FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Moving from XX-US CITY to YY-Foreign City - Should I Stick w/ UA & Mileage Plus
Old Nov 18, 2014, 5:32 am
  #4  
ASELdriver
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: SIN
Programs: TK *G, UA, AS
Posts: 50
It's impossible to give conclusive advice from the information given, especially with the RDM changes (starting 3/2015) and partner earning chart changes still very possible. Some points to consider:

1. Whatever you decide about FFP, most of your intra-Asia trips will not be on UA. Your only UA metal choices from SIN are HKG (~4hrs) and NRT (~8 hrs). Both flights leave early morning and return late night. Upgrades are GPU only. Other carriers offer many additional choices to both cities, and HND is more convenient than NRT if you are heading into Tokyo.

2. As the previous poster said, SQ gives you many nonstop options from SIN, but they do tend to charge a premium. Credit to MP is often <100% on the cheaper economy fares, and there is never status bonus. The cheapest buckets are 0% to UA but can be 10% to KF (KrisFlyer, the SQ FFP). Their regional carrier SilkAir is not a *A member, though they do credit to KF. You might do some SQ searches reflecting your expected travel patterns, especially around advance purchase, to see which buckets are common for you. You will probably end up with some KF miles in any case, though I've never been able to justify making it my primary program.

3. *A upgrades are often from high-fare economy fares only. Buying Premium Economy (on carriers that offer it) may be an acceptable alternative to Business for you on some flights, especially if you are traveling for work and policy prohibits paid Business.

4. Unless you maintain status on UA, access to E+ is not an official benefit. Some people value E+ very highly.
4.a. If you are one of those people, and you only take a few short flights within the US (e.g. gateway city to OKC), you can always pay for it. Paid E+ on your longer trips can get expensive, though (e.g. IAH and NYC will be at least 2 segments each way).
4.b. If you value E+ and plan to fly UA metal when practical to get it, that is a good reason to maintain UA Gold. And if you are doing that, you would probably decide to go for UA 1K (for the GPUs).

5. If award tickets are important to you:
5.a. Remember that non-US FFPs will charge YQ on award tickets, and with most programs you earn greatly reduced (sometimes zero) miles on cheaper fare buckets.
5.b. ANA just released a new award chart which might be interesting (http://travelisfree.com/2014/11/05/b...hart-for-2015/).
5.c. SQ never releases premium cabin seats on some of their planes (KF miles are the only way to get awards there), and UA is not showing SQ availability online (every booking is a phone call that can be painful and/or time consuming).

6. The UA Gold baggage allowance can be handy for returning from the US (3x 70lb bags when starting on UA metal). You can buy basically anything you want in Singapore, but it's often cheaper in the US.

7. About credit cards:
7.a. Singapore cards are fine for local spend, but check the fine print on foreign purchases. It seems to be common practice to convert to USD and then to SGD, and then tack foreign transaction fees on top of that.
7.b. It is also common practice to quote an annual fee for any card (not just rewards cards) but waive it if you meet spend threholds (sometimes published, sometimes not) and call to request the waiver.
7.c. Amex Membership Rewards does transfers to both ANA and KF, in case you are considering those programs.
7.d. If you most/all of your salary will continue to be paid in USD to a US bank account, then sticking with a US-based credit card will probably be easier.

Good luck with your FFP/travel planning... and your move!
ASELdriver is offline