Originally Posted by
BuBu4
If you can get Diamond, EVA treats their Diamond really well. So if your flying EVA 12 times a year, id say, its worth it. EVA J has been pretty difficult to get though but i thought their redemption is better than many. from LAX--TPE route, its like 50k(Y), 55k(PE), 75k(J) on one way. Whats cool about EVA miles is that the airline will let you waitlist flights that are full and release close in. i dont think united would allow that.
Of course, if you fly more domestic, then united miles earning is probably better. I do believe their mile redemption is much for for say a TPE--SFO route (110k?) or something like that. *A gold on EVA isnt seen highly regarded but if you make a request, they will try to fill that request if its within reason.
As for call centers, i never called united so i can speak for that but EVA call center is a disaster haha. Need to call overseas offices and at the right times too.
Yes, BR miles has good redemption rates, but I would counter that they have partners that also have cheap redemption rate on their mileage program on EVA metal.
I signed up for aeroplan couple of years ago and since have been able to book at least 3 J transpacific seats on BR with aeroplan, which I believe for economy starts at 40+K and for business at around 70+K (west coast is lower, east coast a tad higher). On top of that, Aeroplan allows for stopovers for only 5k miles additional and I have been able to take advantage of that too. Next trip on BR is America -> TPE -> Southeast Asia with a 2 week stop in TPE to see family, all for 92K miles, all in business. Aeroplan also frequently have bonus miles purchase which can bring the cost down to 1.2 ~1.4 cpm. Using that value means that my 15hr + 5hr flight in J, plus a stop along the way, cost about ~$1200 one way, which is good.
Now obviously there are many caveats with the above, like booking way in advance (9-12 mos) and limited availability (usually only 1 J seat per flight for Aeroplan, a few more for Y) and no premium economy redemption on EVA for partner programs. But depending on the person's need, it might work (it works quite well for me as I have family in Taiwan and in Southeast Asia)
In regards to call centers, I think the verdict is more straightforward and unanimous lol, you stand a better chance at winning lottery than getting through to their office anywhere in North America. They used to at least be able to place you on hold for hours on end before getting through, but even that is wishful thinking nowadays...