BA Gold or UA 1K
Nov 6, 2013, 8:09 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 504
BA Gold or UA 1K
Hi,
I have 4-5 longhaul r/t in J upcoming that could either lift me from UA Gold to 1K or bring me BA Gold. I am Germany based and travel 60% intra Europe and 40% TATL, with a 50/50 mix J/Y.
I am drawn by UA only for the 6 GPUs after Miles were devalued last week. Also I already hold Senator status with LH.
BA would give me Status also on another Alliance and Avios are quite useful for intra Europe awards. Not sure about the value of Avios for longhaul Awards.
I need to book all my travel by tomorrow and I can't make up my mind what to go for
Any help or Input especially regarding BA Gold is highly appreciated!
Cheers
I have 4-5 longhaul r/t in J upcoming that could either lift me from UA Gold to 1K or bring me BA Gold. I am Germany based and travel 60% intra Europe and 40% TATL, with a 50/50 mix J/Y.
I am drawn by UA only for the 6 GPUs after Miles were devalued last week. Also I already hold Senator status with LH.
BA would give me Status also on another Alliance and Avios are quite useful for intra Europe awards. Not sure about the value of Avios for longhaul Awards.
I need to book all my travel by tomorrow and I can't make up my mind what to go for
Any help or Input especially regarding BA Gold is highly appreciated!
Cheers
Nov 6, 2013, 8:28 am
#2
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Dorset
Programs: BAEC Blue, VS Red, IHG Platinum
Posts: 597
Go for BA Gold.
The Reward Flight Saver fixed taxes make using your miles for trips around Europe worthwhile, as does the flexibility you have with these bookings by virtue of being gold. You can cancel and change bookings with no penalties until close to travel.
If you area already Senator then another alliance will be a great tool to add to your belt.
The Reward Flight Saver fixed taxes make using your miles for trips around Europe worthwhile, as does the flexibility you have with these bookings by virtue of being gold. You can cancel and change bookings with no penalties until close to travel.
If you area already Senator then another alliance will be a great tool to add to your belt.
Nov 6, 2013, 10:01 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 504
Yes, that is also what I thought. Also, I have to admit my OW exposure intra Europe is quite limited except for AB. I am TXL based and my company has a contract with LH.
But i guess BA Gold for almost 2 years outweighs the value of another *G despite the 6 Vouchers.
Only thing, that really annoys me, is the no advance seat reservations policy, even in CW. I am buying a J ticket for almost 7k Euro and I will end up with a rear facing middle seat.. Makes 0 sense to me
Btw. is there better Award availability as a BA Gold also on J/F redemptions?
Thanks
But i guess BA Gold for almost 2 years outweighs the value of another *G despite the 6 Vouchers.
Only thing, that really annoys me, is the no advance seat reservations policy, even in CW. I am buying a J ticket for almost 7k Euro and I will end up with a rear facing middle seat.. Makes 0 sense to me
Btw. is there better Award availability as a BA Gold also on J/F redemptions?
Thanks
Nov 6, 2013, 10:22 am
#4
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Tonbridge
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 2,034
Yes, that is also what I thought. Also, I have to admit my OW exposure intra Europe is quite limited except for AB. I am TXL based and my company has a contract with LH.
But i guess BA Gold for almost 2 years outweighs the value of another *G despite the 6 Vouchers.
Only thing, that really annoys me, is the no advance seat reservations policy, even in CW. I am buying a J ticket for almost 7k Euro and I will end up with a rear facing middle seat.. Makes 0 sense to me
Btw. is there better Award availability as a BA Gold also on J/F redemptions?
Thanks
But i guess BA Gold for almost 2 years outweighs the value of another *G despite the 6 Vouchers.
Only thing, that really annoys me, is the no advance seat reservations policy, even in CW. I am buying a J ticket for almost 7k Euro and I will end up with a rear facing middle seat.. Makes 0 sense to me
Btw. is there better Award availability as a BA Gold also on J/F redemptions?
Thanks
Basic Gold gives you extra availability in economy and gives you the option to pay 2x miles for a guaranteed reward seat in other classes.
Nov 6, 2013, 10:27 am
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2012
Programs: BA Gold, QF WP
Posts: 12,551
Full fare J gives free seat selection at the time of purchase. It is actually a major advantage to business customers buying full fare tickets and those with status to have a lot more seat options than if anyone could allocate seats for free.
Nov 6, 2013, 10:29 am
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 504
There is an advance seat reservation policy, you can pay £60. A small fraction compared to 7k euros. On your second trip you will already be Bronze, at which point you will be able to select for free within 7 days. On the following trip you wil be silver and be able to select seats at booking.
Basic Gold gives you extra availability in economy and gives you the option to pay 2x miles for a guaranteed reward seat in other classes.
Basic Gold gives you extra availability in economy and gives you the option to pay 2x miles for a guaranteed reward seat in other classes.
Problem with the 60 pounds is that my company won't pay for that, I would have to pay it myself. Still find that policy ridicolous for J tickets. But yes, I am still happy to give BA a try
Nov 6, 2013, 10:32 am
#7
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: LON, RUH and DXB
Programs: BA Bronze, GF, EK, WY
Posts: 2,607
http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/...sing-your-seat
As you might imagine, this subject has been discussed to death here over the years and a consensus never emerges
hth
Nov 6, 2013, 11:19 am
#9
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Glasgow, UK
Programs: BA, UA, Marriot
Posts: 2,196
You are assuming the GPUs will be easy to use on UA. Definitely a case of YMMV. Mrs Schmidt was 1K for a couple of years. We did manage to use them successfully for TATL upgrades, but it meant buying a higher base fare, and we generally also had to compromise on our routing to get to where we wanted.
Nov 6, 2013, 11:44 am
#10
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Duchy of Milan
Programs: BA Gold, TK Elite, AZ CFP
Posts: 1,857
Nov 6, 2013, 11:49 am
#11
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Kyiv, Ukraine
Programs: Mucci, BA Gold, TK Elite, HHonors Lifetime Diamond
Posts: 7,691
I'd say it all depends where you fly intra Europe. BA/OW are fantastic for longhaul travel but I am not sure where is it that you need to fly intra-Europe that BA/OW can suit your needs.
Nov 6, 2013, 2:52 pm
#13
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: NCL
Programs: UA 1MM/*G. DL Gold for one more year.
Posts: 5,305
One slightly counterintuitive option for you, if you are planning to fly as much next year and since system-wide upgrades are important to you, is to:
1. Go for UA 1K, which I agree doesn't have the value it used to.
2. Sign up for a challenge to AA ExPlat.
3. Enjoy your six SWUs with UA and your eight SWUs with AA, as well as First Class lounge access as OWE.
1. Go for UA 1K, which I agree doesn't have the value it used to.
2. Sign up for a challenge to AA ExPlat.
3. Enjoy your six SWUs with UA and your eight SWUs with AA, as well as First Class lounge access as OWE.
Nov 7, 2013, 2:51 am
#14
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2012
Programs: BA Gold, QF WP
Posts: 12,551
Nov 7, 2013, 2:55 am
#15
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: BHX
Programs: BA GGL CCR GfL, SQ Gold, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond, Marriott Plat, Cafe Nero Loyalty Card (7 Stamps)
Posts: 7,328