Not true. There is an oft-overlooked conversion program that is better in Canada than the US: SPG. MR transfer rates are better in Canada. And earning rates are 20% better, because of the lower dollar. Plus referral rates are better. I've been pushing SPG as a very viable MR transfer partner for a while now. From SPG, you can transfer to many US and Global airlines. Admittedly, UA is not an SPG transfer part you'd want to use. But you could transfer to SQ and book UA flights w/o YQ that way. I did that last week for my son and future wife for their honeymoon to Hawaii. Worked like a charm!