brucemcal

I have been checking flights SEA/STL. All the W,S,T fares are gone on the flights I want, but still available on the US flight numbers for the same flights all on UA metal. Over $100 less on US. Any problems with upgrades, FF bonus or EQM?

Bruce

RobotDoctor

The only thing you will not receive is Mileage credit towards M+ Million Mile status. Annual status still counts. If becoming a UA MM flyer, ie: Lifetime Premier Executive status, does not matter then book away on Star Alliance. If becoming a UA M+ MM flyer does matter, book and fly UA/UX metal.

mcgahat

Upgrades only clear at the gate if that makes a difference.

LAX

Try purchasing the flight with a UA code from third party sites (ie: Orbitz, Yahoo travel, etc.) if you want the perks associated with a UA code. It should be cheaper than buying on ual.com. Another small negative on purchasing with US is you won't get the online booking bonus on ual.com (assuming you will book online).

LAX

cakobau

I don't believe this is true -- or if it IS true, then I've been getting really really lucky. For example, I recently flew ORD-CDG-ORD on United 942/943, purchased from US Airways with a US flight number (6942/6943, I believe). My "Lifetime United flight miles" increased by the number of miles flown on that trip.

And this wasn't the only time this has happened. I've gotten Lifetime United credit for flights when LH or US sold me the ticket, regardless of whether the itinerary was all United, or mixed.

Have I just been getting lucky?

Unless:
Is "Lifetime United Flight Miles" the measure of Million Miler status, or is there yet ANOTHER odometer that I need to be tracking? I always assumed that the "lifetime" measure WAS the gauge to keep my eye on.


But to answer the OP's question from my own experience (so far): The only disadvantages for buying the US codeshare of the UA-metal flight are the sacrifice of the 1000-mile united.com booking bonus and the lost ability to confirm upgrades in advance. FFM, EQM, and (for me at least, seemingly) MM status miles all tally up just fine.

RobotDoctor

If you were flying someone elses metal then you are lucky. It is clearly stated in UA M+ policy that MM status is UA/UX metal only.

cakobau

Perhaps I wasn't clear. I was referring only to the UA-operated segments. I have never gotten MM status miles for LH or US-operated flights. My earlier post refers to flights marketed by LH or US, but operated by UA. (In fact, I have yet to set foot on a US-operated plane, so any statements I make related to US-operated flights are based on secondhand knowledge.)

When I have had a mix of metals on an itinerary, such as UA metal ORD-FRA, LH metal FRA-TXL-FRA-ORD, with the whole itinerary booked on Lufthansa, I've gotten all the FFM/EQM/MM for the UA leg.

So my understanding/experience is:

(Assuming you are using your Mileage Plus number for the flight...)

UA flight number, UA plane: accrue FFM, EQM, MM, elite bonuses, get bonus on united.com, advance upgrade possible.
US flight number, UA plane: accrue FFM, EQM, MM, elite bonuses. Get NO united.com bonus, MP upgrades only available standby.
UA flight number, US plane: accrue FFM, EQM. Get NO MM, united.com bonus, or any MP upgrades.
US flight number, US plane: accrue FFM, EQM. Get NO MM, united.com bonus, or any MP upgrades.

Correct me if I'm wrong. As stated, I have no experience on the latter two options, and am working only from hearsay. I vouch for the first two...

fduvall

Do we still accrue the 500 mile e-upgrades for every 10K miles flown if they are on US metal? Haven't seen a definitive answer about this yet.

FDuvall

mahasamatman

The definitive answer is no. UA metal only.

RobotDoctor

Using your UA M+ number AND flying UA metal, you have a great system. And it appears to be completely legal to boot. ^ ^

Renard

Sorry if this is redundant...but you get 500 milers .... mileage towards the 10K Confirmed regional upgrade per quarter, etc....as long as it is UA metal ... even if the ticket is purchased from US or another star alliance...what is important is that it is UA metal and who issued the ticket is immaterial, correct?

LAX

What about UA-coded, US metal flights purchased on ual.com? Would that count towards the 500-milers? Some have said yes while others have said no on other threads. I am still confused. Can someone provide a link that can provide the definitive answer?

LAX

merlin

This is a timely topic for me, since I just bought a US ticket on UA metal. After weighing my options, I decided I could live without the advance upgrade in return for significant savings. On a whim I called anyway, and inquired about an upgrade using 500 milers.

"Not a problem!" said the friendly agent, and they now show as "Upgrade: Pending."

To be clear, they are ticketed as US flight numbers, operated by UA. From searching through all of the archives yesterday, I was sure that this wasn't going to work. Must have been my lucky day.

cakobau

Correct. You accrue all of that if it's UA metal.

It is my understanding that US metal, regardless of where you purchase the ticket, and regardless of a UA codeshare flight number, will NOT count toward 500 milers.

So, my "chart," revised to include 500 milers...

UA flight number, UA plane: accrue FFM, EQM, MM, 500 milers, elite bonuses, get bonus on united.com, advance upgrade possible.
US flight number, UA plane: accrue FFM, EQM, MM, 500 milers, elite bonuses. Get NO united.com bonus, MP upgrades only available standby.
UA flight number, US plane: accrue FFM, EQM. Get NO MM, 500 milers, united.com bonus, or any MP upgrades.
US flight number, US plane: accrue FFM, EQM. Get NO MM, 500 milers, united.com bonus, or any MP upgrades.

UA_Flyer

Thanks! Your chart is very helpful ^ ^
If you could incorporate all the rules relating to other Star partners and non-star partners code-share flights in a separate new thread, I am definitely going to recommend it as a "sticky" thread.


Off the topic:

I think the above chart does not apply to Air China code-share flights on UA metals. My brother took the ORD-PVG/PEK flights on UA metals (Air China flight #), but did not get EQM in his M+ account, just regular miles. Anyone has different experience?