Originally Posted by
nimag
Hey guys,
Need some advice. I'm exec plat on AA and 1K on UA. I'm not going to be flying enough to get both next year, so I have to choose one or the other.
What are your thoughts? Has anyone else had this dilemma and chose one after trying both?
1. I fly a lot from SFO->JFK/BOS/ORD
2. Internationally, my primary flight is SFO->LHR
For vacations, I'd really like to fly to Asia/Europe and use SWUs. That's the real sweetener for me.
What I see right now:
1. United PS doesn't allow upgrades, but you can use regional upgrades on them, which is nice. I'll probably get plenty of these from flying.
2. AA doesn't fly directly to Europe from SFO except via BA, and you can't use SWUs on those flights. But I've heard they're nice anyways.
3. Lufthansa is supposed to be one of the best airlines, but so is Cathay pacific, and they are on opposite sides of the fence.
4. My AA upgrade frequency from SFO->JFK was not that high.
Having SFO as your home airport, you will have more direct flights with UA. If you don't mind connecting flights, AA still has a lot of options connecting through ORD or DFW. If you are mainly flying Asia/Europe, UA/Star Alliance gives you more options. If you are interested in flights to Central/South America, that's where AA's strength lies.