Originally Posted by
travelmad478
Yes, I do fly other *A carriers also--I end up on US a lot on domestic short-hauls for vacation (much as I despise US, it is often the only option), and I have used UA points for award flights on TK as well.
I'm often in the same boat (having to fly US), so here's a tip for maximizing your redeemable
and elite-qualification mile yield:
- create a CO account if you don't have one already
- link your UA and CO accounts online
- wait (~1 week) for your UA status to be reflected in your CO account (at the corresponding CO level)
- start crediting any US flights to your CO account.
What's the benefit?
CO elites, unlike UA elites, get a minimum of 500 miles (redeemable and elite-qual) for US flight segments. So those crappy US short-hauls to LGA, BOS, CLT, etc. will be worth more to you (in 2011, at least). And yes, the UA & CO systems automatically combine your EQM totals in both accounts in calculating status for 2012.
I have 30 days to figure it out. The "close to status" question should be answerable by that time, since I'm just about to arrange my remaining overseas work travel for the year. This tends to involve a fair amount of *A flights.
Keep in mind that even if you don't need a mileage run this year, you might next year, and the travel credit is good for ~12 months.