Originally Posted by
con brio
Hi all,
I'm currently a 1P with UA and fly through ORD and IAD a lot. My wife is planning on accepting a job near MSP, so there may be a change of scenery in the near future. I'm weighing whether to switch FFPs from UA to NW and quickly getting disconcerted:
UA fares from MSP are generally in the same ballpark, but for the routes I'd need, they're surprisingly higher by anywhere from $140 to $260.
NW/DL has no Premium Economy (E+) seating for elites.
From what I read, upgrading on NW is harder than UA.
The Worldperks Visa from USBank has been discontinued, so I'm not aware of a mile-earning credit card.
No system-wide upgrades.
Can someone please prove me wrong on these?
One ^ is the lower threshold for highest level elite (Platinum @ 75K).
cb
I'm MSP-based and leaning toward making UA my second airline of choice once I re-up Plat on Delta next month.
There is no premium economy on NW/DL - exit rows and bulkheads on A319/A320/DC-9s are the way to go. Adv: UA
That being said, upgrades are easier on DL/NW - no certs domestically, etc. It's all automatically done - no need to request upgrades, etc. Also, larger F cabins on DL/NW for the most part, especially on smaller narrobodies (12F on RJs instead of 6F on UA, most mainline planes have at least 14F, with the smallest being DL 737-700s at 12F; a comparably-sized UA A319 has 8F).
DL has three common AmEx levels - Gold, Plat, Reserve. Plat/Reserve earn EQMs.
Systemwides are currently 6/yr on Y/B/M fares. Look for (positive) changes to the DL PMU program this month.
Top tier on Delta next year will not be 75k - it will most likely be in the 125k range (DL is going with four tiers). Benefits for the new 4th tier (called Diamond) will be similar to UA Global Services (more expanded benefits than 1K from what I've been told).
UA does have good hub locations from MSP. However, as
SchmutzigMSP mentions, ORD with a cloud in the sky can turn ugly fast. DEN seems to be a fine hub though. UA just started up MSP-SFO as a 1x daily flight, so that also helps connectivity. There are also plenty of options on US and CO out of MSP to help connect the dots.