Originally Posted by
brarrr
Some good points...
Hadn't thought about UA really because I've typically been completely disappointed by them. AS has been awesome but I've also never flown UA int'l. WIth 15-20k already booked on DL/KE, going to UA at this point seems foolish anyway, but maybe match and go there next year. Sticking with AS may end up being a good idea because yes, most int'l flights will be in J anyway, so save the status for domestic. I think it'll come down to DL vs. AS.
Yeah, I heard UA's customer service is subpar in Y, but it seems to be pretty decent in C and F...
Originally Posted by
brarrr
Miles..
is redemption really that bad on DL? I have no experience, only really have redeemed on AS and UA
Unfortunately, yes.... Domestic F is not too bad, but international J is horrible for advance booking... If you book within 21 days you will find some availability at low level [perhaps several days in a 21 day period]... Whats more, they ding you $$$ to book a free ticket for "last minute" booking... So dumb... Do a search in the DL forum and you will find gazillions of compliant about redeeming on DL, about their award calendar being "broken", and the fact that they ding you $$$ for a free ticket when you book less than 21 days out... Problem is they rarely release low award inventory until you are within the 21 days window and now they ding you with "last minute" fees...
Originally Posted by
brarrr
Elite bennies
PMUs seem to not be working, correct?
The biggest problem with PMUs is only Y, B, and M fares are eligible for upgrades internationally... What's more, your upgrade is not guaranteed, so that means you will shell out $3000 and you might not even get upgraded at all... UA's SWUs are eligible in W fare class or higher which is normally about $100-300 more than the lowest fare and of course upgrades are not guaranteed but you are shelling out $100-300 more to take the risk compared to $2000 more on DL...
Originally Posted by
brarrr
AS upgrades super nice and i think it'd be reasonable to hit 50k and gold esp if EQMs post with class of service bonus
Yeah that is why I am asking you how many EQMs you think you will do in a single year with COS bonuses. IIRC you have the AS Bofa Visa and you will get 4 "SWU" certs per year, which is enough to get you flying 25K per year on AS, then that leaves you with another 25K to "earn"...
Originally Posted by
brarrr
Going with half UA/AS doesn't seem like a good idea since i'd end up getting low status on both vs. higher status with one.
Yeah, depends on how many EQMs per year you do.... If 150K per year then you are in for a treat
Remember, UA and CO is likely to merge [depends on whether DOJ approves it or not, but that is another story
], so maybe I would start off with DL for now, and when the merger gets approved... Then at that point they should draft out the "merged" FF and its benefits... From there you can determine if a status match over to the new UA is worth it or not... Currently, CO will status match people to Platinum, while UA will only status match you to Premier Executive granted you fly 15,000 BIS miles on UA within 90 days....
The biggest thing for me about C/J is flat beds.... UA/CO is way ahead in the game compared to DL... All of UA and CO's international fleet will have flat beds by 2012, while DL has established a timeline for 2013, but I wouldn't count on it...