Originally Posted by
cornfedcowboy
I'm back (OP). I fly to Milan six to eight times a year as well as plenty of domestic travel via air. The NW MSP to AMS has been the route I've taken lately. I'm in Omaha so am always connecting to a hub, MSP,ORD,DTW are the usual connections. This gives me UA and NWA. I can fly directly in to Milan from ATL but the flight tends to get a little long when in coach.
I had my sights set on NW but have just found out they don't have complimentary upgrades for Platinum elites. Aparently I still have to cash in miles and usually purchase a higher fare.
BTW I have 140K one pass miles but CO is not working for me any more for travel in the states.
Getting to Milan on AA means you connect in Europe somewhere as well, as they aren't operating to MXP (service starts May 2008). This means you don't get upgrades on the intra-Europe legs, of course. UA doesn't fly to MXP either, instead depending on Lufthansa. You can obtain paper SWUs for LH flights in UA MP, but their usage is restrictive too. Check the UA board for more details.
Remember that "complimentary" means that you flew a
lot. UA and AA don't offer systemwide upgrade certificates until you reach their highest tier.