Originally Posted by
Mwenenzi
The grass in not always
greener on the other side
Upgrades are never guaranteed. You are likely to disappointed with upgrades, especially if flying non USA airlines. With non USA airlines always expect to pay for the class you buy.
For upgrades the general rule is you can only upgrade a flight marketed (flight number) and operated (metal) by the airline of your frequent flyer programme (no codeshares) with your airlines upgrade instrument (e.g. SWU, miles) or complementary with status (if applicable) or ff miles/cash. All subject to the t&c's of your FFP and your paid ticket. Low cost tickets are often not eligible for upgrades. Cross airline upgrades are uncommon. If cross airline upgrades are offered they tend to require a very expensive base fare and have t&c's.
As above
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...help-here.html
The grass in not always
greener on the other side
Yep, going thru that and running my frequent destinations: BCN, MAD, LHR, and CDG... I think I'm going to stick with AA & OneWorld. I already have access their lounges via my CC, and they have great routes. I should mention that I'm actually from Omaha, NE, but fly thur ORD 90% of the time and DFW 10% of the time. AA is huge in both airports so it's looking like the winner to me.
Originally Posted by
FirstInFlight
I suggest looking at the routes that you will fly most and assessing which airlines offer the best flight options. Upgrades are important as are the other perqs - but - when you start flying all the time, the most important thing is sometimes just very simple - which airline has a nonstop etc.
Being based at ORD is excellent. You have both UA and the Star fleet of airlines and AA and team One World. DL is unlikely to be your pick unless Skyteam partners fly nonstop to ORD from locations that matter to you (as some may). .
Were I in your shoes, I would think about what you like and dislike about AA and then see if the other option(s) offer a better alternative. If they don't, then I'd probably stick with the devil you know.
Actually based in OMA, but ORD is 90% of the flights I take thru. 10% goes to DFW, but both are huge for AA. I think I'm just going to stick with AA for now. I already have lounge access for AA and can open another CC to get those juicy EQMs with my spending habits. Only question is, how frequently will I get upgraded with AA EXP... I guess only time will tell.
Originally Posted by
guv1976
While it often makes sense to credit one's alliance (oneworld, Star Alliance, Sky Team) flights to the airline one flies the most, there can be exceptions to that, depending on what one values most in an FFP. For example, status with BAEC will afford one lounge access when traveling domestically on AA; even AA EXP status does not offer that. But award-flight redemptions booked with BAEC Avios can cost more (or less) than the same award flights booked with AAdvantage miles.
You really need to carefully consider what you want out of an FFP, how likely you are to actually get what you want, and what your intended redemptions are. It's a tricky business.
It is a hell of a tricky business, lol. I barely know the basics and just checking into my AAdvantage account, it seems I did hit gold so not too bad. I wonder how frequently people get upgraded for free with EXP, I guess I'll find out once I get there. Right now based on my calculations, I should hit it my early July, so we'll see!
Originally Posted by
guv1976
"For SYD, there are no nonstops, so the connection city is important. I think the west coast offers more options than DFW in case of irreg ops. That means UA. "
Why does it mean UA? Both AA and QF fly LAX-SYD nonstop.
Yeah, I see plenty of flights out of Texas/LAX to SYD non-stop. I fly from OMA so it would just be OMA to LAX to SYD.
Originally Posted by
Duke787
Some thoughts:
If it truly is out of pocket for everything you should consider either PassPlus (UA) or AAirpass and be able to have status from the start.
If not, OWE (AA EXP) will get you F lounge access globally even in Y or J and their SWUs aren't fare restricted.
*G gets you in J lounges but no equivalent *A tier for F lounge access. UA GPUs are fare restricted but the new Polaris hard product is forthcoming and looks quite good.
Hmm, I will look into it! I heard AA has challenges where you can pay to start off in Platinum and work towards EXP,might be worth it depending on the price.