Opinions On Which FF Program from IAH to MNL
Mar 29, 2009 | 6:43 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2008
Programs: CO PLAT
Posts: 243
Opinions On Which FF Program from IAH to MNL
I am a gold with CO and about to hit plat in two weeks. My travel habits are as follows...
1. Regular monthly flight from IAH to MNL.
2. scattered flights from IAH to SRQ(which I will lose when CO joins *A, IAH to SMF, IAH to ORD, IAH to TPA.
I missed Plat last year because I didnt join CO FF until september. This year I will blow past 100k EQM even though I only need 75k for CO Plat.
CO keeps chipping away and downgrading the OnePass Program and the UG process to the point where it is becoming marginal at best(and this is just in the last six months). Don't get me wrong...I can gut out sitting in coach for 3-4 hrs no problem but why have CO Plat when it is becoming essentially meaningless.
The tipping point for me is that it is now becoming impossible to use miles and cash to upgrade my IAH to MNL flights. This is the most important issue to me in whatever FF program I may join next.
The IAH-HNL-GUM-MNL flight on CO is nice but I am starting to have major issues with being able find the reward date reliably. Also...I am having to use 50k miles plus $400 to $500 per side to upgrade from coach to FC. I understand many airlines don't charge that much if they charge at all.
CO has been fine up to this point. Clean planes...Generally good ground staff and generally good FA's. I love the elite lines and TSA at IAH.
I have no REAL complaints against CO except that my GOLD/PLAT status is simply starting to mean NOTHING. They are fire selling FC seats on domestics to the point that you have 20 PLATS waitlisting for 3 open seats.
And now I can't get IAH to MNL...The final straw.
Why be a geekup up CO Plat when it means nothing and no longer serves my needs?
I would like to stick with a domestic player that has a very strong Asian presence.
I really appreciate any advice.
1. Regular monthly flight from IAH to MNL.
2. scattered flights from IAH to SRQ(which I will lose when CO joins *A, IAH to SMF, IAH to ORD, IAH to TPA.
I missed Plat last year because I didnt join CO FF until september. This year I will blow past 100k EQM even though I only need 75k for CO Plat.
CO keeps chipping away and downgrading the OnePass Program and the UG process to the point where it is becoming marginal at best(and this is just in the last six months). Don't get me wrong...I can gut out sitting in coach for 3-4 hrs no problem but why have CO Plat when it is becoming essentially meaningless.
The tipping point for me is that it is now becoming impossible to use miles and cash to upgrade my IAH to MNL flights. This is the most important issue to me in whatever FF program I may join next.
The IAH-HNL-GUM-MNL flight on CO is nice but I am starting to have major issues with being able find the reward date reliably. Also...I am having to use 50k miles plus $400 to $500 per side to upgrade from coach to FC. I understand many airlines don't charge that much if they charge at all.
CO has been fine up to this point. Clean planes...Generally good ground staff and generally good FA's. I love the elite lines and TSA at IAH.
I have no REAL complaints against CO except that my GOLD/PLAT status is simply starting to mean NOTHING. They are fire selling FC seats on domestics to the point that you have 20 PLATS waitlisting for 3 open seats.
And now I can't get IAH to MNL...The final straw.
Why be a geekup up CO Plat when it means nothing and no longer serves my needs?
I would like to stick with a domestic player that has a very strong Asian presence.
I really appreciate any advice.
Mar 29, 2009 | 5:35 pm
#2
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: PSM
Posts: 69,232
The only US-based carriers with a strong Asian presence are UA and NW, now a part of DL.
On DL you must purchase a Y, B or M fare (equivalent to Y, B, H on CO; the top three fare buckets) to have any chance of upgrading the flight across the ocean. And there is still a decent chance that it will not clear, just like with CO. In the DL case you'd have paid more money (potentially a lot more) for the higher fare to be upgrade eligible and there is still no guarantee. The DL/NW flight would route via NRT to MNL.
On UA they are implementing a co-pay system similar to CO's though I am not fully versed in the details. There are also SWUs which you would earn several of. The catch on those is that they do have a minimum fare bucket to be eligible, but it is not nearly as onerous as with the DL miles upgrades. The SWUs are great as they are essentially free upgrades and you get six for making 100K miles (1K status) and then two more for every 50K you fly on UA metal. That is almost enough for you to do your trips, though not quite. Like with everything else in life there is a catch. In this case it is that UA does not serve MNL so your last hop will be in Y no matter what as UA doesn't have upgrades on its partners in Asia, and you might run out of SWUs leaving your other trips at the whim of mileage upgrades, with the associated co-pay.
Otherwise you can start looking at Asian carriers to get you there, but I have no idea how their upgrade programs work.
On DL you must purchase a Y, B or M fare (equivalent to Y, B, H on CO; the top three fare buckets) to have any chance of upgrading the flight across the ocean. And there is still a decent chance that it will not clear, just like with CO. In the DL case you'd have paid more money (potentially a lot more) for the higher fare to be upgrade eligible and there is still no guarantee. The DL/NW flight would route via NRT to MNL.
On UA they are implementing a co-pay system similar to CO's though I am not fully versed in the details. There are also SWUs which you would earn several of. The catch on those is that they do have a minimum fare bucket to be eligible, but it is not nearly as onerous as with the DL miles upgrades. The SWUs are great as they are essentially free upgrades and you get six for making 100K miles (1K status) and then two more for every 50K you fly on UA metal. That is almost enough for you to do your trips, though not quite. Like with everything else in life there is a catch. In this case it is that UA does not serve MNL so your last hop will be in Y no matter what as UA doesn't have upgrades on its partners in Asia, and you might run out of SWUs leaving your other trips at the whim of mileage upgrades, with the associated co-pay.
Otherwise you can start looking at Asian carriers to get you there, but I have no idea how their upgrade programs work.