Originally Posted by
pl804
@
j2simpso: For some reason, I don't know why, I find it hard to get excited about using an overseas airline to hold my primary status with. Maybe it's b/c I worry I might not follow things well or that I might not be treated fairly by their US partner. Is that silly?
Shouldn't have problems being treated fairly by UA with a foreign status, having spoken to people holding status on other airlines programs (namely AC and A3). That's arguably the one nice thing about *A is that they enforce standards across the boards for their airline partners. As a UA Gold I've had benefits to all the *A Gold benefits when travelling on partner airlines. For instance, when flying on EgyptAir last month I had business class boarding, security, immigration and of course access to their lounges in CAI and DXB. I've received similar treatment when flying other *A partners including LX, LH, AC and NZ.
Having said all that, the one thing you will lose is access to UA specific benefits like complimentary E+ seating, complimentary and certificate upgrades. That's one of the reason I use their program (in addition to there being no revenue requirement as I'm Canadian). Have you considered just aiming for UA Gold (50,000 miles annually?). For many that's a sweet spot since it gives you *A Gold benefits. More importantly you get Economy+ seating free for yourself and 1 other at time of booking. Platinum is always nice to aim for but at the end of the day doesn't make a huge difference (you get 8 guests for Economy+ seating, 2 Regional Premier Upgrade certificates which may or may not clear when you need them and reduced award booking/change fees).
There's nothing wrong with flying AA out of SFO/SJC. In fact it may work in your favour since fares will tend to be cheaper, you're more likely to get upgrades (less elites at SFO) and will be on your way to lifetime AA Platinum. One thing you should ask yourself is if lifetime Platinum on AA is worth it for you (i.e. is it a big leap from Gold?). No point chasing status just for the sake of saying you're Platinum.
If I was you I'd recommend experimenting with the service offerings of AS, AA and UA to see how well the overall experience is for you on these routings. Don't commit to any airline until you know which one delivers the best experience. For me, based out of YYZ, UA is the answer since their fares tend to be much less than AC, their presence in YYZ and the destinations I go are significant and their service was good (esp in the area of service recovery, maybe cause I'm a Gold?).
Safe Travels,
James