I'm a SF Bay area resident and fly about 75-80K miles annually on *A. Having slogged hard to maintain my Premier Exec status over the past few years, I am totally frustrated in trying to get *A award seats through UA. Hence, with a new year starting, I am seriously considering a second *A FFP, for those occasions when I do not fly UA metal.

Can someone recommend a program? High on my list of priorities would be the ability of getting award seats on various *A carriers // no penalties for date changes on award tix after commencement of travel // low fees for award tix (BD, NH etc collect fuel surcharges on award tix, whereas UA/US do not)

I expect to fly 25-35K miles annually on non-UA metal, with about 40% in Business Class and 60% in discounted coach. I think I will try and keep my UA P/E (i.e. *Gold) level and shunt all non-UA *A mileage onto the second program.

BD DC could work for you.. check out BMI forum sticky for details...

Just read your bit about fuel surcharges and change fees, however you also need to consider other benefits of BMI (I switched from UA), such as cash and miles, good earning on premium fares, RCC access in the US, and being able to set your own membership year....

tht

Here's a wild thought - what if you get AC and qualify for *G at 35k miles? Use that status to gain access to all the RCC clubs when flying UA domestically?

I second that. ^