flysurfer

To add some *A perspective, M&M still has a 3 week courtesy hold (that can be extended under certain circumstances) w/o deducting any miles until ticketing. Combined with M&M's unrestricted *A award bucket availability (unfiltered, unlike MP), holding multiple alternatives provides additional flexibility. OTOH, most M&M awards are still more expensive than comparable MP awards, at least on a mile by mile comparison. However, M&M *A awards remain date changable ($40 change fee) even after flying the first segment, which adds another level of flexibility. Also, through some of its partners, M&M offers plenty of opportunities to "buy" miles in large chunks (six figures and more) for about 1 cent per mile or less. In conclusion, it's very nice to have mileage balances on more than one program.

Two examples from 2006: In order to get from LAX to the World Cup in Germany this summer (flying F or C), MP was utterly useless (no availability except for ridiculous routings on inferior UA metal), while M&M provided several convenient options on NZ and LH metal. I put some of them on hold and eventually made my decision. OTOH, in order to get from LAX to SYD in F next month, MP awards are much cheaper (at least until 15OCT) and, since on UA metal anway, easier to book. I could do it online on ual.bomb, and it actually worked! Amazing.