Big purchase through AAdvantage or United Mil Plus shopping?
 

Hey guys so here's my predicament... I'm new to the game so I would like a pro's opinion on receiving the best value for my $.

AAdvantange - will have ~10k miles by May
United Mil Plus - currently have 20k

My wife and I will be taking a trip to Greece this summer. Tickets have not been booked yet. Obviously we want either United or AA

I need to make a large purchase (~$2k) at Horchow. Through the online malls, I receive 5miles/$ at AA and 3miles/$ at United.

Is it better to have an additional 10k miles with AA (to total 20k) or 6k with United (26k) prior to the Greece trip? The Greece trip will be at least 10k additional miles.

Ultimately, which mileage gives me the most value per $?

Thanks!

Welcome to FlyerTalk. Please clarify if you are planning to travel to Greece on revenue tickets or on award tickets? Summer is the peak time for transatlantic travel, and I would have booked by now for Summer 2014 - especially if I were planning to redeem miles.

As mia implies, finding summer award travel to Europe often requires booking 9-11 months in advance. There may be more availability using UA miles than using AA miles, because of UA's partners (LH, LX, OS).

Thanks for your replies...

Sorry I did not clarify, but I plan to visit Greece on revenue tickets. I haven't checked, but I don't believe my low mileage would be useful for any award or upgrade?

My main concern is whether accumulating more miles for one particular airline is better, or is there no real difference? I don't have an affinity for either one, and my travel is primarily for pleasure. I just hate having at least 10k on one airline and 20k on the other!

For award flights from the USA to Europe, you need 30k each way on UA. On AA, you need 30k each way during the high season and 20k each way off-season. You'll need to fly home, of course, but you can one way on UA and one on AA.

Unless I missed something, you haven't indicated what your home airport is. That can make a big difference, since both AA and UA are stronger in some locations than in others. It's better to concentrate your miles as much as possible on one airline instead of splitting them up, but which airline is better for your purposes depends on many factors which we do not know. AA will be better in some cases and UA in others.

In any case, you should check to see if you can earn miles on your paid flights to Greece this summer. What airlines are you travelling on? What is your booking class? (Some booking classes on partner airlines are not eligible for mileage credit, especially on UA.)

Jpg,

Thanks for that useful info.

My home base is ORD, and UA definitely has the stronghold there. As it is, I currently use UA for all of my domestic travel. However I've begun to travel to the caribbean a few times, and I've used AA exclusively for those flights.

As for the booking fares to Greece, I will need to research which routes will maximize my points.

I appreciate the feedback!

The mile values of UA and AA are roughly equivalent. Definitely go for AA at 66% more miles.

If you have a Chase Sapphire card, you can shop at Horchow on the Ultimate Rewards website and get 6 extra points per dollar (transferrable to United at 1:1). In think the 6 extra are in addition to the point per dollar spent, so 7 miles per dollar in total.

Nanook that is cool info, but unfortunately I only have Freedom. I can use the card to purchase through UR and rack up more points, but I can't specifically transfer to UA.

I app'd for a CSP, but was denied for too low of a score. Anyone want to make me an AU? (jk)