Chitostyle

Just found this site, and wow.. looks like an amazing resource!

I live in Vancouver, have been flying to Denver every 6 weeks for work recently, and have about 45,000 total miles on Aeroplan (spread over multiple years).

This year, I'll be flying once every 3 weeks to San Francisco and I'm guessing I should be eligible for some sort of frequent flyer privileges. I can fly either Air Canada or United, and have recently heard Mileage Plus might be the better program.

I'm most interested in free upgrades and earning enough miles for free flights eventually. Do you guys have a recommendation for me? Doing some quick research, it sounds like my Aeroplan miles are not transferable to Mileage Plus; is this correct?

I travel abroad maybe once a year at most, and it would be nice to upgrade those flights from economy class. Upgrading the short trips to SF or Denver would be nice, but it's not that long of a flight. I heard (with no proof) that United is fairly generous with free upgrades if you call them, but I don't know if this is true, or if Air Canada is similar.

Any help would be appreciated.. either your own advice or if you could direct me to the best places online to learn more.

Thanks!

am1108

No, you cannot transfer any miles into MileagePlus. It depends, which airline are you flying mostly? United or Air Canada? Upgrades are kind of hard to come by on UA, but then again im a 2P (Premier) and the bad thing is that I live at a UA hub (Washington Dulles)

I would guess that Air Canada does not have that many elites in its program so it would be easier at getting upgraded if that is the case.

YVR to SFO (oneway) is 800 miles and if you are flying once every 3 weeks thats about 17 flights/yr so the total comes out to about 13600 X 2 (roundtrip)= 27,200 Enough for Premier Silver on UA or Prestige on AC

With AC you get can get 20 upgrade credits. Apparently you get to choose what perks you get according to this website. https://www2.aeroplan.com/your_aerop...e=en#rivileges
Just click on the Select Privileges section.

With UA its UDU (Unlimited Domestic Upgrades) which means that you can get unlimited upgrades, BUT its subject to availability . Which a lot of Premiers don't get all the time if any.
http://www.united.com/page/article/1,,53519,00.html

On a Side note there is a website http://www.udustats.com where some flyers put data on whether they got upgraded or not. Im sure the percentage is off, but it gives you a small insight on UDUs on United.


I would probably go with Air Canada on this one for the upgrades. Plus you can easily achieve the next tier with Air Canada (Elite) at 35000 Status Miles (depending on where you will take a vacation to)

Also where do you go when you travel abroad once a year? If it is an Air Canada destination then I would definitely go with AC.

Im sorry for the dissertation,

LAX

I believe AC is increasing the qualification threshold for *G, which would be nice for even domestic US & transborder flights because it allows lounge access (not sure about domestic Canada flights).

If OP only flies enough to achieve lower level status (ie: Silvers & Golds), upgrades would get really tough with the new changes. Award redemption, however, should be better as UA has no fixed expiration of miles (something that AC does, I believe). Thus, it allows OP time to accumulate enough for a nice premium cabin international award. Plus, the taxes & fees on award travel tend to be more reasonable (sometimes bargain, I must admit!) when using UA miles vs. AC miles.

One last thought, if OP flies enough to achieve Gold or above, then E+ access would be a plus although I have read that seat pitch in Y on AC metal is pretty nice. Hope this helps.

LAX

entropy

Aeroplan also charges RIDICULOUS "fuel surcharges" on AC redemptions, so you'll end up paying $150 more for the same domestic/cross border flights as you would on UA (using miles).

Ultimately, the Canadien routes on UA tend to be a better shot at UDU than most domestic routes, I have a feeling you'd do VERY well on upgrades as AC "Prestige" or "Elite". With the added 'benefit' that F on AC is > F on UA particularly on those short hauls. You will need 25 segments/25k to get the lowest level on either though, so its a lot of Butt-in-seat on shorthauls. (and you won't be earning *that* many miles for redemption) so you might go with AC for the upgrades and service.

emcampbe

I used to be an Aeroplan elite/prestige, based out of YYZ, and have been a 2P (silver) on UA for the last few years, and just reached gold at the end of last year.

Your travel patterns might dictate which is better for you. And there have been numerous changes to both programs over the last year or so, and have to say, I'm don't know too much about the new AC eUpgrades and how many are needed for what kind of flights, but trying to give you a few things to think about:

- On your trips to SFO/DEN (and any other transborder flights, including those that are part of an international itinerary), you will be eligible for UDU out of YVR. With AC, they don't give free upgrades at all, you'll need to use eUpgrades (unless of course, there is an operational reason). As a 2P the last couple of years, I have been a little over 50% on getting upgraded, with my by far most frequent flights to YYZ via ORD, though it can vary with route - I can't remember missing an ORD-YYZ upgrade, but am well under that 50% on that return route. Note UDU requires being on a UA plane, though AC tends to have better aircraft (with AVOD in Y) - though not sure if DEN is served by AC from YVR.

- With the MP program, you'll get same mileage/bonus (500 mile minimum, 25% bonus) on both UA and AC flights, the only difference being AC flights won't give you lifetime UA miles. Not sure if you get the same bonus through AP for taking UA flights as you would for AC flights.

- UA has had better promotions in the past, though there have not been many in the last year or so - generally easier to accumulate miles faster in a US-based FF program than with AP

- For int'l upgrades, unless you are flying on a Y/B fare, you will have a copay with UA's program, and you need to buy a W fare or higher, which in most cases, is not the lowest fare available. You can't upgrade using AC miles on AC flights (pretty crazy, huh). For AC, you'll have to use eUpgrades. Both airlines do participate in the *A upgrade program, however, you need a Y fare (I believe) to do this.

FlyerChrisK

The OP only needs to buy a W fare or higher to use a systemwide upgrade (earned by reaching 1K) on UA. You can do a mileage-based upgrade on UA from any fare class.

1k650

But remember, if you are connecting thru SFO for international flights, UGs on UA are very difficult if you are not a 1k.

bagelstan

I'd frame this choice ito upgrades vs lounge access, and the onboard service in y that you'll have to endure while you build up your status.

AC: Short-haul upgrades are going to be rare, but you might accumulate enough e-upgrades to bump up your annual long-haul flight. If you reach 35,000 [with add'l travel, international, etc - very plausibly], you'll be able to obtain lounge access in YVR and SFO on all travel (even in the 2013 program).

UA: Short-haul upgrades might become commonplace (snack boxes! bigger seats!), but getting to *G @ 50,000 miles will be a long shot, so no lounge access w/o a membership.

Between these, I'd choose AC, because I prefer flying on their planes with AVOD, plugs (sometimes), and happy crews.

WideBodyFlyer

This is a transition time for UA and it is going to a new computer system at the end of the month. My advice is to keep looking around and study to find out what best meets your travel needs. Keep watching this forum to learn how things look after the 2 systems merge. Things are hectic right now.

lhrsfo

My general observations on the OP's conundrum are (being a UA 1k but having spent some 30 or 40 hours on about 10 AC flights in the last two years):
- AC in economy is quite pleasant. Friendly FAs, comfortable modern interiors
- UA in E- is hell on earth. No service whatsoever and decrepit aircraft interiors
- UA in E+ is saved by significant leg room.
- unless you drop significant cash you can forget international upgrades completely
- UA's domestic First is sort of like AC's economy but with bigger seats
- MP is still a very generous program for redemptions

Antonio8069

35K "status" miles on AP gets you Elite/Gold status. You can easily do that YVR-DEN. (The key is booking T+ fares). Also, AP also has a short-haul 15 K award, which I use YOW-ATL (NB it does not get you to DEN).

Any paid United/Continental fare qualifies as status miles.

The other thing you need to know about Elite status is a minimum of 10,000 status miles (i.e. 35 %) must be earned on AC metal.

The bottom line? Join AP and accumulate the minimum on AC metal/redeem via Star Alliance partners!

rankourabu

few things - next year - it will be 50k for Gold.

Redeeming with Aeroplan is expensive - try pricing out YVR-DEN on AC metal on Aeroplan and Mileage Plus - see the difference in fees.
Not to mention Aeroplan internationals run into hunderds of dollars in fees.

sskl1998

I currently have Air Canada Areoplan Elite status, but my business travels are mostly in the US on United. Should I start crediting my flights to MileagePlus and try to get status on United? What is the major advantage?

FlyerChrisK

Domestic upgrades and no fuel surcharges on award tickets.

transportprof

I switched at least three years ago. UA's reward flight availability is much better than Aeroplan's, especially for flights in the US and to Europe. Getting double miles credited is nicer than a 50% bonus on Aeroplan.

As a 1K on UA, the upgrades used to be reliable, post 3/3, I'm batting around 50%, which is still better than Aeroplan Elite upgrades.

The only thing to watch out for is using Tango fares on AC in North America. You won't get any credit in Mileage Plus for these fares, but Tango Plus fares do credit.