Originally Posted by
SPN Lifer
Don't forget the Priority Bag tags (which have worked for me), the increasingly elusive Premier Access lanes, and as noted elsewhere, TSA Pre-✔️.
I'll probably write something when I have time. I'm currently UA
Silver, DL Diamond, and a OneWorld Sapphire. TLDR, I found DL to be the best.
Chase UA VI said it comes with premier benefits. So doesn't that come with priority bag, which UA Silver seems to give? I'm pretty sure my bag got that tag when I was flying UA to Singapore.
Originally Posted by
jsloan
You’d also get Premier phone support, bypassing the primary queue when you have to call UA.
You can also select a Preferred seat at booking as a Silver, so if you care about window / aisle, but you don’t care about E+, that could be valuable. Personally, the difference between E- and E+ is big enough that I always include it in my calculations, because I’d buy it on any other carrier where it’s offered, except for the very shortest flights (< 1:15 or so). Obviously, YMMV.
Silver offers little meaningful benefit in achieving upgrades to a lie-flat seat.
The Club credit card comes with an actual Club membership. You don’t show the credit card for entry; you show the Club card. They will not turn away members due to using the Club card for access. However, they do require a same-day Star Alliance boarding pass for entry.
I tend to agree that Silver isn’t worth targeting specifically. If your flying patterns are such that you’ll make Silver, so be it. If not, I wouldn’t spend a lot of extra money to reach it. Then again, if you’re not flying enough to reach Silver, I don’t see a ton of value in Club membership either. You can buy Premier Access on most flights as an a la carte item, and if you’re going to fly with two bags often enough for it to be worthwhile, you can buy a baggage subscription — but, again, you’d have to fly enough to justify the subscription but not enough to where you get a substantial savings from reaching status.
I consider GS, 1K, and Gold the three most meaningful status levels. You may not care about E+ at booking, which is the primary Gold benefit, but it also includes the two bags, plus Star Alliance Gold, meaning lounge entry on international itineraries. Platinum isn’t a huge upgrade from Gold (although it’s better than it used to be). 1K is the next sweet spot because of the number of PlusPoints you get — if you can use them. And GS has a massive set of perks but requires 4MM lifetime miles or a very large annual spend.
The additional 25% bonus is not universal. Only a few carriers — mostly (entirely?) JV partners — offer it.
I'll definitely fly enough to qualify for UA Silver, but I got it this time thanks to being a Marriott Titanium. I understand the preferred seat part, but since the CC gives premier benefits, doesn't that already come with priority phone support?
Doesn't the UC membership from the CC give *A lounge access on an international itinerary?