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Originally Posted by tom911
(Post 25593033)
I've always found UA award availability very good over the years. I redeemed my last chunk of miles earlier this year DUB-ATH. Took a while to zero out that account. My last big redemption was them was on the A380 in F SFO-FRA connecting to a 747 FRA-HKG. I've also done the 747 in F SFO-FRA. All these would cost more miles than what I paid in the last 2-3 years due to the program changes. Background - I ceased most of my paid UA travel on 1 April 2015 when Mileage Plus switched to a revenue based system and via a status match challenge, started flying AA as a newly minted EXP. Like you, I've been dumping my MP award miles ever since. Observation so far - The biggest difference (for me) between both programs has been the substantial disparity between Mileage Plus and AAdvantage close in award availability. As a UA 1K, I was always thrilled with the no fee changes I could make to my travel plans when F awards became available within a week or so of my scheduled travel date. Take for example the award trip I just completed. At the last minute, I was able to change my Singapore plans pretty drastically - opting to take a circle trip with a stop in FRA before flying back to LAX; I was originally traveling home from SIN to LAX via NRT on NH, but first changed it to SIN-BKK-FRA on TG when an F seat opened up on their A380, and then I changed it again a few days later to SIN-HKG-FRA on LH in F as I much prefer the LH soft product. None of these changes cost me a dime. And yes, as an EXP, I would have also not paid a change fee. BUT, close in award availability on One World carriers? Forget it - no F seats on a single airline. 67.5K on AA vs. 130K on UA given parts of this routing? Yeah, the extra miles suck, but man, I sure loved the flexibility that *A gave me. It is the one thing I'll really miss about them. Now the game is extreme speculative bookings nearly a year in advance and pretty much sticking to travel plan till the end. |
Originally Posted by Mwenenzi
(Post 25592688)
Champagne424 Welcome to FT
You will not get any better than AA. AS will not get you upgrades on international flights. AS has a limited award routes. Burn those miles before that devalue. Flights with first class are decreasing All the legacy ffp's are getting less generous and will continue to do so. That is a fact of frequent flyer life. Frequent flyer benefits are tending to cheap beer and not champagne. Those champagne days are gone. I am mostly interested in Alaska's partners for award routes. I don't know how easy it is to get those award flights, but a lot of the routes I try to get on American are very difficult, in F at least. |
Originally Posted by tom911
(Post 25593033)
You have a lot of issues in play so let me just address a couple so others can chime in.
I have over a million miles on UA metal and walked away from them over the 2012 program changes which weren't ideal for a leisure traveler. Just because I did that, though, does not mean it may be a good fit for you. You accrue miles there (and at DL) very differently. It's based on your tier and then miles per dollar, less taxes, after that. So, for example, as a 1K (EXP equivalent) on an $1100 fare to Europe ($1000 before taxes), you'd accrue 11,000 miles (11 miles per dollar spent). If you took the same $1100 trip on AA from SFO with a connection at DFW, you'd generally bring in 25,000 miles with your EXP bonus miles. Now, if you do buy paid first and that $1100 ticket becomes a $5100 ticket, you'd bring in 55,000 miles at UA. See why UA is a better fit for some? At AA you'd get a 50% bonus on base miles for being in first, so around 31,250 miles total there. If you follow the UA forum, you'll learn that systemwide upgrades there (6 at 100K, more with additional travel) are good on W or higher fares on international routes, so you have to buy the higher fare, which could range from $100 extra to $700 or more depending on route, and if you can't immediately clear, and don't clear at the gate, you're out the extra money for buying the higher fare. Also, UA is known for selling upgrades and that seems to be a constant complaint on the UA forum. UA recently raised the award levels for some first class partner award travel (like Lufthansa F) while keeping rates lower on UA metal. Make sure you look at the UA award chart as they have different levels on some higher end awards when you move to partner metal. Another thing with UA is their UGS tier which is high revenue and recognized at the check-in counters and at boarding and during irregular ops. AA has a similar tier but I get the sense the numbers are nowhere near UA, and you don't see special check-in counters or boarding for CK flyers (not yet at least). The UGS tier at UA also comes with some special perks like upgrading award tickets. Also, while EXP gives you first class lounge access on international flights no matter what the class of service, 1K status does not provide that. I don't think it provides arrival lounge access either, but then AA only offers that at LHR anyway so probably not a major factor when comparing them. I've always found UA award availability very good over the years. I redeemed my last chunk of miles earlier this year DUB-ATH. Took a while to zero out that account. My last big redemption was them was on the A380 in F SFO-FRA connecting to a 747 FRA-HKG. I've also done the 747 in F SFO-FRA. All these would cost more miles than what I paid in the last 2-3 years due to the program changes. I'd recommend you follow up on the award differences and upgrades on the UA forum- you should find some existing threads covering those topics in detail. UA has offered status matches in the past to AA EXP flyers with a specific amount of flying to retain status, so you could give them a test drive without too much of an investment and see how they work out. Wow, thank you Tom. I really appreciate all the detailed input. I am going to take your advice and read the UA forum. You bring up many good points, the lounges are certainly a consideration. I do love access to the Oneworld lounges internationally. |
Originally Posted by daberlin
(Post 25597703)
I think the BEST part of Mileage Plus/Star Alliance has been close in award availability.
Background - I ceased most of my paid UA travel on 1 April 2015 when Mileage Plus switched to a revenue based system and via a status match challenge, started flying AA as a newly minted EXP. Like you, I've been dumping my MP award miles ever since. Observation so far - The biggest difference (for me) between both programs has been the substantial disparity between Mileage Plus and AAdvantage close in award availability. As a UA 1K, I was always thrilled with the no fee changes I could make to my travel plans when F awards became available within a week or so of my scheduled travel date. Take for example the award trip I just completed. At the last minute, I was able to change my Singapore plans pretty drastically - opting to take a circle trip with a stop in FRA before flying back to LAX; I was originally traveling home from SIN to LAX via NRT on NH, but first changed it to SIN-BKK-FRA on TG when an F seat opened up on their A380, and then I changed it again a few days later to SIN-HKG-FRA on LH in F as I much prefer the LH soft product. None of these changes cost me a dime. And yes, as an EXP, I would have also not paid a change fee. BUT, close in award availability on One World carriers? Forget it - no F seats on a single airline. 67.5K on AA vs. 130K on UA given parts of this routing? Yeah, the extra miles suck, but man, I sure loved the flexibility that *A gave me. It is the one thing I'll really miss about them. Now the game is extreme speculative bookings nearly a year in advance and pretty much sticking to travel plan till the end. How do you feel UA compares to AA domestically? Are you finding the AA aircraft and service to be similar to UA? |
Originally Posted by Champagne424
(Post 25599055)
....I am mostly interested in Alaska's partners for award routes. I don't know how easy it is to get those award flights, but a lot of the routes I try to get on American are very difficult, in F at least.
http://www.alaskaair.com/content/mil...ePlan-partners AS award routes are limited. Look at the AS award chart Nominally all the awards to partners come from the same bucket. For example 1 only QF F award seat is nominally available to QF, AA, BA, LA, CX and AS. At times your own ffp may show more availability that to partners (its a black art:- yield management) |
Hi FlyerTalk! I'm new to the site, and I would really appreciate some advice regarding my FFP options. I spent some time on the site today, and 3 hours and 1 headache later, I think it’s time to ask for help. My answers to the big questions are as follows:
(1) What is most important to you in a FFP? Reply: Upgrades on international travel, good award redemption rates (2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors? Reply: less than 25,000 miles a year / less than 25 flights a year (3) What types of fares do you usually buy ? Reply: economy / cheapest available (4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Airline most flown? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure? Reply: personal travel - open to choose from all options (5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often Reply: USA (west coast) - China (any airport) at least once per year,some US domestic, saving up for various international (6) What is your home airport? Reply: LAS (7) Do you have FFP status of any kind in an airline? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP? Reply: No status / small bank of miles (under 20k) on a few different programs (8) Preferred Airlines Reply: Any My main concern is that my wife and I will fly from the US to China at least once per year, and I would like that flight to be comfortable (i.e. not economy). I see 3 ways of doing this, though I am not confident that all 3 methods are feasible for us. 1. I can book the tickets with cash and then upgrade with points 2. I can book the tickets with points and then upgrade with cash 3. I can book the initial tickets as upgraded seats with points I will probably not fly enough right now to gain meaningful status on any program, and my points will almost entirely come from credit card bonuses and spend. Also keep in mind that I am booking 2 tickets per trip. In that case, what is the easiest and most reliable way of doing this? Are there any airlines or alliances to look out for in particular? Or is it better for me to just look for cheap tickets and/or big credit card bonuses regardless of airline? Also, is it worth it (or possible) for me to look into companion tickets instead of booking two individual tickets, or do those only come with status? Thanks in advance for any help you can offer! |
Where to credit a united flight as non elite
Folks,
Delta flyer here that rarely flies united, no status. Flying lax to denver tomorrow Z fare. 416 cost. 852 miles I used where to credit .Com which shows 150 percent of miles to air canada which is more likely place I'd redeem through amex transfer and cheaper award chart. Is it 150 percent of miles flown when crediting to air canada or of cost of ticket? Didn't know whether to put in United or ac forum and would appreciate any help |
Originally Posted by krupdogg
(Post 25624079)
Folks,
Delta flyer here that rarely flies united, no status. Flying lax to denver tomorrow Z fare. 416 cost. 852 miles I used where to credit .Com which shows 150 percent of miles to air canada which is more likely place I'd redeem through amex transfer and cheaper award chart. Is it 150 percent of miles flown when crediting to air canada or of cost of ticket? Didn't know whether to put in United or ac forum and would appreciate any help |
As a guess you are more likely to fly United in the future, than AC, I would join UA (today)
Many to most ffp's require you to be a member as date of the flight. Retro credit can be hard to get. FFP miles are not equal. Earn/burn/award co payment fees/expiry rules vary a lot http://www.wheretocredit.com/ http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...help-here.html |
The question is not so much how often you fly United, but more how often you fly on any Star Alliance airline. You might want to think a bit about how likely you are to end up on Lufthansa, Air NZ, and so on before submitting those miles. That said, AC isn't a bad place for them in general.
The other thing you may want to think about is how much *A flying you're likely to do in the future. If it's more than 25K status miles per year (each airline has a slightly different way of figuring these), you'll be some sort of elite*. Status with another alliance member, as you probably know from SkyTeam, will get you some benefits - early boarding, priority check-in, lounge access - but not others, such as upgrades, priority phone lines and additional award options. Those apply only to the specific airline on which you have status. If that much *A flying is a possibility, you might want to consider that in your choice as well. ______________________ *If you thought Delta's four elite levels are a lot, would you believe AC has five? |
Are the fees on redemptions about the same with UA and AC redemptions?
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On the fence with United after latest quarterly earnings-- switch FFPs?
A lot of people seem to think ill of United's chances going forward -- they just had an earnings miss, and a lot of their cost-controlling seems to come from abnormally low fuel prices, not economies of scale. They had a major bankruptcy a few years back, emerged alive, but a lot of the underlying issues with unions and management seem to still be around. I've got a lot of miles tied up in United, but I'm wondering if the grass isn't greener for me elsewhere.
I'm about to ramp up my business travel significantly in 2016 and beyond, and I'm hoping not to get behind the wrong horse in the race. Should I switch horses to American, or should I stick with United? Or should I do something else? As a mostly domestic traveler, getting a good travel experience is important to me because I have to travel a lot. I'm including my info from the wiki-thread, for reference: 1. What is most important to you in a frequent flyer program (FFP)? upgrades, priority services, baggage allowance, good award redemption rates, better award access, lounge access, etc. >>> Reply: Upgrades. I don't care about lounge access because I always cut it pretty close arriving to the airport and don't take flights with long layovers. 2. How many miles do you usually fly each year? How many flights/sectors? less than 25000 miles, 50000+ miles and 20-25 flights, etc. >>> Reply: About 100,000 miles per year, 40 to 50 flights per year. 3. What fare class do you usually buy? first, business, premium economy, economy >>> Reply: Premium economy and first domestically. Premium economy internationally, sometimes first with upgrades. 4. Are you able to choose your airlines and/or class of service? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure? >>> Reply: Yes, I'm generally free to choose my airline. My fare class is premium economy for work travel; anything above that I pay the difference for. I travel mostly for work. 5. Which routes do you fly most often? transatlantic, domestic USA, intra-Asia, etc. >>> Reply: domestic USA routes. Periodic international routes to Europe and AU. 6. What is your home airport? >>> Reply: {IAD, CHO, RIC}. 7. Do you have status in any FFP? What is it? How miles do you have banked in each FFP, if any? >>> Reply: 600,000 lifetime miles on United, 150,000 lifetime miles on American. 240k banked miles on United, none on American. 8. What are your preferred airlines, if any? >>> Reply: United. |
I'd wait, personally, if you're looking for a horse to carry you for a long stretch. IMO, it's likely AA will bring about some significant changes to its FFP, and it's not at all clear where this airline is going.
The Legacy AA fleet has Main Cabin Extra (an economy section with more leg room), yet no mention has been made about MCE being added to the US fleet (are they considering deleting it from the AA fleet?). AA is adding new "no frills" fares; lower priced fares may earn fractional miles and / or status credit - we don't know yet. There are changes that have been rumored to the FFP - what they might be, we don't know yet. AA FAs and Pilots have contracts, but full integration is still some time away; employee morale doesn't seem good. Mechanics are agitating for a contract - there's evidence they're causing delays by such shenanigans as delaying maintenance call response, "sequestering" maintenance logs for an hour or more when maintenance is completed and further inconveniencing passengers. Etc. |
Several UA vs others thread linked in post 3 http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...help-here.html
Far better to ask in the main thread, where this may get moved The grass in not always greener on the other side |
Hello all.
Looking for some suggestions based on my travel and location. List of questions and my answers: (1) What is most important to you in a FFP? Obtain miles to take the family on vacation trips 1st, upgrades second. (2) How many miles do you usually fly each year & in what class? How many flights/sectors? Miles per year: 50,000-90,000 Segments 60+ (3) What types of fares do you usually buy ? First class and economy. Varies (4) Can you choose your airlines and/or class of service? Airline most flown? Do you travel for work and/or pleasure? I can pick any airline I want to fly. Airline most flown right now is American and Southwest, but not attached to either. I travel for business. (5) Which routes and airlines do you fly most often Reply: USA West coast (Based in San Diego). Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, and over to Texas (Houston, San Antonio, Dallas). My territory covers west coast to TOLA (6) What is your home airport? Reply: San Diego (7) Do you have FFP status of any kind in an airline? What is it? Do you have any miles banked in a FFP? A-List on Southwest at the moment. (8) Preferred Airlines None. Trying to maximize my gains and benefits. Just looking for suggestions and recommendations. I have flown a lot of different airlines this year, just to try it. Now I need to really find one I like and stick with it to earn miles to take the family on a vacation. Really appreciate the help. TCG |
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