I'm apparently incredibly naive about FF programs... probably because I'm not a frequent flyer. I live in Los Angeles and fly to New Zealand about once a year, so I figured I'd join the UA FF program and earn miles with their rewards Visa card, assuming they'd be interchangeable with NZ airpoints or usable on codeshare flights. After 3 years I don't have enough points for a single ticket (the points cost just went up by 50%), but figured I'd use my points for an upgrade instead. Not so much... apparently you can only use UA points towards upgrades on UA operated flights. I should have done my research. Does anyone know if there's anyway around this?