tom911

No doubt there were a lot of happy UA flyers back then (and a handful of grumpy AA ones complaining---I wasn't one of those). I don't know if it was desperation or creative marketing with the 1K status matches. I lean towards the marketing side when UA was at a low point in terms of operational issues and AA just saw the opportunity to grab top tier flyers at little cost (basically the cost of issuing systemwides and the opportunity to hopefully sell more high revenue fares to business travelers). AA did have some labor issues for a few weeks but I think that was 6 months after the start of UA matches which date back a whole year now. Don't seem to see much discussion of UA to AA matches these days so they may be gone now.

Now, if you're saying they didn't change the systemwide terms during bankruptcy because they'd risk loss of elites, particularly business travelers, I could see that possibility, but then I don't think they'd want to alienate more top tier flyers down the line and eliminate them late this year, or severely restrict them, and lose the new flyers that have moved over from UA or other flyers that have been with them for years. They surely won't lose me with a systemwide change as I didn't use my UA systemwides because of the buy-up (gave away 7 of 9 my last full year at 1K), so I'd have the remaining EXP benefits to balance that out (domestic upgrades, international lounge access) and those would lean in AA's favor. Add in my reward redemption patterns with both Cathay F and Qantas business coming up--carriers I really enjoy flying across the Pacific.

From what I've read the earliest we're going to see anything is last quarter of 2013, so there will be a lot of speculation in the months ahead. Certainly a great opportunity for both UA and AA flyers to spell out the details as to why they prefer one program over the other.

tom911

Did you want to comment about either AA or UA's program? Which one works better for you? Do you have elite status at one or both?

Jess05

Thank you Tom!
I really appreciate the feedback. Didn't realize many of the posts were so dated!

Do you think the chances on AA are better to get upgraded (sometimes with a companion traveler),
And do you think AA's bankruptcy history will be a problem moving forward? (Ie status/points/miles disappearing?

Long Zhiren

IMO, with most of your flying to JFK and LAX, it's kind of a toss-up.

SFO is a UA hub so check-in & security at UA's is often an unpleasant scrum. There's advantages to using an off-airline at a hub.
On the other hand, JFK is an AA hub, so the flip situation happens.
Is EWR not an option?

For *A, ANA is flying SJC-NRT now. It's supposed to be 787 service as soon as those fly again.

In AA's recent past, SJC-CDG was available when SJC was a second-tier hub. I don't know if AA will push to that again.

By the way, United's IATA code is UA not UN. UN is Russian airline Transaero.


You're naming *A routes through *A hubs. With AA, the major alternative routes would be through MAD with Iberia, LHR with BA, KUL with Malaysian, HKG with Cathay Pacific, AUH with Etihad, and DOH with Qatar. IMO, Iberia is a bit painful because of routine strikes by Iberia and/or the Madrid air traffic controllers.

You could hedge your bets and go for *A Gold, and then AA a little higher maybe.

I'm not sure what benefits UA's 1K or Plat have over Gold. Note that *A's lowest tier is silver not gold. With Plat, a shorter check-in line is available for international routes out of SFO. Upgrades are kind of iffy since there's so many UA fliers out of SFO. Everybody I know is saying the Global upgrades are really hard to use, if at all possible, making the values of those Global upgrades questionable.

AA's Gold is its lowest tier. It's equivalent to *A silver. If you were AA elite going out of SFO, your chances of domestic upgrades are probably better than the equivalent UA flights.


Bankruptcy history or bankruptcy future?

I don't know. The commercial airlines in the United States, have all implemented lean manufacturing principles to the extent that there's almost no more empty seats.

I hate to blow some bubbles here, the term elite has been downgraded, along with the idea of an A student. The genuine elite fliers have all gone to private charter jets. They're not flying commercial anymore.

"From your knowledge, what do you think would be the best choice between UN/*A Or AA/OW? Any Credit Cards you would recommend?"

If you fly so much for business, consider the United Club card, business account. It includes travel insurance so if your small business is self-insured, it could pay for itself really fast. Access to the clubs is kind of bonus, but beats trying to get business done anywhere else in an airport.

I don't know if AA has an equivalent card.

UA's cards are all from JP Morgan Chase while AA's cards are issued by Citibank. I am not a fan of Citibank.

Long Zhiren

This elephant crashes *A's parties too.

OW has really beefed up its portfolio with Qatar, Etihad and Malaysian Airlines.

*A's Asiana, Thai and Singapore have their competition cut-out for them.

IMO, these sets of three have the best OW and *A services respectively. And I give the OW set an edge for quality.

tom911

I'm at 98% this year on domestic AA upgrades (cleared 38 of 39), as well as burning 8 systemwides, so I'm doing pretty well. It's pretty rare for me to take a transcon unless I'm on award travel, though, as I mostly connect at DFW or ORD. Whether you're at AA or UA, I suspect those transcons will always be hard upgrades unless you're flying off peak. Companion upgrades at AA are not free and must be supported by upgrade instruments. Once you reach EXP (100K), you stop accruing those and would need to purchase upgrades for a companion. I'm not up on how companion upgrades work at UA so hopefully one of the UA flyers will cover those as well as how as the process for clearing upgrades on PS (SFO-JFK) and how they're doing on domestic upgrades from SFO, your base (and mine).


Well, CO has been bankrupt twice and UA once, and not a single frequent flyer mile was lost. You're not going to lose any miles at AA, but some have speculated that benefits may change. When UA and CO merged one major change they made was to reduce bonus miles at midtier to 50% from 100%. AA has not matched that benefit, still offering 100% bonus miles at midtier, and no on really knows what may change down the line. If there are changes, I'm counting on AA to provide adequate notice so AA flyers can evaluate the path ahead. There haven't been any AA press releases, so far, documenting any changes to come. One reason for this is that DOJ has not yet signed off on the merger.

When UA made the changes to their elite levels, including a new tier at 75K, they made the announcement on September 21, 2011, for implementation on January 1, 2012, so there there was just over 3 months of notice there for UA flyers to chart the course ahead. Personally I don't think that was a lot of notice as some flyers may have already purchased tickets, so hoping if AA makes an announcement of any program changes they can give more notice than that.

Thunderroad

Welcome to FT! tom911 has made a number of excellent points. To make a long story short as a long-time SFO-based flyer of AA and UA, and as someone who's increasingly leaned toward AA in recent years, for upgrades and many other features I prefer AA. Yes, SFO is a UA hub, but that means many more FFs who will squeeze you out for upgrades and a security line that's usually longer and slower. Plus the AA terminal is nicer and, if you have occasion to use it, the AA lounge is nicer. In general, AA is a better-run airline, with better customer service and a far superior FF program.

Now, having said that...

This in fact is the one big caveat. The US takeover of AA will cause complications and most likely a deterioration in the AA FF program and perhaps in the airline as a whole. However, I see little indication that the UA management isn't going to keep UA on a deteriorating path. So even in view of the US-AA merger, I'd still favor AA.

PurduExpat37

So I've just been blessed with a new job that will require almost 100% travel. I'll be around the 50 U.S. States, Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean. I will be based out of IND or ATL (not quite sure yet), but most likely it will be IND. The only status I currently possess is Silver with AF... So not much use here in the States. And for the record, I can fly who I want to (for the most part).

So here's the dilemma (and quite a first world dilemma it is): Should I go with UA or AA? I break it down...

UA: I have a few thousand miles with UA. I also have a bunch of Chase UR points, courtesy of the Sapphire card. It's also worth noting that I am able to put all of my travel expenses on my personal card, so there's a great potential to earn some UR points. I love UA and the ease of rewards within the Star Alliance, as I travel to Europe for pleasure quite frequently. However, the stickler here is the lack of status. And with the quality of UA diminished recently (IMHO), I'm not in any hurry to travel with them-- especially without status.

AA: I can't easily recall a time I've flown AA. I've always been eager to try them, but it has never worked out. I'd be starting from a -0- points balance, and of course no status. I don't have a ton of experience with oneWorld award redemptions, but paying those fuel surcharges on BA scares me! BUT-- I signed up for that "accelerated status challenge" from LinkedIn a few days ago () and would definitely make Gold status by the end of the year, and quite possibly Platinum. Plus, with the fate of the AA/US merger up in the air (no pun intended), I can't help but wonder about the future of the airline(s). However, the "quality" of AA looks to be much better now (and better than UA)... especially those pictures of the meals that SFO777 always posts!

Anyway, any and all input is much appreciated. Thanks for your concern in this grave matter!

KennyBSAT

If your goal is top tier status, feel free to ignore this post. If it is award travel, the obvious answer is both.

You can easily add 100K AA miles in a short time, and many more over time, courtesy of Citi. Read the wiki and many posts including this one http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...l#post21307186. AA does not charge surcharges on their own metal or AB, among others. Just avoid BA.

You can also add 50K United miles by following all the directions in post 1654 of this thread http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...nt-credit.html

Both AA and UA offer one-way awards, so by going for both, you give yourself the most flexibility.

satman40

Love AA and US, do not forget US Air, good for International Travel,

Nothing wrong with a CP on WN, also out of IND.

UA is a little easier to find space on, especially at the last minute.

IND is a quick trip to the Chicago Seminar, in October.

flyldavid

If they honor the accelerated challenge, this is a no brainer go with AA. As a Plat you'll get 100% bonus miles, and better chances for upgrades than on any of the lower UA tiers.

I think the AA premium cabin service is much better overall than UA. United has more coverage in Mexico, AA has more frequencies and coverage in the Caribbean. So you have to factor in where you will be traveling to mostly. Either way my vote goes for AA.

USHPNWDLUA

Just in case, why not Delta? I've been a long-time DL Elite (and before that, NWA) and think that DL domestic service is better than US, US, or AA. Besides, most of DL hubs are in much better locations for all-year travel and the network is extensive. They also have very deep relationship with AF, so your existing status won't be wasted.

Envy your position- I just changed jobs and 100k shy of 1m on Delta, I'm forced to use UA.

JPG3392

It's very difficult to book transatlantic award travel on DL at the lowest level. UA, and to a lesser extent AA, offer more choices.

PurduExpat37

That's what I was afraid of... But I just don't want to have to fly that long without status! Does UA do a status challenge like AA/US where you pay a bit and then fly a certain amount in 90 days? According to their website it doesn't look like they'd match an AF Silver

PurduExpat37

Delta is actually a great choice, especially out of IND with it having a SkyClub and being a semi-focus city. But award travel on Delta and the European partners is atrocious, and I don't want to have to deal with that.

And I do agree that they have the best quality in terms of domestic flights-- I've flown nothing but Delta the last year and have had all positive experiences.