nyfirefly11

I'm currently a Silver member with about 9700 PQMs and 9.5 PQSs. With the travel that I'm planning for the remainder of the year, I should reach Silver again for 2014 (4-5 RTs from EWR to ATL, prob EWR to SLC and EWR to SFO, plus maybe one or two more).

I also have an opportunity to fly EWR to LHR, at least once in June, but mostly likely again in Q3 and Q4, paid for by my company. If I fly United for those routes, I have a good chance of getting to Gold. I'd be able to do Econ Plus, so at least I'd have a little extra legroom, and I'd be flying the 752s most likely.

The other option is to fly with someone like Virgin Atlantic, where I can do Premium Economy on A340s and 747s. (I'm flying with them at the end of this month to try it out).

The question is, what makes more sense? With Virgin, I get a few inches extra of pitch and width, most likely a better meal (though who knows), and a little more room on the a/c to move around (they have a bar). I'll accrue miles with Virgin, which means I'll have enough for probably a free economy ticket to Europe, or a few Business upgrades.

If I go with United, I could reach Gold for 2014, do economy plus (hopefully the exit row), go through TSA pre (at least in EWR), and there's always the possibility that I get an upgrade, though I don't know how likely that is.

Any thoughts? What would you do?

SFO777

If this was the difference between Silver and Gold, I'd suck it up and fly UA.
It's only 6-7 hours and you'll have an E+ seat.

pigx5

Of course premium economy......
The PE on VX is totally different product than the E+ on UA....

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If you will use the *G benefits and travel internationally, I would change my suggestion to UA G.

Wildfan88

I would suck it up and put up with E+ over the pond. When you reach Gold, that provides *Gold which is useful on *Alliance partners.

pigx5

Right.....forget about lounge access when traveling international and baggage allowance....

aacharya

And greater RDM earnings - ability to pick E+ at booking, etc.

There's no question for me - I'd stick it out on UA to get Gold for the rest of 2013 and all of 2014.

nyfirefly11

Yeah, it's a tough call. I want Gold for 2014 (given my travel, I'm not sure I need *Gold) mainly for E+ and 48 hour upgrades. But PE on Virgin is definitely more comfortable.

For the flight I've already booked on Virgin, I'm able to actually accrue miles with Dividend Miles instead of Flying Club. I don't particularly want miles with US Airways, so I could transfer them to MP using Points.com, but I assume I wouldn't get any PQM credit?

MSPeconomist

TSA PreCheck is only for domestic itineraries, but your should be able to get it by getting GE which is a good idea in itself. Then your PreCheck eligibility would be independent of carrier or status and good for five years. It's also nice to get through immigration and customs very very quickly after an international trip.

nyfirefly11

Wait, how does Global Entry give you pre-check status no matter what carrier? I actually have it already. Can I fly JetBlue, for example, but still go through the pre-check line?

mathgeek1978

OP: I'm in almost the same situation. I'm silver most of the time because I used to always fly CX on my trips to Asia. This year, I am planning to hit gold and am flying UA on all my trips to Asia. The biggest benefits, in my opinion, are *A lounge access when flying internationally and E+ seats confirmed at booking.

LilAbner

Every single 1K and below has had to ride in the back to get status.
I would venture to guess that most MMer's did it before there was an E+, so if you want to get the bennies ya gotta do the bis's like everyone else has had to do. Spreading your itin's around different airlines defeats the purpose of the advantages of loyalty programs. As they say, "Ya can't have your cake and eat it too!", and as per the OP he knows that. Hoping for CPU's is a PITA sometimes also, particularly when you don't get one!

nyfirefly11

OK, so it sounds like I should keep my current flight on Virgin (non-refundable with a $275 change fee), but fly UA for the rest of my trips to get Gold.

Then the question is, do I earn Flying Club miles to use for a later flight with them or Virgin America, or do I earn with Dividend Miles then transfer those to UA?

sannmann

With Global Entry membership, you get a "Trusted Traveler Number." Enter this into the correct field when you book a flight on any U.S. airline for a domestic flight.

nyfirefly11

Good to know - wish I knew that when I flew on JetBlue

pigx5

I don't think you can transfer to UA "cheaply."
If you earn Dividend Miles, you can buy miles with bonus offer (100% bonus) and redeem a C ticket to Asia for 90k miles before they join OW.