skywalkerLAX

Given the OP's routings I would think AA would be a slightly better choice for him.

UA Premier Gold doesn't give him any benefit on the p.s. flights since every seat is E+ and there are no UDU upgrades on p.s. flights (even if, the chances he clears on those as a mid tier are maybe 1% on the worst flights out).

OP could do a Platinum Challenge on AA and would complete it after 2 r/t's if he buys a bit higher fare buckets.

Also, AA still has 100% Bonus RDM for Platinum whilst UA slashed it down to 50%.

This might vary on other routes where the OP could clear his UDU more often like SFO-LAS, SFO-SAN. YMMV

Cheers
S.

TheBeerHunter

Ditto for me. My closest call was getting upgraded on a red eye to JFK ~3 hours before departure.

UNITED959

I made the switch from UA to AA and so far am liking it more.

I would think for the OP, AA would definitely be a better choice on the SFO-JFK run.

Also, AA's 50K Tier (Plat) earns 100% elite bonus RDMs, whereas UA's 50K Tier (Gold) only earns 50%.

bdemaria

I used to fly AA SFO-JFK quite often - or at least I tried to - but the # of mechanicals I experienced on this route contributed my decision to leave AA for UA. AAs decreasing presence in the Bay Area was another reason.

To the OP: I now regularly fly ex-SFO on UA, so here are my observations:

UA beats AA in SFO:

Economy plus, as noted AA currently has no such option and it will be a while before their domestic fleet has been updated
Many many more flight options on UA

AA beats UA in SFO:

new Terminal/Admirals Club
larger overhead bins (at least on the planes I've been on)
more planes w/WiFi
prices are usually lower (at least on the routes I've been monitoring)

SF Traveler

I agree with those who remark on the difficulty of getting upgrades SFO-JFK and back. I am PLT, which the OP would be on AA, and I find I get upgraded to business one out of four times at the most on this route. I make my reservations fairly early and so almost always get exit row seats with no problem, which greatly ameliorates the horror of coach. For me the attraction of AA is the double miles for PLT and the generally more advantageous redemption scheme. But if flight upgrades are your main concern, and you are not EX PLAT, perhaps UA is better for you.

SFO777

With 50K BIS annually and the current DEQ promotions, OP could conceivably even get close to 100K EQMs and EXP, then just top off with a couple of MRs as necessary. Personally, I don't recall missing an SFO/SJC upgrade in the past year+ although I did use a couple of SWUs and trekked to/from SJC frequently when the fares were significantly less.

IMO though, SFO-JFK is not one of AA's best products. E+ is a long way off. The 762 is a crappy old bird. Even if you are upgraded, you get narrow old 18.5" 6 across J seats in a very noisy cabin. For whatever reason, JFK-SFO/LAX meals are often not as good as mid-con meals. And if you are stuck on Y? Yikes and good luck.

Your other option is DL. The big plus here is that they now feature, hands down, the best premium product between the coasts (DL J is much better than AA or UA three class F), E+ and at times significantly cheaper fares. Unfortunately, only 16 front cabin seats and a lot of paid J tickets make UGs more difficult at times. And SkyPesos falls short in many areas. Limited saver awards. No one way awards. Generally useless SWUs limiting the availability of inexpensive TATL/TPAC upgrades.

karung99

I am 6 years UA 1K and currently still 1K, don't like to see what is going on with COdbaUA. Did Jan AA MR reached Exp and loving it. It was very tough to sit in the back earlier when I have no status with AA.
OP will get more benefit with AA.

Hotel_junkie

I am AA PLAT and fly consistently to SFO at least 8 times a year. While UAs network is better, their funky pricing buckets to qualify for upgrades on INTL flights doesn't make sense to me.

AAs terminal at SFO is awesome...shared with VX. I have yet to be denied exit row seating, so that's a PE/E+ proxy for now.

My home base is ORD and my company's preferred carrier is UA, but I still fly AA.

sts603

SFO-JFK is an easier upgrade than SFO-ORD/DFW/MIA so long as you avoid the 763 flight. I often clear the Sunday/Monday red-eye at the window.

Often1

Over time, the major carriers all tend to wind up roughly in the same place. Particularly with AA's situation, I would expect that within 6-12 months, you will see roughly the same benefits across the board on the legacy TCON's (AA, UA, DL).

There will always be tweaks which one individual may or may not like, so it pays to look at those. For instance, some like the WiFi on AA. I personally treasure my time on aircraft and don't want WiFi. Could care less if the aircraft has it, what's charged or whether it works and at what speed. Others demand it and book accordingly.

One thing is for certain. Improved economy and more agressive marketing of corporate contracts means that there is significantly more paid premium and therefore less space available for UG.

tullupump

I made the switch to from UA (1K for 10+ years) to AA as an ORD flyer in 2011. "Suffered" as a PLT on AA in 2011 and reached EXP for 2012 and now loving every minute of it.

Whlie many have commented about OP's flying patterns out of SFO, I am here to tell you that as an EXP grass is definitely greener than a 1K. I suspect that would hold true as a PLT (AA) vs. GLD (UA) as well.

bdemaria

AA EXP is fabulous and for the many years I was EXP, I wouldn't have dreamed switching carriers.

I can assure you that there is a significant difference between PLT and EXP re: upgrades, customer service, etc... and at c. 50K/EQM/annually the OP isn't going to make EXP.

scubadu

Somebody, some where, or everybody, write this down.

I (and I'm sure a few others) will archive this post for sometime in the future...

Regards

SFO777

Not really. There are and always have been significant differences between the carriers. UA/CO/DL/US offer UDUs for free. Except for EXPs, AA charges $ for upgrades. And particularly with AA's situation, AA is unlikely to "enhance" away any of the current benefits. Indeed, AA is offering DEQMs. None of the other have followed.

Sprezzatura

Yep. I'm a solid 50K a year flyer and not particularly inclined to MR my way up to 100K. I don't expect a lot of upgrades at my level. I do very much care about being able to maximize my Y seating as that's where 99% of my flights end up. That was why I ended up on United in the first place - free Economy Plus seating was / is a big draw for me. The other thing I really care about is the possibility to upgrade TATL so I can actually sleep on the plane. UA makes this extremely hard even for 1Ks, and non-existant for us at lower tiers. If AA makes it less hard, that would be a point in its favor.

I have an upcoming trip to LHR in May that would be ideal for a quick PLT challenge run, so I have time to do some homework on AA and see how things shake out.