Originally Posted by
QameraTravels
Actually I'm both, apparently.
So if I'm 'always' Gold because of 1MM status, and if I'm going to be flying ANA a lot more in the future (because of direct flights from SEA), then would it make more sense for me to sign up for an ANA mileage account and start accruing miles with them, at least when I fly NH? And if so, I guess the pertinent questions are:
- Will ANA miles apply towards my Star Alliance miles?
- Will ANA miles accrue towards Star Alliance miles as fast as if I used UA MP on NH flights?
- Is having an ANA mileage account the only way I can get upgrades to better seating on NH flights?
- Is there any disadvantage to having an ANA mileage account to accrue Star Alliance miles from NH flights, as opposed to using my current UA MP account to accrue Star Alliance miles from NH flights?
Oh - and thanks so much in advance for continuing to help with my questions. I lived in HongKong for many years, even worked for the Taipan.
If you won't make Diamond in ANA's program then it makes almost zero sense for a non-Japan resident to use their program as a primary program, even if you're flying almost exclusively ANA to Asia. As a UA *G member you'll get treated exactly the same as an ANA Platinum member and they do upgrade pretty generously as they have relatively small economy cabins in proportion to the business cabins but it's not an automatic benefit, it only happens when economy is full and business is not.
As was already mentioned as well, many ANA fares will accrue only 50% in their own program that will accrue at 100% in UA Mileage Plus. As a UA Premier xxx member, you'll get the same elite bonus on RDMs regardless of flying UA or NH metal.