Originally Posted by
mitchmu
So, maybe the best strategy is to shoot for 50,000 miles on K fares with UA, enjoying a shower of gifts in the form of special offers and TODs, then do the rest of your flying on AA. Because it seems the moment you spend real money on UA, they'll smash you.
nope, this doesn't work either, it's been my model all year except for one business trip where i had an M fare, everything else has been K,L,G and my offers are still outrageous for buyups as a ~55-60k PQM gold. meanwhile whenever i do an OLCI for mrs ddrost1 (no UA MP#, US kettle) she gets $149 buyups from SMF-ORD and IAD on the same fare structures.
i'd switch if i could, but i am a hostage of the network and to switch would mean spending at least a year starting over for status.