Hoyaheel

DL does offer Delta1 (with lie flat seats) SFO-JFK, but since you'll fly economy or some version of economy +/premium select, that doesn't matter.

craz

The only way to fly!

OP get the CC from Barclay spend $50K and you are Mosaic, you can CX a tkt at anytime w/o penalty (non-refundables go into the Travel Bank) I even had a couple of OPUPs into Mint. If day of theres an open More Space Seat you get it for $0. But their reg Y seat is like AAs/UAs E+

flyingstudent

I'm SFO/SJC based. I also regularly go to YVR/YYZ ~2/3 times/year per personal/work reasons.

I'm sticking with AS for miles maximization. Their MVP Gold/Gold 75k bonus is quite generous and upgrade chances are good. While UA is convenient for YVR/YYZ/AKL nonstop, their onboard product and staff is much inferior to AS and its partners. Also I always buy the lower fares so earning miles cash fare is generally poor. With AA, you can do SFO-LAX-AKL and still earn AS miles.

Also unlimited free change as MVP Gold/Gold 75k is huge. Do not under-estimate this benefit.

Traveler_boy_25

I disagree with this. While B6 does have a good hard product that does not make up for the fact that their on-time performance is atrocious (ranked 9/10 by the DOT for 2019), they have no lounges, no free upgrades for elites, lots of unfriendly employees especially the gate agents, and many times they are at common use gates. I have also had numerous issues with their TV's not working. I have come to the conclusion that I would rather fly DL and connect than fly anyone else direct--although for this route it would be direct on DL.

Fraser

AA's Flagship Lounges are rather decent, especially the large one at JFK. If the OP finds some way to extract a non-AA oneworld Sapphire membership then they'd have access, plus Main Cabin Extra at no charge. AA's A321Ts are very decent, although in fairness I only flew them in F/J. Exit row on the A321s are still decent.

guv1976

If the OP will have sufficient flights in high enough fare classes to obtain status, then I agree that he should consider pursuing status. But if all of his travel is going to be on discounted-Economy fares, then obtaining status could be difficult.

If some of his travel will be on full-Economy fares, then I'd suggest flying AA, and crediting to Iberia Plus to obtain oneworld Ruby status -- which would give the OP free Main Cabin Extra seats on AA at T-24 -- if any were still available at that time.

garykung

I did take the consideration of deep-discounted Y fare. In that case, a OW status may be difficult.

On the other hand, TK is so lenient that even UA BE (N Class) is still credited for 50%. So a RT per month will still allow OP to accrue at least 30K of status miles. The tickets paid by OP's employer may be able to help OP catching up the 7.5K gap.

tom911

I walked away from AA went they went revenue based. Just doesn't work as a leisure flyer as there are so few miles involved. If you're flying on a lot of advance purchase or leisure fares on transcons from SFO, you really can't overlook Alaska. They have a lounge at JFK (PHOTOS) and a new one under construction as SFO that will open end of year. If you have Priority Pass, there are two restaurants in the UA terminal (when I take 9am flights I usually come down early for breakfast over there - does involve clearing another round of security but generally pretty quick with precheck).

I've been at Alaska for 3 years. Flew them this weekend RT SFO-JFK and cleared two more upgrades as a 75K elite flyer. Running 96% this year (25 of 26 transcons) with upgrades and last year was at 97%. Get the sense SFO does not have a lot of top tier elites so upgrade chances on Alaska transcons may be a lot better from here than up in Seattle. Brought in over 11,000 miles on a $237 RT fare - even an Alaska Gold/40K flyer would bring in 10,000 miles. Can't do that at AA or UA. There are two ways to qualify for status, either solely on Alaska or with Alaska/partners combined. ELITE STATUS on ALASKA

Alaska has announced they'll be joining One World by summer of next year which would give you additional Qantas benefits to NZ (already have QF lounge access at the top two Alaska tiers). We do have nonstop QF flights now from SFO to SYD, MEL and BNE and onward NZ connections with those. Was just in NZ in November via Australia (should note Alaska award tickets would allow a free stopover in Australia before continuing to NZ - AA tix don't allow that).

Another consideration: award charts. Australia/NZ in business on an Alaska award is 55K. AA will charge 70K and UA 80K. An Alaska award in first class would require routing via an A380 airport (LAX, DFW) to SYD/MEL and it's 70K. AA and UA can't touch that price.

Traveler_boy_25

I am not familiar with AS. Do they offer IFE on their planes? How is their service? Do you find that you are lacking lounge access since their lounges are few and far between?

guv1976

If the OP flew AA and had just two full-fare Economy roundtrips and eight discounted Economy roundtrips, he could achieve oneworld Ruby status by crediting to Iberia Plus -- which uses an April 1-March 31 earning period for status.

It's not clear to me whether any of the OP's "work" flights would be in full-fare Economy, however.

tom911

Alaska does not have flat seats in F. They have recliners that probably go back 4-6 inches, but the seats are comfortable and there's plenty of legroom. I figure that's the trade-off for better upgrade chances. Most of my flights have been with 16 seat F cabins (737-900) and sometimes with 12 seats (think that's the 738-800). Have not seen an Airbus to either BOS or NYC this year.

They do not have traditional seat-back entertainment (no screens). If you're in F on a transcon, they'll give you a tablet. You can also access their entertainment server on your own device with their app with hundreds of video selections.

Very attentive service in my experience. They don't rotate the meals as often as some other carriers. For January and February the dinner options have been roasted clementine chicken or ricotta spinach ravioli on transcons. Sometimes you can also preorder the fruit and cheese plate. Breakfast options are omelettes or winter bowls. The pulled pork bowl from SFO is one of my favorites. MEAL PHOTOS

You do have some limited lounge access with partners as an elite. LIST OF LOUNGES I have Priority Pass and seem to find lounges at some Alaska locations (Art and Lounge at Newark, Club at SEA plus a new restaurant there). If you purchase an Alaska lounge membership (I don't have one), it opens up some other locations (AA except SFO, some UA lounges). MEMBERSHIP LOCATIONS

Traveler_boy_25

WOW that was SO informative thank you so much! I appreciate all of the information you just provided about AS.

tom911

Just about need to get a spreadsheet out and look a year out at earnings on each airline based on anticipated fares. Once that is sorted out, route network would be an additional factor. Alaska, as an example, can't compete with UA in terms of nonstop SFO-EWR frequency (only two SFO-EWR flights and one of them is a redeye this time of year), but if you're buying a $300 ticket that brings in 11,000 miles at Alaska vs 3,000 miles at UA, you might be able to overlook that or fly to JFK which has 3 flights a day. I make it work, but I'm not a business traveler that needs all sorts of schedule flexibility.

garykung

Why would OP be interested in OW Ruby when OP could get TK *G?

guv1976

Maybe because OW Ruby gets free MCE seats on AA at check-in (T-24). Does Star Alliance Gold get him Economy Plus on UA?

It's true that Star Alliance Gold from TK would get him lounge access, whereas oneworld Ruby would not. If it were I, I'd opt for extra-legroom seats (with free drinks) over lounge access, but the OP might feel differently.