Status match from UA 1K

Old Apr 5, 2019, 5:44 am
  #1  
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Status match from UA 1K

So, i asked for CX status match from UA 1K. They only offered Silver. Is that a reasonable deal?

Also, had anybody managed to get an enrollment $100 fee waiver?

Thanks.
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Old Apr 5, 2019, 6:08 am
  #2  
 
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I'm not sure about 1K, but I know a number of Global Services guys based in SF. In general I spend around 1-1.5x what they do annually except on CX (they're in the 50-75k USD range) and I'm "only" Cathay Diamond. Cathays special tier is "Diamond Plus" and although there is variance generally you need to be doing 150k+ USD on Cathay metal only. Some people have gotten it less who fly crazy amounts regionally but in general that's what you're looking at.

In general people just spend a lot more dough getting the same same bene on CX aka it is not good value at all. Anecdotal evidence in here says you're not bad off looking at AA and BA programs, which are apparently a lot easier to earn than CX. And frankly CX is quite good to their partners. the CX program really isn't that great when you take into account just how hard it is to earn the status, others can correct me but I believe it is among if not the hardest (aka stingiest) OW programs to earn the tiers. Some folks posted on here who would be AA EXP (OW Emerald) havent been able to hit CX Gold, just fyi. It is especially bad if you don't fly J and F cash fares. Then you definitely should go with a partner because it's virtually impossible to get the higher tiers on CX in economy. Although if you are flying from cheap outports you can still get CX status "reasonably" because they often sell cheap fares from outports places like China, Vietnam, etc.

if you can prove you flew a lot of CX or have upcoming J or F cash tickets on CX I bet you can get Gold. But they don't just hand it out. Most folks realize the US award programs are highly generous. Diamond coming from 1K I'd say is a zero pct chance.

Silver is great value btw if you live in HK. Since it comes with lounge access at all of CX's operated business class lounges. If you're just going to fly CX a few times a year from outports, not so much.

But yea don't expect much from 1K. Good luck. They will be more accommodating if yovue already swiped your card on a few expensive J or F class fares.
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Old Apr 5, 2019, 8:58 am
  #3  
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Thanks, this is very informative. So, would BA Executive Club be a better value?
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Old Apr 5, 2019, 10:09 am
  #4  
 
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Originally Posted by QRC3288
Silver is great value btw if you live in HK. Since it comes with lounge access at all of CX's operated business class lounges. If you're just going to fly CX a few times a year from outports, not so much.
Umm...I think SL is good value regardless, and SL members actually can use any lounge designated for CX and KA J pax as long as departing on CX or KA (except for JFK where, except CX845, SL members can only access the Admirals Club). For example, when flying out of LAX, I can use the oneworld lounge; out of RMQ, I can use "The More" lounge; etc.
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Old Apr 5, 2019, 10:56 am
  #5  
 
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Originally Posted by gruimed
Thanks, this is very informative. So, would BA Executive Club be a better value?
If you plan to fly BA, as you need 4 segment minimum to get Silver (OW Sapphire) status. But BA do have decent coverage of TLV and offer wide-bodies on those routes. Additionally, if you fly in a premium cabin J/F, you can easily re-qualify with a TLV-LHR-USA R/T or two, and BA sometimes has decent fares (for US standards) from TLV. Just note if you want to use Avios, they are distance based awards, but usually in the OW mileage plans either AA or BA will be your best bet, and considering you live in TLV, BA will be more useful to you. Unless AA ever starts flying to Israel again.
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Old Apr 5, 2019, 11:05 am
  #6  
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I'm at crossroads. I've been with *A for a while and it is OK, except for flights from TLV to Asia, which is a pain. My plan was to maybe go down one notch from UA 1K to Gold and try to maintain Silver with CX, as it is convinient to fly with them to Asia. Maybe I should take that offer...
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Old Apr 5, 2019, 1:01 pm
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Why not match to AA? I believe they'll give you a challenge to match to EXP. Getting AA status flying on CX is dead simple, provided one buys PE, J or F fares. No flights on AA metal required.
swingaling is offline  
Old Apr 5, 2019, 2:22 pm
  #8  
 
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Originally Posted by gruimed
So, i asked for CX status match from UA 1K. They only offered Silver. Is that a reasonable deal?

Also, had anybody managed to get an enrollment $100 fee waiver?

Thanks.
After 2.5 el-cheapo returns EU-HKG-BKK (and another 1.5 return booked), all in J, I got a spontaneous offer for Gold. I, initially, did not even sign-up for MPC, only Asia-miles, because the Gold advantages are not so useful, when you fly paid J. As such, the "costs" for CX for this Gold offer would be marginal.

No enrollment fee paid .

This was around 1.5 years ago, around the time, the worsening of the MPC "features" did start taking its toll on the CX customer loyalty. I don't know whether CX does still does do this.

Added: What CX/MPC certainly wants to see, is commitment. Have 2-3 flights in J booked already (or use as a negotiation item) and there is a serious chance, they want to "pull you in". Your negotiation would be to "contact MPC", agree on Gold, IF you book 3 flights in J and IF you do and did fly 1 or 2, they grand you free Gold. It all depends on your negotiation skills towards MPC people.

Regarding the "difficult to earn status" on MPC: Because of the reset, it takes a "little" longer to obtain the highest status. Effectively, if you start flying at DM intensity, it'll take you 3 months to get to Silver, another 6 months for Gold and then 1 year to get DM. Without reset, it would take you 1 year to get to DM. Though other airlines do also have the "reset", even worse, for example at the calendar year, where CX does 12 months (and if you plan properly 13 months). Or BA with the requirement for 4 legs on own metal. Or need to live in the US.

All FF/Loyalty programs are being dressed down, every, all Alliances, just read the relevant FT Forums and you will see the whine and complaints everywhere.

Last edited by Cambo; Apr 5, 2019 at 2:34 pm
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Old Apr 5, 2019, 3:41 pm
  #9  
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Originally Posted by gruimed
So, I asked for CX status match from UA 1K. They only offered Silver. Is that a reasonable deal?
Also, had anybody managed to get an enrollment $100 fee waiver?.
What do you expect from status?
How many flights have you done/will do on CX?

https://www.oneworld.com/travel-benefits (at the bottom of the page)

OW Emerald = CX Diamond
OW Sapphire = CX Gold
OW Ruby = CX Silver
Mwenenzi is offline  
Old Apr 5, 2019, 5:08 pm
  #10  
 
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On BAEC those necessary segments can be on any operator so long as the flight is a BA code.

BA flight no. = BA-marketed = Happiness & perfection

There is a lot of BA codesharing ex-HKG too.
Boreas is offline  
Old Apr 5, 2019, 5:16 pm
  #11  
 
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They have a historical policy of treating status matches lukewarmly though. BAEC is still an excellent programme for earning and retaining status - or so it seems!

Perhaps match to a oneworld airline more amenable to the practice - LATAM, AA? - and then earn with BAEC in the same year.

If you fly enough as a 1K now to make Gold Guest List with BA, AA will try to treat you the same way as someone with Concierge Key.

It all depends on your travel habits. Good luck.
Boreas is offline  
Old Apr 5, 2019, 5:35 pm
  #12  
sxc
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Originally Posted by Boreas
On BAEC those necessary segments can be on any operator so long as the flight is a BA code.

BA flight no. = BA-marketed = Happiness & perfection

There is a lot of BA codesharing ex-HKG too.
But only if you buy a ticket with a long haul BA flight included.
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Old Apr 5, 2019, 5:41 pm
  #13  
 
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Originally Posted by sxc
But only if you buy a ticket with a long haul BA flight included.
Yes, indeed, sadly.
Boreas is offline  
Old Apr 5, 2019, 6:02 pm
  #14  
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Originally Posted by gruimed
My plan was to maybe go down one notch from UA 1K to Gold and try to maintain Silver with CX, as it is convinient to fly with them to Asia. Maybe I should take that offer...
This is plainly stupid and nonsense.

TLV (or Israel) is a dedicated airport (country). Due to some you-know-I-know problems, not many airlines are willing to fly to TLV. So while I agree that it is PITA to fly to TLV, switching to another program is not necessary the answer here.
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Old Apr 5, 2019, 11:19 pm
  #15  
 
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Originally Posted by Boreas
They have a historical policy of treating status matches lukewarmly though. BAEC is still an excellent programme for earning and retaining status - or so it seems!

Perhaps match to a oneworld airline more amenable to the practice - LATAM, AA? - and then earn with BAEC in the same year.

If you fly enough as a 1K now to make Gold Guest List with BA, AA will try to treat you the same way as someone with Concierge Key.

It all depends on your travel habits. Good luck.
Can you elaborate on why BAEC is a good program if one is based in HKG and mainly flies with CX? As far as I know, most cheap CX Economy tickets also earn little with BAEC. Thanks!
lixiaojuventus is offline  

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