Merger - so far so good
 

I am one of the NW Plat people that switched to CO after all their merger nonsense.

So far it seems there have not been any negative changes (except Amex Plat club). Heck with NW and DL the ink was not dry and NW PL lost free changes on awards. They did go to 2 free and now all free but it only took them like an hour to start all their nonsense. I remember every day reading NW board on FT that it seemed something else negative was being implemented. DL killed the SWU for NW; they raised Y/'B/M fares out of the roof and nearly impossible to use for upgrade, etc. etc. etc.

With UA they now have free booze in their clubs and free Wifi??, with DL one of the first things they did was remove food from clubs or "fake" cheese as they call it over there.

Hopefully as time goes by CO / UA will really take the best of both worlds and make their FF program the best possible.

Hate to see awards impossible to get at low levels, AKA DL.

and now one way Star Alliance awards while keeping stopover on round trip...

Awards won't be impossible but don't expect things to get better. The trend, alas and alack, is otherwise.

The reason there haven't been any negative changes is that nothing of significance has been announced.

E+, CR1s, SWUs, Elite Choice, award rules, etc., are all up in the air still.

I think there are more significant differences between the two carriers' policies and practices in this merger than in the DL/NW, so it's really too early to tell how it's going to play out.

It has the potential to be great, it also has the potential to be a disaster.

With the DL takeover of NW, we saw the disaster coming, and it was obvious what was going to happen. So far, I have my fingers crossed on this one. There at least are not the obvious signs of problems, but still quite a few announcements we are awaiting. Some things that are important will probably never be announced like *Net blocking, and we will just have to feel those out. I am cautiously optimistic, but still checking out AA as a fallback. *Net blocking is a big issue for me.

Just booked two mixed TK/LH C tix (JFK-CPT) today w/UA miles - no issues.

Starnet blocking IMO continues to be an overblown fear.

+1

While I don't like it in concept, most people commenting on it have never experienced it.

That said, it seems to have settled quite a bit over the past several months.

I have experienced it, it sucks, and it's the one thing that would cause me to bolt from New United.

There are so many other things that could affect each of us on a daily basis that could be more troublesome for me. For me Starnet is one of those things way down the list.

+1

StarNet is nothing compared to CO's practice of selling upgrades out from under Elites for tens of dollars.

The IT Horror has Arrived
 

One unavoidable side effect of a merger is already with us. Now that UA and CO are one company - miles for flights operated by UA don't post on my CO account.

Happy Travels
DLP

Did you put your OP # in the reservation, or at OLCI?:confused:

Just got back MKE-ORD-LGA and back all posted within a day or so. Bought on CO.COM and flown on UA.

That is a good thing...for me. ^ :D