KaiGywer

I have both EB and MP, and I was wondering which of the two are more beneficial to me. I have like 4600 miles on EB and none on MP. I live in MSP, and do most my travel domestic US and to/from Norway.

tommy777

I`ve been a EBG for 9 years, since it was called RVC.

I Joined MP when SK decided to only give 25% points on 4 classes on intercontinental flights.

You have about the same travel patterns as me, I don’t know how often you fly though, I fly over 300.000 miles a year.

Pro EB:

1. You get access to RCC in the US with EBG for free
2. You can upgrade all classes with points, even the cheapest ones (SK flights only, no upgrade in domestic US, except Economy + (EBG + EBS)
3. Tier bonus (15% extra for EBS, 25% Extra for EBG) will also count towards renewal of tier level

Con EB:

1. You don’t get more than 25% points in 4 popular, cheap classes intercontinental, 6 classes on European flights
2. Lover recognition on US Domestic. No way to upgrade on US domestic flights, except to pay for it.
3. Not many flights to/from the US to get max recognition.
4. No First Class beds on SK
5. A lot more difficult and expensive to use your points originating in MSP

Pro MP

1. Endless free upgrade opportunities on Tier levels.
2. Cheap offers on spending miles on US domestic/Caribbean/ Hawaii. You get a lot more for your miles
3. Maximum recognition on both UA/LH and more than SK on US
4. 100% extra bonus miles for Gold/1k on LH/UA/US, Round trip from ORD-LHR-OSL-AMS-ORD (a quick route) will give you aprox. 18000 miles when you are UA Gold in Economy, SK will only give you 3000 in W, 12.000 in V.
5. A buch of flights to choose from: OSL-LHR-ORD-MSP, OSL-LHR-JFK-MSP, OSL-AMS-ORD-MSP, and about 6 daily flights through Germany with LH or UA
6. Tier level gets Economy Plus.
7. You still get 100% miles when flying on SK on ALL economy flights, even the ones EB only gives 25%!!

Con MP

1. You have to pay to use RCC lounges.
2. Harder to find the cheapest fares on UA to Norway.


I have to say, I really feel good about switching to United. Its a great airline, and I have only positive feedback since the switch.

KaiGywer

I am nowhere near your travel habits. I don't even come close to elite. One thing that I like about EB is that you can earn miles on Icelandair, who most of the time has the cheapest fares ex MSP.

mAAine_flyer

If you are not a really frequent flier, it might be better to stay with EB. I find that quite often there are really good reward deals, especially within Scandinavia. And discounted rewards for kids. Plus, as you say, you can earn points on FI. Just be sure to accumulate enough usable points before they expire.

global_ste

Unfortunately with the first one... so does everyone else who is in Elite!! Have you ever noticed how the upper cabins are always full??!

There are beds on SK, but they are on the routes from Copenhagen-BKK.


I have to admit, the bonuses with SAS are not as good as they use to be, however in fairness points earning has only come in line with every other airline flying - take One World for example.

All it means is that you have to book "smarter" and there are some really good posts on this week such as code-share booking, using other airlines websites and even using other languages to book on line!

If you join UA Mileage Plus it is only good for United Airlines, I have seen many people flying SAS and they get no recognition what-so-ever for things like upgrades etc.

I like you fly a lot of miles, 200k per year, and I find that I am treated very fairly and they resolve a lot of issues quickly - have noticed the males are better than the females.

However, if you asked me if I thought the service has improved since Oct 31 then I would definately say no. I would also say that business class is the same and hasnt improved at all like they said, meals are still of a poor standard when compared to airlines like Finnair.

All I can say write to SAS and let them know how you feel. I think a lot of people have and they must be taking some of it onboard.

sjunkerg

No one has mentioned that quite a few of the MP rewards require significantly fewer miles/points than the corresponding EB award.