randomlogik

Hi Guys,

I've recently migrated to the United States (used to live in Australia), so I'm unfamiliar with the US flyer programs.

In my current job I'm expected to be flying domestically between west coast and east coast (SFO<>NY) at least once or twuce a month.

I'm already a member of ANA, as I have family there and fly to Japan at least one a year for a holiday.

My question is: which program (United vs ANA) will allow me to achieve status quicker?

I've receive conflicting advice on this, some that say United is the better program, and some that say the earning-by-distance of ANA will be better for me.

Anyone care to share their opinion?

Note: I do not have a credit card with either program, and at this stage I will not be able to as I have not built any credit in the US.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thankyou in advance!

sodaisei

I would only recommend ANA if when flying your company is paying the fares that gives you the highest mileage accrual.

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For earning status (i.e. PQM, premier qualifying miles) UA is also distance-based, it's only for redeemable miles (RDM) where it's based on your fare paid. Therefore if your goal is solely to achieve status then UA is probably easier: you get at least 100% PQM on all UA fare classes (except basic economy) so even if you're flying on cheap K and L fares you still get 2,565 PQM each way EWR-SFO. However if you're crediting to NH then you'll only get 30% for G, K and L fares; 50% for T, S, W, V etc and only if your employer is buying you Y, B and M fares do you get 100% (and note that UA Y and B fares earn 150% PQM when crediting to UA). So it looks like it'll be easier to reach *G with UA than NH. Also UA *G (and *S) will get you free E+ if that's important to you.

However one other thing to consider is that NH *G gets you into UCs when flying domestically, while UA *G does not, if that's a consideration. Also if status/domestic lounge access is your only objective might I suggest OZ instead — you still earn at least 50% on all discounted UA fares (G through S), plus OZ *G only requires 40k miles in 2 years.

(Now if you're flying in business/first I'd go with UA hands down — with the 200% PQM for those fares you'll easily make 1K with a round trip EWR-SFO each month)

armagebedar

Moving to the Star Alliance forum as this is about comparing two FFPs.

Regards,
armagebedar
ANA forum moderator

Mwenenzi

randomlogik Welcome to FT ^

What do you expect status to do for you?

Earning ff miles from non flying activities will be easier with UA. But you can have both ffp's:- ANA & UA.

Need advice on which *A FF scheme to join? - please post here

LandMiler

Can you earn 25000 PP every year on NH metal?

zeer0

UA will give you 100% PQM status miles on all of its flights, but it does also come with a $6k PQD requirement for *G. If you will spend that, than go for UA hands down.

GoSh4rks

dvs7310

The biggest factor to consider with NH is that you must earn 50% of your miles on NH flights. If you're only going to Japan once a year, that's probably not enough unless you're paying for business class. I think NH Diamond would be really beneficial if you flew domestic Japan a lot, but overall UA 1K is probably going to be better in your situation. The one downside is lounge access on domestic flights, but that can be remedied with a Club membership or even perhaps Priority Pass or Amex Platinum depending on the airports you are using. If you have the ability to get Japanese credit cards, the Rakuten Premium Card comes with unlimited Priority Pass as part of the package, and Diners Club Japan is relatively inexpensive as well, which more or less mirrors Priority Pass lounges.

worldwidedreamer

I'd encourage you to sign up for an American Express Platinum where ever you do happen to have credit; they will then let you pivot to a US card with a decent sized credit limit. Wait six months, and you'll have better credit than most Americans. Other pro life tip: if you have citizenship/the ability to open a bank account in a country where HSBC offers Premier Accounts, or Citi offers CitiGold accounts both are also useful when pivoting countries.

From my perspective it makes sense to participate in the *A program of the airline you fly most. Also---they are the most likely to have a call center open with people who speak your preferred language when you are awake. Assuming you are an Australian living in the US, the logical programs would be Qantas, Virgin Blue (partners with Delta), and either Air NZ or United.

randomlogik

Thanks for all the advice guys!

I ended up going with UA (they matched Gold status which was nice) and it's paying off already.

I wish I knew about the Amex Platinum / CitiGold tricks before I left Australia...

PiperAtGatesofDawn

Did you status match with ANA or another airline?

randomlogik

I stays matched with my Virgin Australia Gold as they didn’t accept my ANA one for some reason.

thejaredhuang

Make sure you use your Australian address to avoid PQD requirements.