darthbimmer

Southwest is the obvious example of a major (US domestic) airline with a revenue based ff program. You earn points based on the cost and category of the ticket purchased. You qualify for status based on either the number of flights or points.

sdsearch

Excuse me, but for a solo traveler, what status at Southwest? (I say for a solo traveler, because a solo traveler can't make use of the Companion Pass. And the OP is almost always traveling on business, and thus almost certainly alone.)

Southwest's status is pretty much early boarding and earlier boarding and that's about it. (There may also be a shorter secuirty line, but for those who have PreCheck that may be a wash, depending on the airport.) Because Southwest doesn't have assinged seating, and often you're boarding a flight that has through passengers from an earlier flight, no matter how early your boarding, you aren't guaranteed a better seat (such as bulkhead or exit row). Remember, Southwest doesn't have assinged seating, so you can't reserve the best seat, no matter what your status.

So Southwest's A-List status is only a status relative to other Southwest fliers (earlier boarding, thus theoretically better choice of seats, and somewhat speedier security for those who don't have PreCheck), but it doesn't seem like status at all relative to any legacy airline, or even some of the other LCCs like Virgin America or Jet Blue that do have reserved seats and different kinds of seats (so status could at the very least get you a better seat).

But the OP has already stated (before your post) that they are interested in upgrades to First Class. That's not going to happen on Southwest, because Southwest is a single-class airline (and that class is definitely coach!).

darthbimmer

As an A List member I got preferential boarding order and a points earning bonus. As an A List Preferred my boarding order is more preferential, my points bonus is higher, and I get free wifi on planes equipped with it. Though most of my revenue travel is solo flights for work, I spend my points on leisure travel and use the Companion Pass to bring my spouse for just a few dollars more. I'm nearly certain OP could find some benefit for a Companion Pass-- a spouse, partner, close friend, parent, child, etc.

Shrug. My last year as a UA 1k my upgrade rate dropped to 25%. As a Plat it dropped to zero.

Sometimes there's no perfect answer to a question.

sdsearch

I'm not at all so certain. I've never had the dhance to fly with anyone else in the last dozen or two years, simlpy because everyone who's physically near me never wants to (or can't) fly on the dates that I can, and every one who could lives halfway across the country (so one or both of us has to fly different routes to meet up somewhere, which doesn't work with a companinon pass of course). And I'm sure I'm not the only person in the world in that situation.

Southwest is not the only one with companion passes, and I see plenty of discussion in various places on FlyerTalk where some people swear by companion passes and other people have no use for them.

At any case, "some benefit" once in a rare blue moon, is that worth changing airlines for, if that means giving up stuff on the majority of your flights?

That's UA for someone living near a UA hub (SFO in your case). Getting upgrades at lower status is often harder at certain hubs than at many non-hub airports. (In AA's system, upgrades are hard on LAX-DFW, ie between hubs, but quite easy for example on DFW-HSV, which often goes out with first class only slightly filled even after all upgrades have been requested.) If the OP goes for American or Delta while at DEN, their chances for upgrades go up relative to going for United while at DEN!

Also, upgrades may be easier on AA's "sticker" system than on other legacies' "automatic unlimited" upgrades, because people have to request an upgrade on AA, and some don't, and that gives lower status people who do request upgrade a better chance than at airlines where upgrades are automatic.

So as you said, there no one perfect answer to a question.

drminn

As far as I understand you will earn status based on miles or segments flown as it is right now. You will earn fare based miles that are redeemable for free flight, the status miles are not redeemable.

Long Zhiren

I suppose that sooner than later, US airlines will probably adopt the strategy used by many foreign airlines like Lufthansa, Malaysian Airlines, EVA Airways, Air China, etc. If they operated on US soil for domestic flights, you'd be set already.
PQM earned on any flight correlate roughly with actual fares paid.
The lowest fares earn no PQM. The next lowest get only 50%. Etc. It seems scrooge-like, but it does filter out the lower spenders, mileage-run people, etc. It's a logical next step in the evolution of the programs. I wager that you will not have to wait many years for this to happen.

Kagehitokiri

very good point. perhaps OP can clarify re segments.

MSPeconomist

At least on DL, it's also at least 90,000 MQMs (status miles), where 75,000 are needed for PM and 125,000 for DM. OTOH, 180 segments is well beyond what's needed for DM.

toomanybooks

OP: Depending on how expensive your flights tend to be, you might look at the AA Aairpass (http://www.aairpass.com/). Fixed rate on fares (high, though), plus nice perks. I think your volume is high enough

Southwest gives you an unlimited Companion Pass when you hit the required annual limit.

Airtran has a Companion Pass you can buy for 100 credits.

What other airline offers an unlimited Companion pass (as opposed to single-use)?

us2

No, but the RDM model Delta is rolling out next year is going to benefit you in a big way. It is probably worth slogging it out this year to get Diamond, which you should be able to do on segments from Denver unless your only destinations are Delta hubs. Under the new mileage accrual, your $40,000 in spend would net you around 440,000 miles a year as a Diamond, which is probably a whole lot better than you're doing now. You'd need 140 segments, which is a little more than 3 a week if you're flying 45 weeks a year.

sdsearch

I doubt it, because the other airlines I know of that have Companion Passes fly much longer flights, and/or don't fly coach only, and it would seem cost prohibitive to have an unlimited companion pass in international Business or First class worldwide.

Alaska has a $99 companion pass that comes with a credit card. I doubt, with it being that easy, I doubt it's unlimited, but I don't remember the limits.

BA has some sort of companion pass, but IRRC it requires very expensive fares. (It may or may not be unlimited, but even if it's unlimited, if it only applies to walk-up fares, do you care?) And, of course, BA has no intra-US flights, being a UK-based airline.

There are different purposes for companion passes at different airlines. At Southwest, it sounds like it's mostly for leisure travel. An international one which only works on walk-up fares sounds like it's mostly for bringing a business colleague along on a last-minute international business trip.

toomanybooks

"Companion Pass" in the Southwest sense is completely different from a one-use Companion ticket like from BA or Alaska.

Southwest Companion pass is unlimited, every time you step on the plane, for up to 2 years. There are people who use it 20+ RTs a year, making it worth thousands of dollars. For many people, it's the absolute best deal out there, but there is an irrational prejudice against non-legacies on FT.

Some business people on Southwest have a colleague as Companion. Also many caregivers who accompany their "patients."

sdsearch

I wouldn't lump all non-legacies together.

I feel that as a 6' tall person I have some rational prejudice against any airline that doesn't allow me to reserve a "more legroom" seat in 2015. That includes Southwst (a non-legacy) and pre-merger-completion US Air (a legacy). Airlines that do allow me to reserve a "more legroom" seat include Virgin America (a non-legacy) and AA proper (a legacy).

I further separate airlines according to where they fly and how much they fly. Virgin America may be a great airline, I dunno, but it doesn't tend to fly anywhere I need to fly, and in case it does, it often flies so rarely (and so one-path-only) that it has no "alternate route" to send you on in case of IRROPS. I once walked by a Virgin America gate at LAX and saw that its only flight of the day to somewhere (I forget where) was delayed 7+ hours. While Southwest doesn't interline, it does have a robust network all its own, and can usually reroute you within. So can most hub-and-spoke legacies (though in extremer cases they can put you on an interlined carrier that is otherwise their competition). But most non-legacies below Southwest's size don't interline yet don't have that much of a network themselves.

I further separate non-legaices by pricing practices. Spirit is total yuck, in a way that the more estalished non-legacies aren't.

So I don't know all these people are that have a blanket prejudice against all non-legacies. What I much more often see is people who don't like a particular thing about a particular non-legacy to the point where they don't want to fly it. (And for each of those, I could probably show you someone else who has a prejudice against some particular legacy, for example the home of SkyPesos.)

MileHighColorado

Since you are in Denver you should also check with Frontier. Being a smaller airline they are likely to do more for business and after you get status with them the bigger airlines will be more likely to match.

I have had two Southwest matches with Frontier statues in the last two years!

Frontier also has a Business program spending level is only $2,500 and you get mid-tier Ascent

https://www.flyfrontier.com/programs...l/how-it-works

top status is Summit and it requires

Summit Level:
25,000 Frontier flight miles flown in one calendar year (January through December)
30 Frontier flight segments flown in one calendar year (January through December)