februaryfour

Hi everyone! I decided to post this here instead of the UA, CO, or AA forums, since this post covers all three. If that's not okay, please let me know what the correct forum should be, and apologies in advance!

My question: Should I sign up for UA M+ (or CO OnePass), AA, or should I go back to Krisflyer and start over from the beginning?

Background information:
I used to have a Krisflyer FF number and I tried to stick with it for flights between NRT-KUL (hometown), but their membership program screwed up for me somehow and never registered the miles because I was doing it only once every two years, so after dealing with their customer service once, I gave up on the miles rather than deal with the hassle.

I currently live in Tokyo but my husband and I are going to move to Denver by November. In other words, beginning November 2010, our home airport will be DEN.

Husband is a UA M+ member (used to be elite but lost status last year by about 2k miles and decided not to buy in because he wasn't going to be flying much this year). My husband and I also gave up on miles flown JQ between NRT-MEL and SYD-NRT because they were on Qantas.

So, I am now basically starting with a clean slate. This November we are flying SQ NRT-LAX, and then UA LAX-DEN. They won't qualify us for elite, but it's a nice extra cushion.

I've flown AA on international routes before, and I've enjoyed every single flight (NRT-DEN-NRT). The last time I was on AA, they moved mountains for me to get a power port in Y. I don't ask for much when it comes to service, because as long as I have a seat and I am fed and watered, I don't really care about anything else (and I'm a small Asian woman so seat size/pitch is not an issue). However, my husband assures me AA on US domestic routes are a nightmare and that I should avoid them. I am most likely to be flying with him over 80% of the time, and for him, seat pitch is an issue. He's more fussy about cabins than I am, and losing elite on M+ was a big deal for him.

I'm going to be making DEN-KUL-DEN on a regular basis (possibly via SIN, especially if I fly UA). DEN-NRT-DEN is possible on an occasional basis. Within the USA, there aren't any regular airports we'll be visiting, but it's likely we'll be flying all over the US on a vacation/travel basis.

I will admit, FF perks are nice, but for me it's all about upgrades on long-haul flights and/or free tickets. Whenever possible I stay with relatives/friends, or book into very cheap hotels, so luxury hotel rooms, while nice, are not a draw. I am also bad at sticking with restaurant chains, and I don't tend to rent cars. Given the choice between miles or a cheaper flight, I have about a $25-$50 window before I choose the cheaper non-miles flight (depending on how long the flight is).

If it weren't for the UA/CO merger, I might have just automatically joined M+ to be with my husband, but now the uncertainty is really bugging me. I don't want to join a mileage program just to get out of it again! Can anyone advise me as to whether I should join UA's M+ (or CO's OnePass, since they're merging), go to AA, or join Krisflyer again?

wanaflyforless

DEN is a UA hub. You will have more non-stop options when you fly domestically if you choose UA.

You are looking at the right programs. AA and UA/CO are better FF programs for international flyers than DL and US are.

On inexpensive tickets, you will have to pay both miles and cash to upgrade internationally. The fees are similar between UA and AA.

UA flys to more destinations in Asia than AA currently does.

UA has better (horizontal) business class seats on a lot of the fleet compared to AA (AA will catch up in a few years).

In your scenario, I think you should choose UA. The UA program is not likely to change too much with the integration of CO.

AA is the most generous program in the world for international upgrade for people who fly 100,000 miles a year ore more. At lower levels, UA is roughly equal.

februaryfour

Thanks! UA and SQ are both in Star Alliance--do you know whether it will be better to sign up for M+ (UA) or Krisflyer (SQ)? The DEN-KUL trips are likely to be the major mile-contributors, but that's only if miles are earned across *A on a 1:1 basis...

ckpeter

Sounds like you should join UA, as you don't fly enough and SQ's policy of expiring miles, regardless of activity, will cause you more trouble down the road.

There is no uncertainty with CO/UA, they are merging and your accounts will be merged as well. There is no need to get out of any of them.

februaryfour

Wow, considering I had this problem with SQ (which is why I don't use Krisflyer anymore), you'd think I'd have remembered this. Thank you for the reminder. Signing up for Mileage Plus account now. Thank you! ^

MikeFromTokyo

Another vote for United Mileage +. Considering your new location in Denver, and your travel plans to SE Asia, Star Alliance is the way to go.

As has been said, the UA program will work best for you because your miles will never expire as long as you have some activity every 18 months. Additionally, the UA program is much better than SQ for anyone wanting to buy economy tickets and upgrade to J.

februaryfour

Excellent point--activity within an 18-month window is trivial (I travel more frequently than that). Also, thank you for the reminder re: Y --> J upgrades!

gatelouse

I'd encourage you to consider the AA program if you find that their fares are competitive with UA or SQ. While AA itself is weaker in Asia than UA or SQ, AA offers codeshares to KUL via the legendary CX (gotta book the codeshare to earn the miles, as most CX fares don't earn AA miles). For NRT, it's the same DEN-LAX-NRT routine for either AA or UA.

Redemption levels for business and first class awards to Asia are slightly to significantly lower on AA, depending on the class and zone. And you can redeem miles for travel on AA, JL, or CX in any combination.

Convincing the spouse to accept AA may be the tough part. I've found their domestic service to be tolerable--great, even, when I was EXP--and the power ports are nice. AAdvantage and the Admirals Club lounges aren't half bad.

holiosan

I used to have to fly UA at times and was never happy about their service or their ability (or inability) to be on time.
As my routes will again include NRT with BKK once a year, the distances are enough to pull in the SWUs pretty quickly.
DEN-DFW/LAX-NRT aren't bad routes and, like Gatelouse said, you have access to CX into KUL.
The great part is using miles on CX. FC this year to BKK for my wife and I on miles with them. Only times we really fly with them.
Didn't I just read that AA was expanding the AC in DEN?
Maybe they're looking at more of a presence there for AA.

UA Fan

Please note that SQ charges FS on awards, so if you are someone who normally flies paid economy and redeems economy, then UA/CO/AC or US is the way to go.

sbm12

Sure, but SQ is also one of the only ways to redeem for SQ C and the only way to redeem for SQ Suites (though at an absurd rate). So if premium redemption is your thing and you want to be on SQ metal you're not going to be happy with a US-based program.

There are a number of zero credit classes on SQ metal for the MileagePlus program (X I O G Q V N T); the CO program is rather similar as is US. Just another thing to consider depending on your fare purchase habits.

ande777emt

I've found flexi fares in S,Y will credit at 150% EQM to CO and sometimes theyre only $130-200 more than discounted fare. As long as its not a 77W or 380, you may have luck upgrading in Y dependent on loads.

I had a coworker who did a CPH-SIN-CPH in full Y and his UG request cleared, however this is a 772.

On the *A general forum there's a few LH M&M people who claim they have gotten award 77W seats. Maybe the policy is changing.