pwrhaas

Not exactly sure how to share the link, but thought this UA Insider post (in the Million Mile one-time adjustment thread) would be relevant here also:

"dmodemd and JetAway, you have that correct. The last date we'll use in the recalibration is 12/31/2011, but, you won't see any recalculated balances until later. While we don't yet have an exact date, it will be before we migrate to a single system. Just didn’t want anyone to be surprised on January 1st.

Shannon"

WineCountryUA

You can "quote" the post and then cut and paste it to here
or you click on the post number and that will open up a new browser window -- copy and paste the url here
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/17705748-post33.html
in this new window clicking on the thread title, creates yet another view and url
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...l#post17705748

depends on the circumstances which is best

JohnMacWW

I personally, am still motivated (to some extent) and I do not think I am out of the ordinary.

ozstamps

Well it was your proposal, and a nice clean, neat simple one.

And well worth putting forward I think.

NOTHING ever keeps "all the people happy all of the time", but that one seems to have got widespread support in this thread since you made it.

I think UA have had several meetings over this and we all know the only thing that NEVER comes out of Committee decisions is a simple clean outcome.

Just back from Xmas in Shanghai today and I'll chase and see if there is any news forthcoming from WHQ.

Glen

PanAmWT

Perhaps I need to restate the issue. A 3MM before would keep the 1MM award of 2 CR1s and the 6 SWUs. In your proposed scheme, the 2 CR1s are lost. So it is losing. (Of course you could mean 3MMs also get the 1MM's two SWUs, then it is OK and better than before. I just don't think that is a realistic expectation.)

In my own case, my wife is a 1MM-1K by her own right - she flys even more frequent than I do. Thus the spouse or comanion option is of no use. If the UG certs at 1MM are removed, I guess she should built her status on another airline, since she will get my 1K status. That is why it is not smart for UA to remove the UGs from 1MM awards.

koc1723

Forgive me but read some of the hundred or so pages of responses but not all.

Has anybody asked by BIS is limited to UA flights and not expanded to those carriers part ot the various JV's that UA has across the atlantic and ANA to Asia?

I think as they are aligning the capacity they should encourage you to fly either UA or any airline that is part of the JV.

Thoughts?

WineCountryUA

The UA system has always been just UA metal -- while appreciating the financial differences of JV versus other *A partners -- adding a JV exception is a complexity that might create too many problems / misunderstanding. To the average person, why was one of my LH flights included but not another -- the JV complexity is a fuzziness that probably isn't worth the effort.

seacarl

I am focused on my lifetime MM'er total, and I've asked myself the same question. In the case of the DL-AF JV, DL, AF & KL do swap who operates routes, and we could see that happening with UA & NH on some NRT service too. If they are truly sharing all the economics and jointly pricing the flights, it would sure seem to me that they should treat all aspects of the choice of metal to fly in an equivalent manner. Otherwise I have to prefer UA metal over NH or AC or LH if I want to achieve my MM milestone - and that goes against the theory of the JV.

I expect they feel that very few travelers consider the MM program in the airline selection - but it is an egregious exception consider that for annual elite qualification, either metal can be used.

I think that's a lame excuse. It's more likely that there are so few MM'ers that they don't want to target us - except there are enough to be posting 1000 times in this thread! As it is, it is pretty difficult to figure out whether the MM total is accurately counted, heck it isn't even always possible to see what EQMs were counted, though if the CO website becomes the common one, the elite accounting will be much more transparent.

I think it would be pretty easy to describe that JV partner transatlantic and JV partner transpacific flights will count but not other flights of the partner. The only people who need to understand that detail are the kind of people who are reading this thread.

If UACO are committed to the JVs as being metal-neutral, they should really give us the full UA credit.

dasams

This is the part that I don't understand: you get credit toward 1K but not lifetime miles? Just last month, I flew SFO > NRT > BKK and back on a ticket purchased at united.com. The final leg, NRT > SFO, was on ANA but I did not select them, UA did. So why shouldn't this count toward my lifetime total? Has the new UA stated whether these miles will count in 2012? At least the year end adjustment should pick-up the miles from prior flights. dave

bmvaughn

Actually you selected the flights when you bought the ticket.

dasams

Factually true so perhaps I should have worded my comments that UA offered ANA metal in place of their own. My point is that since the purchase was on united.com, it seems reasonable that the miles should go toward your lifetime total. dave

WineCountryUA

Understand as an aggrieved party you think this is lame but the complexity of these frequent flyer programs are fairly high already and from the questions generated on FT it is clear most FTer (including the some 300 {not all MM} who have posted in in this thread) have a limited understanding. So adding more complexity is something I thing we need to think twice about (unless it benefits me ).
Not sure this is the real goal of the JVs, there are many things that are different between two partners offerings in the JV. As an elite the benefits differ in many ways depending on the choice of metal.
Seems JVs are more ways to avoid antitrust than they are intent as a service to the customer.

In the UA system, partner miles do not count for MM. this is one way UA rewards those that actually fly UA more than those that fly the partners. CO and some other airlines do count partner flights. After a one time adjustment to put UA & CO flyers on an common basis (counting all EQMs), UA in 2012 will return to UA/CO (&/COPA) metal BIS miles only.

koc1723

I am well aware of the PMUA policy (I have over 800K BIS on PMUA and lived in Chicago for 15 years), but at the time the only JV partner was LH and they did offer 'special' customer experiences on LH that they did not offer on any other partner, example, upgrades using Systemwides.

I absolutely agree it would be somewhat confusing, but some could ask what is so 'special' about Copa? (Yes, I understand that PMCO used to own a piece of Copa and I also recognize that Copa uses OP and soon M+.)
Is it really that far to say that some other flights could fall into the same category?

seacarl

All flights on *A carriers which are credited to your MP or OP account count for elite qualification including 1K

Historically no flights on carriers other than UA counted for MM qualification, nor did other sources of EQM bonus, while on CO they did count. UACO will be doing on a one-time recalibration after 12/31 to count things that CO did count, then it will go back to the UA system and going forward only BIS miles on UACO metal will count for MM - at least that's what I understand.

It is truly bizarre that flights on COPA will be the one exception that will also account for UACO MM status. I believe COPA doesn't run its own FF program, maybe that's the reason.

It would be nice if the closer cooperation and reciprocal benefits between UA & LH would extend toward lifetime benefits too.

WineCountryUA

as you state COPA is a part of OP, would be difficult to exclude them. The JV partners have their own independent frequently flyer programs. That is a major difference.

Is there some hard and fast reason things are the way they are -- doubt it. But there is nothing more right or wrong about the UA approach then the other ways -- but it does have a benefit of rewarding metal loyalty.

Some MM programs even count credit card miles -- I personal thing that is a bad idea. There is no one answer to this.
I see my MM BIS on UA metal as a distinction (and some might also question my sanity -- but that is another topic).