because they had to open up few seats in economy so that they could accomodate overbooked pax. However, you do get complimentary upgrades from American on domestic flights as an elite member.

Out of 6 longhaul segments (LHR-ICN v.v.) I've been op-upped twice based on being AC*G. It was especially surprising since both upgrades were ex-ICN where you would expect a more strict adherence to the "pecking order" (i.e. OZ's own elites first). A very pleasant surprise each time.

The order of op-up (upgrade when economy is full) on OZ is known that

OZ Platinum/Diamond (*G) -> Other airlines *G -> OZ Gold (*S) -> Other airlines *S.

maharashii, please let us know how it turns out for you.

maharashii, please let us know how it turns out for you.

Will do, and thanks for all the info.

OZ Platinum/Diamond (*G) -> Other airlines *G -> OZ Gold (*S) -> Other airlines *S.
How do I decode this? ;) I looked in the FAQ but no luck ...

It's an order of precedence for the upgrade.

OZ = Asiana Airlines
*G = Star Alliance Gold status
*S = Star Alliance Silver status