Originally Posted by
biboombap
Hi FlyerTalk experts. I'm on a recent sabbatical and I'd like to shoot for *A Gold next year for lounges. Deciding between United (where I'd have a 2k PQP head-start from branded credit card SUB) and an easier mileage-based program like TK.
(1) What is your home airport? JFK closest, but LGA/EWR also fine.
(2) What types of fares do you usually buy ? cheap
(3) How many miles do you usually fly each year? planning to fly a lot this year (Central/South America in Jan) and willing to make mileage runs, but will probably fly less in future years.
(4) Do you have any kind of status at present? What is it? No status, but recently got a United Business card with 2k PQP SUB, and have $1.5k in United ETC from a cancelled flight.
(5) What is most important to you in a FFP? Lounge access, award redemption a relatively distant second.
(6) Which routes do you fly most often (US Domestic, Transpacific etc): Any
(7) Preferred Airlines: Any
(8) Do you travel for work or pleasure? Pleasure
You need to be more specific. Other than a single trip to South America, where else do you routinely fly? Getting credit for cheap fares is not easy and you are looking to obtain *G, so you will need to be extremely strategic to accomplish this. UA is not easy to get to Gold on cheap fares, so using the PQP head start isn’t making things easier.