Originally Posted by
tom911
I've always found UA award availability very good over the years. I redeemed my last chunk of miles earlier this year DUB-ATH. Took a while to zero out that account. My last big redemption was them was on the A380 in F SFO-FRA connecting to a 747 FRA-HKG. I've also done the 747 in F SFO-FRA. All these would cost more miles than what I paid in the last 2-3 years due to the program changes.
I think the BEST part of Mileage Plus/Star Alliance has been close in award availability.
Background - I ceased most of my paid UA travel on 1 April 2015 when Mileage Plus switched to a revenue based system and via a status match challenge, started flying AA as a newly minted EXP. Like you, I've been dumping my MP award miles ever since.
Observation so far - The biggest difference (for me) between both programs has been the substantial disparity between Mileage Plus and AAdvantage close in award availability. As a UA 1K, I was always thrilled with the no fee changes I could make to my travel plans when F awards became available within a week or so of my scheduled travel date. Take for example the award trip I just completed. At the last minute, I was able to change my Singapore plans pretty drastically - opting to take a circle trip with a stop in FRA before flying back to LAX; I was originally traveling home from SIN to LAX via NRT on NH, but first changed it to SIN-BKK-FRA on TG when an F seat opened up on their A380, and then I changed it again a few days later to SIN-HKG-FRA on LH in F as I much prefer the LH soft product. None of these changes cost me a dime. And yes, as an EXP, I would have also not paid a change fee. BUT, close in award availability on One World carriers? Forget it - no F seats on a single airline. 67.5K on AA vs. 130K on UA given parts of this routing? Yeah, the extra miles suck, but man, I sure loved the flexibility that *A gave me. It is the one thing I'll really miss about them. Now the game is extreme speculative bookings nearly a year in advance and pretty much sticking to travel plan till the end.