excalibur713

If any of you have had CO/UA Silver in the past, I'd appreciate any advice you can offer. I'll be about 1500 miles short, and I'm based in Europe, so I'm thinking about spending $200-400 to do a status run and weekend trip before the end of the year. I'll probably fly *A at least a couple of times next year, some within Europe, and will likely do at least one intercontinental on CO or UA.

Basically, what I'd like to know is, has Silver status on CO/UA made folks' travel experience better, particularly on *A partners? Is it worth spending a couple hundred on a weekend trip I might not otherwise take to acquire status? (I'm lucky enough to have the money, but obviously I could use it for something else... probably including a cheaper flight for the same weekend trip on a non-*A airline, given that I'm based in a Skyteam hub).

jhayes_1780

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...ad-merged.html

One probelm with the master thread, is the "new" program is not giving Silvers (2P's) as much as they used to (less bags, no E+ at ticketing, etc).

If you are looking for benefits exclusively related to *A, there really isn't much (IIRC 1 free bag, and "priority" lines).

ChinaShrek

I am a long time silver (2P) based in Maine. In the past, I have been very happy with United 2P benefits and thought they were easily worth $500-600 (Economy Plus, an occasional upgrade to first, two free bags, and the mileage bonus). Next year UACO is devaluing 2P significantly. We will only get E+ within 24 hours of the flight. This means that on many flights (not all, of course) there will be no E+ seats left. We will only get one free bag (which you can also get from the credit card). You will not get any complimentary upgrades in Europe (since you based there, that's important to remember). IMHO, 2P is no longer worth a mileage run, especially based in Europe.

boat9781

If you're going to fly 30K a year, Silver isn't such a bad deal. Free bag, E+ at checkin, and PremierAccess. Certainly nothing to scoff at, but not necessarily worth doing mileage runs for.

If you're flying 15K miles a year, definitely go for the MileagePlus Explorer and just buy E+ for the flights you want extra legroom.

bluegrinch

From Europe, I don't think CO/UA Silver is worth a mileage run.

You get priority boarding/check-in and luggage handling and the first checked bag is free. If available (and if flying on a PMUA aircraft), free upgrade to Economy Plus at check-in.

It's your money, but I don't think it's worth $300 just to get that for one TATL flight next year. If you were also to take a bunch of domestic flights, that might be a different story (and you might also get upgrades to First).

Star Silver gets you priority waitlisting and standby on partner airlines. Not very useful unless you fly at the last minute on busy routes.

excalibur713

Fair enough. Thank you all!

PVDProf

There's no doubt 2P has been devalued, but for you it might not be as bad as it sounds. Realistically, E+ is going to be available for 2Ps on every flight but IAD-SFO, and nearly all non hub-hub flights will have non-middles (or even exit rows) available at check-in. If your one TATL is during tourist season, you'll have no problem getting E+ on that for you and a companion, and that's potentially worth $400 by itself.

I'm not sure it's worth a $300 mileage run to you, but it might be worth paying $100 more a trip you were going to take anyway to get the *A miles.

docbert

Depends when you're checking in.

At 24 hours out, I suspect E+ availability will be very good on almost all flights. Remember, it's not just you that can't book E+ in advance - it's _every_ 2P that can't! If even only half of elite members are 2P (and I'm guessing it's far more than half on most/all flights), then that means that on a flight that goes out with E+ exactly full, at 24 hours out it's going to be less than half full!

Of course, if you're checking in at the airport 40 minutes before your flight it could well be a different story...

Ready4Snow

Personally, I would say it's not worth it unless the run you would take would be enjoyable. A nice weekend getaway can be a fun thing.

Sprezzatura

++ Good point!

Superguy

Of course, then you get to play the WN mad rush at T-24 and try to get a seat and hope you actually get it. I can imagine several people clicking on the same seat, and having the system choke as it sorts it all out.

LAX

I agree the less desirable E+ seats may be available on some flights, but I doubt the non-middle or exit row E+ will be available by T-24hrs. Remember that the upgrade priority will be changed next year. What that means is more 1Ks & 1Ps will be spending time in E+. Also, with UA's aggressive upsell to F & E+, don't count on E+ being readily available even when checking in at T-24hrs.

LAX

~tc~

I have been UA Premier (silver) the last couple of years, and it was OK. I was quite pleased with the number of times I got upgraded.

That said, if you are based in Europe and UDU isn't going to happen, I would just get the credit card for the baggage and priority lines.

How much would it cost you to take a couple trips to the US or Asia and make Gold? THAT's where you would really see some benefits with lounge access across the entire *A.

LAX

If lounge access is the goal, there are easier programs to choose from. Making 1P would have access to E+ at booking and that would be the only reason to stay with UA.

LAX

lrluis

Couldn't have said it better. I didn't know about FT until this year. However, last year, I missed CO Gold by 3K and didn't know about mileage runs. Because of that, I missed out on *A lounge access on my 6 international flights to Oz this year.

In my opinion, If you're planning on any long haul flights next year, then I would say that achieving silver might be worth it for E+. However, with next year's rule of not being able to reserve E+ at the time of booking, 2p might not be as valuable.