valuepac

Since Mr Parkers sneaky change of the beloved AAdvantage program I have started to do research on united's current program and found despite the extra charge for business class tickets compared to the current rates AA is offered via mile saver tickets (which may change overnight with no warning)..

Here my current situation

1. mostly fly to austin/bay area/ RDU/atl/dtw/ord

2. Last year flew 130k (exp on AA)

3. this year have flow 47k

4. Enjoy using my points for international biz tickets

5.Currently have 2 exec citi cards, 1 visa, and 1 amex AA card total charge over 100k a year.. 10k miles back, plus 10k EQM per year

What i have found.
united./star
1. Chase United club card will give me 1.5 miles for every $1
2. Chase sapphire preferred will give me 2x on dinning and travel plus 7% back at the end of the year
3. Cheaper international tickets to buy to europe
4. More miles for biz class seats to Asia and europe (but more credit card miles are given out)
5. They allow international stop overs on roundtrip tickets

Questions

1. Does united have something comparable to SWU, and how many does a 1k recv?

2. Anything else I am missing?

Steve M

Unfortunately, you will not find the grass much greener. You do bring up some things that are better at UA, such as the "1 stopover allowed on int'l round trip awards" - and it can be at ANY location, not just a gateway. But there are some things that are not as good:

1K's get 6 GPUs (about the equivalent of AA SWU's), and 4 RPU's (about the equivalent of AA "stickers"). But, the GPU's require a fare basis of W or better, as opposed to AA's "any fare basis." Many UA flyers complain about the need to play the "upgrade lottery" - you must buy a higher W fare to even put in for an upgrade, but if it doesn't clear, you fly in coach and the fare difference between W and the lowest fare you could have paid is gone.


You mentioned int'l award travel. The big thing that happened at UA earlier this year is that they split out the award charts to provide separate redemption levels between UA-metal flights and partner flights. UA flights remained about the same, but partner flights, especially in the premium cabins, went up dramatically, like on the scale of the AA AAnytime increases this month.

If you value long-haul int'l award travel in premium cabins on partners, AA still has a huge advantage over UA because AA didn't increase the redemption levels for SAAver partner awards.

GeneralVeers

If you're mad at AA, then United won't be any better. Some reasons you won't like United:

- *A partner awards 75% more than United for premium cabins. On AA a first class partner award is around 70K, while on United it's closer to 140K.

- Decreased domestic upgrade percentage, as being 1K you are 2nd tier. My UG percentage on UA was 50-75% in a given month. It is 100% with AA.

- Worst "business class" seats of any US airline. 8 abreast in most of their business cabins, while the standard for the rest of the world is becoming 4 across. Some old CO 777 cabins have "only" 6 across.

-SWUs (or GPUS) are almost worthless. Must book overpriced "W" or higher fare to be eligible.

- Global first is basically business class with a larger seat

- Generally poor meals

- Generally poor wine selection

tom911

You get 6 at the 100K mark, and there might be some additional ones for some tiers past that (I never got past the low 100K range). A UA systemwide, though, is very different than an AA systemwide as it requires a minimum W fare basis on international travel, which means you might pay hundreds of dollars more for a ticket, and then, if you don't clear, be out the extra money you paid. Check some of the routes you would normally fly to plot out the fare difference.

UA recently raised award travel on partners as much as 80% higher than comparable UA awards. If you want to fly on Singapore or Lufthansa, you're going to pay significantly more miles.
Changes to MileagePlus Award and Upgrade Policies - Eff. 3-Feb-2014

Steve M

ALL of the previously-CO 777's have 6-across seating that's completely flat. That's much better than the current AA situation.

Ah, but the whine selection in the UA forum on FT is second to none. It far exceeds anything the AA or DL sections have to offer. I've been on the internet for nearly 30 years, predating even the invention of the "web" or web browsers, and the whining that goes on there exceeds anything I've seen online in any forum on any subject whatever.

GeneralVeers

The CO product was fantastic 7 years ago when they started installing. Delta, US, and AA are all going 1-2-1 seating. Within 2 years UA will be dead last among them. If the OP was asking about where he should take his business for the next few years, and if INTL Business is a factor, UA will be behind. I can't foresee them reconfiguring their J class soon.

I didn't whine. I took my business elsewhere. These airlines are all business and have to make decisions that they feel is best for them. Many FT members are making business decisions of their own, and moving to DL and AA. I get more "value" for my business from AA now than I ever did with United.

MAH4546

Redeeming miles cost significantly more than any difference made up for my earning more miles, your upgrade percentage will decrease dramatically (enjoy coach!) and the few times you do get upgraded, the meal won't be edible, assuming the flight even has a meal (and it never will on an RJ).

LaserSailor

^^^


It really is impressive. You would think some of the posters there married the airline and now find it doesn't love them.

mdobbins

If most of your travel is domestic, be prepared for a lot of regional jets - and not of the E175 version. United uses a mixture of ERJ170, CRJ170, ERJ145 and Q400/Q200 within the US.

I am also finding the customer-facing personnel on AA to be preferable (for me) than United - GAs, FAs, lounge personnel, etc.

One of the nice things about being a 1K on UA is the lack of fees for things like redeposit of award miles, SDC, etc.

chiil1974

I will disclose that I don't have much experience with United, however one of my co-workers (my work wife if you will) recently moved from UA to AA and the above point was her number one complaint. Many times you have to pay more for a "chance" to get the upgrade. If you don't get the upgrade, than you have paid more for an Economy seat. Her last year as a 1K (two years ago) I believe she tried six to eight times for an upgrade either TATL or TPAC and walked away with the upgrade 0 times. The other thing that drove her crazy was that they would offer upgrades to "regular" MP members for a pretty good price. Elites wouldn't necessarily get the same offer. While she didn't fault UA for charging for domestic upgrades, she did think it was crappy when a non-status passenger got the offer but her as a Premier Gold for her last year (Equivalent to PLAT) would not.

Personally, I felt it was a matter of time before changes started to occur. The writing was on the wall. I am awaiting the announcement regarding EQDs sometime later this year for 2015. I truly believe it is where the industry has gone and AA will catch up. Not to say I WANT them to go this route, but it wouldn't surprise me if they did.

Djokison

Fee is waived for EXP as well, AFAIK.

flyingmusicianlax

In addition to everything mentioned above:

1. The biggest kicker for me is that CO and UA are still separate pilot groups. Meaning that if you are in IAD and your CO piloted plane goes mx or is really delayed, they can't just grab a UA plane from IAD; you'll have to sit there for upwards of five hours while they fly in a replacement from IAH or EWR. Same thing if one of the crew is a no-show. This makes for a horrible experience - not just for 1Ks, but for everyone.

2. There is no dedicated 1K line - it was eliminated after the merger.

3. IT glitches with SHARES can be pretty terrible. Lots of calling in to have your ticket reissued because of a time change. Trying to change flights during IRROPs can be a nightmare, especially if you're trying to add or subtract a segment. Granted, this has gotten better - but I've experienced none of these problems (in fact, no IT problems at all) since switching to AA.

4. The airport experience can be worse. IAD C and D terminals are a pit and transferring to A can be a hassle. EWR is often a nightmare of rude employees, bad delays, and difficult transfers. IAH B terminal is still pretty run-down (B south is nice though). LAX, SFO, DEN and ORD are pretty good. But, when compared to even new AA, I think AA wins hands-down.

5. UA Clubs are being renovated at a snail's pace, if at all. The new ones look nice, but don't expect to experience them much if you're going through SFO, DEN, IAD, EWR or IAH. Also, if it matters to you, almost all of the pmAA Admirals Clubs have showers, computers, and sleeper chairs. No computers or sleeper chairs at any domestic UA Club and showers only at select domestic clubs in ORD, IAH and EWR.

6. The UA management team says they're focused on improving the customer experience. While I've found this to be true since UA and CO started operating as one airline, it's generally untrue when I compare to pmUA. New UA is doing some interesting things, like providing a queued ticket system for the customer service counter at ORD. But the customer experience when compared to AA is still, IME, vastly inferior. That goes for all customers.

7. Speaking of the UA management team, they're actively seeking $2 billion dollars in cuts. They're trying to cut their way to profitability, and have been doing so for over two years. They've had less than stellar results. AA invested in a better airline - while in bankruptcy! - and now has a fleet of premium focused 777-300s, A321Ts, A319s (yes, I know they're cramped in the back, but I'll take them over a "dark" UA 319 any day), and a subfleet of 738s. Parker has shown he'd like to keep the premium focus on at least international routes, having continued retrofit plans with the 767 and 777-200, all with a 1-2-1 seating configuration in business.

8. If it matters to you, the UA meals in domestic F can be terribly unhealthy. A chicken calzone served with a white roll and butter and a cup of cream based soup. The salads have become smaller and cheaper over the last two years. On AA, there are usually much healthier options - salads are made with arugula or spring mix. You can also pre-order your meal, which is a big plus to me.

9. If you're flying through IAD, prepare to sit in the back. UA allows instant upgrades on government YCA fares, while AA does not.

Mwenenzi

For every AA to UA person there is a UA to AA person to balance out the numbers
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...ny-better.html

bdemaria

This is the case regardless of which carrier you fly, so I wouldn't place it in my list of considerations to switch or not.

I would also be wary of making a switch based on those program benefits that UA currently has, and AA recently eliminated. I'm specifically thinking about award stopovers. I wouldn't be surprised *at all* for UA to get rid of them now that AA has.

manneca

At this point, there is no really good major airline. Each one of them appears to fail on a major aspect.

Last year, every UA trip I took had at least one flight that was late (if not all of them). Something I read indicated that the express flights are not included in FAA on time data. In my experience, UA's run late about 90% late.

The UA clubs' food and drink is awful. It was barely acceptable and now is unacceptable.

I generally have a decent experience with the UA phone CSA, if not a great one.

I was thinking of switching to AA once I make 1mm. Now, with the changes there, I think I'll just free agent/kettle it.