Flying to ICN from EWR or PHL
Jun 10, 2019, 11:33 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2019
Posts: 14
Flying to ICN from EWR or PHL
Long time lurker, first time poster. Great community here! Please forgive any misuse of jargon.
I am flying from EWR or PHL to ICN on July 16th, returning July 30th for work. They will not pay for business/first class.
I am presently a United silver member, and prefer to fly there as Newark is closer for me. In a bit of serendipity, i was offered a promotion from American for 3 months platinum pro for free, and if I fly 20K miles and spend $2500 i maintain it until January 2021. I don’t believe I can hit the minimum spend but the possibility is sorta there cause this flight is obviously very expensive.
From what ive gathered on my research, there are no complimentary upgrades on trans pacific flights on either airline. Not even to economy plus. I’ve become rather accustomed to this given my Silver status with United. I know the real heavy travelers here say that Silver status isn’t really that great, but it has cut about 10-15% out of the nuisance of traveling for me.
I wanted to get feedback from the folks on here if either of these airlines with the status I have give anything to travelers for trans pacific flights? Is there any reason to do one over the other? If an extra free bag is the only reason, I’ll ignore that “perk” as work is paying.
Arrival times and cost are close enough that either are ok. As mentioned, I prefer Newark but can do Philly if that is a better option for whatever reason. The direct flight isn’t on the table due to costs either, I’ll be laying over in either DFW or SFO it seems.
Thanks in advance.
I am flying from EWR or PHL to ICN on July 16th, returning July 30th for work. They will not pay for business/first class.
I am presently a United silver member, and prefer to fly there as Newark is closer for me. In a bit of serendipity, i was offered a promotion from American for 3 months platinum pro for free, and if I fly 20K miles and spend $2500 i maintain it until January 2021. I don’t believe I can hit the minimum spend but the possibility is sorta there cause this flight is obviously very expensive.
From what ive gathered on my research, there are no complimentary upgrades on trans pacific flights on either airline. Not even to economy plus. I’ve become rather accustomed to this given my Silver status with United. I know the real heavy travelers here say that Silver status isn’t really that great, but it has cut about 10-15% out of the nuisance of traveling for me.
I wanted to get feedback from the folks on here if either of these airlines with the status I have give anything to travelers for trans pacific flights? Is there any reason to do one over the other? If an extra free bag is the only reason, I’ll ignore that “perk” as work is paying.
Arrival times and cost are close enough that either are ok. As mentioned, I prefer Newark but can do Philly if that is a better option for whatever reason. The direct flight isn’t on the table due to costs either, I’ll be laying over in either DFW or SFO it seems.
Thanks in advance.
Jun 10, 2019, 1:12 pm
#2
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Luxembourg
Programs: KLM/AF Platinum for life, IHG Platinum, Accor Platinum
Posts: 1,026
I would avoid SFO just because that gives you a longer domestic leg in a 757 compared to a longer 787 leg. AA will give you the most miles but for about $350 more you could go Delta Premium Economy on an A350 both ways. EWR via DTW or MSP.
Jun 10, 2019, 1:26 pm
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,532
No free international upgrades, but Platinum Pro status entitles you to select a Main Cabin Extra Coach seat on AA flights at no extra charge. That gives you 34" pitch, dedicated overhead bins, and free drinks.
Jun 10, 2019, 5:27 pm
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2019
Posts: 14
Thus is true on international flights too? Normally I can find this info on my own, by flying to Asia seemed to be a new experience tracking this sorta stuff down. I was 90% sure United said that benefit didn’t apply to international, or maybe Non North-American flights.
Jun 10, 2019, 5:37 pm
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,532
Thus is true on international flights too? Normally I can find this info on my own, by flying to Asia seemed to be a new experience tracking this sorta stuff down. I was 90% sure United said that benefit didn’t apply to international, or maybe Non North-American flights.
(I don't see any exclusion listed for elites seeking free MCE seats on international flights.)
Edited to add: If AA is offering you a free trial of Platinum Pro, you have nothing to lose. If you log in to your AAdvantage account when you're ready to book, you'll see if MCE is free for you. And you have 24 hours to cancel a ticket for a full refund, anyway.
Last edited by guv1976; Jun 10, 2019 at 5:47 pm
Jun 10, 2019, 6:00 pm
#6
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 3,369
Thus is true on international flights too? Normally I can find this info on my own, by flying to Asia seemed to be a new experience tracking this sorta stuff down. I was 90% sure United said that benefit didn’t apply to international, or maybe Non North-American flights.
?
UA Silver gets E+ at check in (T-24hour) if not basic economy (and E+ seats are still available)
UA hasn't rolled out basic economy for TPAC flights afaik
UA Silver just doesn't get CPU (upgrade) on EWR-LAX/SFO, though getting CPU with silver is rare
UA and AA uses the same 787-9 on the long haul (USA-ICN) portion, so same width. UA has 1" more legroom in regular E, E+ is same for both
Jun 11, 2019, 12:08 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2019
Posts: 14
American did offer me the instant free upgrade to their MCE. I called United, and the E+ is available within the 24 hours of flight time upon check-in as I'm accustomed to. I have never had a hard time getting E+ on any flight, and there are tons of E+ seats available on the flight I'm looking to book.
I think I am going to do United, as this will get me to having an outside shot at Gold this year. The extra spend with American probably won't happen anyway so I won't maintain PP with them. The small extra bonus mileage from PP is nice but not really worth flying out of the dreary and abysmal Terminal A at EWR to be honest.
Side note - I know common logic has dictated that CPUs almost never hit with Silver level, but as mentioned I fly out of EWR and I've been upgraded 4 times on 26 segments since achieving Silver (one of the 4 upgrades was MCO to IAH). I do often fly at odd times, so perhaps that contributes. I'll count my blessings and continue to not expect anything. I do try to check in exactly at 24 hours out, but that's probably voodoo as to having any effect on CPUs.
Thanks to all.
I think I am going to do United, as this will get me to having an outside shot at Gold this year. The extra spend with American probably won't happen anyway so I won't maintain PP with them. The small extra bonus mileage from PP is nice but not really worth flying out of the dreary and abysmal Terminal A at EWR to be honest.
Side note - I know common logic has dictated that CPUs almost never hit with Silver level, but as mentioned I fly out of EWR and I've been upgraded 4 times on 26 segments since achieving Silver (one of the 4 upgrades was MCO to IAH). I do often fly at odd times, so perhaps that contributes. I'll count my blessings and continue to not expect anything. I do try to check in exactly at 24 hours out, but that's probably voodoo as to having any effect on CPUs.
Thanks to all.
Jun 11, 2019, 2:40 pm
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2019
Posts: 14
Thanks for that info, good to know. However, I personally would rather sit on the wing than in the middle for any flight of that length :-)
Jun 17, 2019, 10:11 pm
#10
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Seoul, Korea
Programs: Asiana Diamond, Marriott Plat/Gold
Posts: 171
I've flown various different routes, I personally avoid flying east coast to west coast and then trans-pacific.
Does it have to be EWR? If you're headed over in that direction anyway, the Asiana JFK->ICN direct is the same cost as the 1 stop United flight through SFO on your dates.
Does it have to be EWR? If you're headed over in that direction anyway, the Asiana JFK->ICN direct is the same cost as the 1 stop United flight through SFO on your dates.