Hi Frequent Flyer Forum;

Newbie here – I’ve gone from a regular flyer to a frequent flyer so it is time to start collecting miles. I have a couple quick questions for the collective mind here that I have not been able to clearly determine from searching through this forum. Plus – I’m somewhat looking for opinions. Here are some facts:

1) Home airport is ORD, primary travel is to SFO/OAK, then Texas/Florida/New York
2) I could use Midway, but I’m not sure I want Southwest to become my main airline
3) I already have 10,652 points/18,346 miles and 18 segments on AA
4) It seems that the Continental/United merger still has some things up in the air (pardon the pun)
5) I’m primarily looking at AAdvantage by Citi and United MileagePlus Explorer Card by Chase
6) I guess I’m open to going after points instead of miles

So, now the questions:
1) Am I too far down the road with AA for switching to be a smart decision?
a. I just I can transfer the miles, but doing so looks like I lose a lot in the transfer.
2) Should I wait for the merger to be complete before I pursue the United MileagePlus Explorer Card?
3) Would ORD being a United hub clinch the decision?
4) It seems when I compare the two the United MileagePlus Explorer Card beats the AAdantage by Citi… by a lot. Am I missing something? I must be because AA vs United seems to parallel the classic fueds of Ford v. Chevy or Cannon v. Nikon. So AAdvantage must be as good a deal as the United MileagePlus Explorer Card, right?
5) Points versus miles… seems capital one and Chase have other cards that go after points offering more flexibility. If that is the case, why would anyone lock themselves into just one airline?

That is more than enough questions. I’ll apologize in advance is anything above is something I should have found in a basic search (I know how annoying that is), but this forum is much larger than I ever would have imagined. Looks like I’m entering into a whole sub-culture I never realized was so alive.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Regards,
Web

Welcome to Flyertalk!

You are traveling between two United hubs ORD and SFO. This will surely influence your decision. On one hand, it is easier to find flights to fit your schedules and make same-day standby/confirmed; on the other hand, there tend to be more elite flyers on your route and this might reduce your chance of being upgraded. Do you have an estimate on how many segments / BIS miles you will have for this year and the coming year? I think the status will matter most in your situation than the value of RDMs you collect. Since you have already had 18 segments and 18K EQMs with AA this year, you will have to do the math to see:
1) Keep AA for this year and I am sure you will hit Gold. But can you hit the next tier (Plat) by the end of the year?
2) Switch to UA now. Could you hit any status at all with UA by the end of the year?

For the UA/CO merger, things are not clear at this moment. There may be some fundamental changes coming. Stick to UA forum for information.

As far as credit cards concerns. United Explorer is a better card than Citi AAdvantage due to the 10K annual miles booster after $25K spending, 2x on UA, and primary rental car CDW if you assume the value of UA and AA miles are the same. Once you have decided which airline you fly, you will then make a decision on which card to pick:
1) AA: check SPG Amex ($65) that allow points to be transferred into AA miles at 1:1 and 1:1.25 if transfer in 20K bulks. It is a better card than Citi AA most of the time. However, if you have Citi Gold you can have Citi AA annual fee waived. Even with the waiver, SPG will beat Citi AA once your annual spending is big enough. For example, if you value a mile at 1.6 cents, you need $16K for SPG to break even: 25% x 16K = 4K SPG = $64. If you value miles higher or spend more, SPG is a clear winner. Then of course, if you have the AF waiver, you can use Citi AA as a back up for SPG for places that don't take Amex.

2)UA: Explorer is the only card available now. However, a new MP Club card that offers United Club access will come out in the future - it may resemble the Continental Presidential Plus but we cannot assume. The alternative for now is Chase Sapphire Preferred which has the same $95 annual fee as Explorer, but it comes with 3-2-1 earning structure and 7% annual points bonus. The points can be transferred to CO/BA/KE/Hyatt/etc. We don't know at this point whether the new UA will be a transfer partner - it makes sense since Chase have huge control of UA but we never know.

Please check my website/blog for these cards if you are interested.

The AAdvantage cards have a much higher sign up bonus of 75,000 miles each. You can apply for 2 of them at the same time and get 150,000 miles.

Wow! Impressive answer. THANKS.

No way would I hit platinum on AA by the end of the year... so that is out of the factoring.

I think I'll just make the jump to UAL and be done with it. I'll also look into Chase Sapphire Preferred card. and I will most certainly check out your website.

Thanks again!

Why jump? Why not do both? You really can get 150,000 AA miles from its credit cards. That's 6 domestic round trips. Read about this on my website below in the Credit Cards > Annual Fee Cards section (though the annual fee is waived for the first year).

There are many cards with mega bonuses that will result in Continental/United miles. See my What's New page, posts for 8/24/2011 and 9/3/2011 to find them all.

I may do that. I just wanted to keep it simple and get "religious" with one airline. And since the Untied card offers some other perks I like, I was inclined to do that. But you point is taken... I may do American, and forego the perks from United, or do both and see what happens. I just wanted to simplfy one thing in my life!

Thanks again - you are so helpful.

Web

I will say not just make your decision based on the affiliate credit card but rather based on the airline itself. Since both can can change before you even realize, you can only rely on the current information and make educated guess for future. Three major things to consider:

1. Are fares comparable? Is it easy to find them to fit your schedules? Is it easy to find same-day flights if you miss connections?

2. The value and use of RDMs. Eventually you will redeem your miles. Where are you using them, domestically or internationally? If latter, are you interested in partner airlines? With AA, you have oneworld partners including some excellent ones Cathy Pacific, British Airways, Qantas. With UA, you have even more partners through *A: Singapore, ANA, Lufthansa, Thai, etc.

3. The elite status. This is probably gonna affect every domestic flight you take. The chance of upgrade and other perks - IMO these are far more important than credit card perks. Yes United CC gets you some flight related perks, but if you are an elite member, most of those are not really relevant. Of course, before you achieve status those can be very helpful. This is where CC plays a role in your decision making. Since now there are still uncertainties regarding the new UA program it will suggest you wait a little bit before you decide.

And for credit signup miles, you can always do as many as you want. But they should not really affect your decision making.