Newbie seeking to maximize SFO_MSY miles&points
 

Hi savvy fliers...

My adult daughter is now teaching in NOLA and I live in north SF Bay Area. I am doing OK with SWA miles&points so far. Would like to maximize miles&points on one other carrier and would like suggestions if this is the correct thread.

Right now, my only active miles credit cards are the SWA and BA/Alaska Air card. Did OK on initial mileage, probably could have done better on latter.

Have my own business (grant writing consultant) so could also apply for cards under business name if that makes a difference. (Have previously held Delta Skymiles Amex, and have used rewards on American and Continental in the past.)

Apparently United is the only non-stop flight from SFO to MSY. Any thoughts on current United offers and/ or what is a good next step?:confused:

THANKS!

do you want to get enough ua mi for an award?, or get the most ua/other mi from the trip?

I want to "get enough ua mi for an award" without spending too much on cc annual fees.

Thanks!

My larger question is:

Which airline should I accumulate miles on, in addition to SWA, given frequent SFO/MSY or OAK/MSY flights and desire for regular redemptions?

Less interested in status, upgrades etc, but would like to stay with non-stop or one-stop routes which is why I am leaning UA.

Appreciate the feedback!

United is a good option, but if you're not interested in status or upgrades then you're at the wrong place ;)

Honestly, one-stops aren't as bad as they seem- they are often cheaper and offer more miles. But for this route, you'd want United for the extra schedule flexibility.

If you go with United, you really should look into the Chase Select Mileage Plus card. In addition to the sign up bonus, you get 3 miles for each dollar spent on United tickets.

re: upgrades/status. Hmmm. Wrong place United or wrong place flyertalk? I am sure I could get used to upgrades etc!

Yes, the Mileage Plus Explorer ads are all over this site so that looks like a good start, thanks for the advice.

[I am used to one-stops with the SWA flight but particularly love the ones that do not de-plane. Saved us much misery moving daughter -- and her cat- -- with the quick stopover in Phoenix.]

I must say those 4 - 4.5 hour UA non-stop flights to MSY look pretty tempting!

So if I get the Chase Select Mileage Plus with the 40K sign-up offer, should I also get a hotel card that can earn UA miles?

Maybe I should go to the United site now.

Go Giants!!!

The Chase ads are saying:

Earn up to 40,000 bonus miles & first year free, a $95 value*
Check your first bag for free on United and Continental-operated flights, up to a $50 value round trip
Board your flight before general boarding with priority boarding privileges
Visit the United Club with two complimentary day passes every year, up to a $100 value
Earn 2 miles for $1 spent on tickets purchased from United and Continental and 1 mile per $1 everywhere else
Enjoy exclusive access to once-in-a-lifetime events through Inside Access from Chase
Your miles don't expire and there is no limit to the number of miles you can earn
Read more: Frequent Flyer Cards by Bankrate http://www.bankrate.com/funnel/credi...egory=frequent flyer cards#ixzz1WwdLmKpp

How many flights per year will you fly? That will give a basis for whether it's possible to chase status or not.

Going with United, roundtrip SFO-MSY is 3820 miles. You need 25,000 miles to reach the lowest elite status level, Premier (aka 2P). That comes to 7 roundtrips per year needed (or 6 plus another, shorter trip, since 7 actually puts you over by 1700 miles). One thing about mileage-based rewards programs like UA's is that you will sometimes have the chance to stretch your earned mileage by taking indirect routings for the same fare price. For example, flying through ORD (Chicago) brings the roundtrip on UA up to 5,356 miles, which would require only 5 roundtrips per year to reach 2P. Routing through LAX, IAH, JFK, or EWR are some other possibilities that would stretch your miles earned while *possibly* not costing any more (although of course there is always the hassle of switching planes, waiting at the gate, etc.).

Switching to Southwest, you need 35,000 "points" or 25 one-ways (12.5 roundtrips) in a year to qualify for the A-List. 35k points translates to spending $5,833 on Wanna Get Away fares, $3,500 on Anytime fares, or $2916 on Business Select fares.

You can also earn extra qualifying miles/points in either program through hitting certain spend levels on their respective credit cards (usually something like $20k or $30k per year gets you 5k or 10k extra qualifying miles/points).

Given this, I would go with UA if it's possible that you would reach status with them -- 2P lets you select Economy Plus for free, plus the chance for free domestic upgrades (although you're last in line for those behind the 1Ps and 1Ks).

It seems UA does charge a premium on the nonstop. According to ExpertFlyer, US has a $99ow base fare from SFO-MSY that allows routing via PHL, which is great from a mileage perspective (maybe not so much an operational one ;))

Heck, it could even become MR-material.

Edit: Upon investigating, I discovered that it comes out to an excellent 3.3 cents per mile and therefore does make a great mileage run! You could hit Chairman's for a mere $3300.

US: SFO-MSY $240rt 3.3cpm

There are a number of different Chase cards linked to UA MP. Here is what is listed on my account info on the chase.com site -

"The new United Mileage Plus® Select Card gives you great opportunities to increase the miles you earn with your spending.

Accelerate your earning power every day.

You'll earn miles every time you use your card. Triple Miles on United purchases and Double Miles on gas, groceries and dining. You'll also get Double Miles on travel with Star Alliance partners.

An Anniversary Bonus of 5,000 miles is yours every year in appreciation of your membership. And you can earn up to 5,000 EQMs every year on all purchases made at united.com."

@JerryFF: Per another website earlier in August."With the merger of Continental and United Airlines, Chase and United no longer actively market the former United Airlines credit cards. These include the United Select Visa, United Signature Visa, and United Club Visa. They have been replaced by the United Mileage Plus Explorer credit card and a to be named card that offers lounge access — likely similar to the Continental Presidential Plus Master Card."

I am going to go with the US Airways DM Premier MC (Barclays) with the 40K sign-up, and keep my eyes out for improved UA/Chase offers later this year.

@bedfordrocks: I like that US flight via Philly, seems to work for long weekends. Yes, it would make sense that UA would have a premium if they are the only non-stop from SFO/MSY.

@badgerW. "How many flights per year will you fly? That will give a basis for whether it's possible to chase status or no." Good question. Need to see how often my kid wants me visiting. I have some opptys for business in NOLA, to0. I would love to do 6 next year, but probably not all to MSY
Hubby and I will likely do a France trip, so that could help with status if I stick with UA.

So in summary: 1) US/DM MC 2) UA Chase later this year OR Chase Sapphire Preferred. Holiday spending may ease the $3K spending requirement of the latter. I need to look at these two side by side and I bet someone on flyertalk has!

So now I need a big binder to keep all these cards, promos and mileage numbers. How do you all do it?:)

Currently the best way to acquire United miles is to grab as many Continental Airlines miles as possible before that airline merges with United in December. Then, after the merger, go for United offers. There are many mega miles and points credit card offers for Continental. See the 8/24/2011 and 9/3/2011 postings on my What's New page of my website below to find brief descriptions of each and links to my more complete descriptions with links to the offers. The combination of the Chase Ink Bold(SM) with Ultimate Rewards business card (25,000 points) and the Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa Credit Card (50,000 points) might be ideal for you. The Sapphire card is good for spending on specific broadly defined travel catetories (double points) - even bridge tolls. Points transfer 1,000:1,000 to Continental. It is unknown if Continental will be replace by United for points transfer after the merger, but it makes sense, as Chase has the credit cards from both airlines.

Thank you so much for this good advice. I clearly need to re-check y

our website. I got the Chase OnePass MC and will look into the rest you mentioned. But what did you mean by your last comment?It is unknown if Continental will be replace by United for points transfer after the merger, but it makes sense, as Chase has the credit cards from both airlines.

I think you meant that it is still unknown if those Continental branded cards will earn United points after the merger. (I can already combine my UA and CO miles on their system, but I think you are referring to the accrual of points on those particular cards.)

So this is what I am thinking:

My business: Chase Ink Bold(SM) with Ultimate Rewards business card (25,000 points) and then husband gets: Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa Credit Card (50,000 points) might be ideal for you.

And then after the merger see what the UA offers are?

Thank you very much!

The Ink Bold offer is actually 50,000 points now, same as the Sapphire Preferred:

https://www.chase.com/online/busines...s/ink-bold.htm

As a FYI, a 80,000 targeted offer was reported some time ago on the Ink Bold.