NavyUCF

Team,

I am currently a Delta Gold, but I have not flown enough to requalify for even Silver status. On top of it all, I've grown slightly dissatisfied with Delta. I don't hate the service, but I find that their flights tend to be $100 - $200 than AA and UA. And, I've experienced the difficulties in redeeming SkyMiles.

So, I've been debating between UA and AA.

I live in Key West.

I thought of UA, because (1) they offer more routing opportunities, as they flow to FLL, RSW, and MIA and (2) I can transfer Chase Sapphire Points to UA Miles. But, after researching it, I learned that FLL, RSW, and even MIA are not hubs, all requiring routing through HOU or elsewhere in order to go transcontinental and most Europe destinations. So, that's a concern.

Here are the issues important to me:
1. In-flight entertainment (i.e. televisions in the seats) and overall flight experience;
2. Low level international availability;
3. International business class experience;
4. UG opportunities;
5. Access to the United Club.
6. Current status of shake out from UA/ CO Merger.

Thoughts?

LaserSailor

My two cents...most of the chuff on FT is about upgrades, which I see is numbers 4 on your list.

UA is 8 months into a huge merger, but from an operations standpoint has online metrics close to premerger.

AA is likely to merge with US, which IMHO will be a year of pain once thy flip the switch.....merger Jan 2013, operational merger March 2013??????

Pick your airline based on routes from home base , my advice.

rankourabu

1. UA lacks here - only some planes have direct tv
2. there is no comparison here - with ua miles you can go anywhere, anytime for low mileage with only a few exceptions, with DL, as you know, its the opposite
3. They are both USA carriers - enough said, but UA does have beds which is a big plus
4. Gold will be rare
5. only if your itinerary includes international destination (canada, carrib included)
6. that is debatable

inferno10

I'm currently a gold medallion with Delta, but am considering trying to challenge over to Premier Gold.

My home airports are SFO and SJC, so I'm assuming that I'll have more options with UA; DL flights for me usually mean transferring at SLC, ATL, or MSP to get anywhere.

For anyone that's flown both airlines, how does UAs business-class or first-class product compare to DLs? How crowded do the lounges get

- Jason

PV_Premier

You will have more options for direct flights exSFO but they often dont come cheap, especially on longer routes.
exSFO as a gold member you will not get too many upgrades except on leisure routes (ie, SFO to Hawaii).
I cannot comment on DL versus UA C and F product as I have not flown in DL F except for one short domestic flight a few years ago on an award ticket.
The UA clubs are a disaster, there is a whole thread on it. Most people here complain about them alot, but then again they keep going, so who knows. I never go to them, as I rarely travel internationally on C or F tickets and refuse to pay to get in.

Long story short, as a 50-75k flyer, no program is great. UAs best benefits to me are great award redemption opportunities (for instance I just booked SMF-NRT-AKL-HNL-SMF all in J, with two stopovers, for 135k miles each ticket), same day change fees waived, and some upgrades. My upgrade percentage has been around 25% on average, lower on hub-hub and higher on leisure routes. YMMV. Good luck.

goldiemack

Inferno10, I've been a Platinum on DL since '09. I did a status match to pmUA in summer 2011. I got to 1k in 2012 and will likely drop to GM on DL for 2014 to ensure I stay 1k on United. People's experience varies, but for me, UA flies everywhere I need to go for work, and is usually the cheapest option. UA flies larger planes out of my home airport, so I have a better shot at upgrades on UA. That's #2. GPU/RPU are relatively more usable on UA, which I have taken advantage of on several flights, so if you ever think you could hit Plat on UA, that's a consideration. I've booked numerous domestics legs where I've been upgraded to flatbeds in J or C, which while also possible on DL, isn't really an option for me on the DL routes I would typically fly. I've flown DL angled lie flat on the A330 and it was also lovely. For domestic F, my personal rank on seat comfort alone is pmUA planes, then DL, then the pmCO portion of the UA fleet.

My personal opinion is DL hubs where I would fly the most like DTW and ATL are in better condition than ORD or IAD, though some of the other UA hubs like SFO and parts of IAH (E term) are in solid shape. I belong to both DL and UA clubs and DL wins hands down, on design, food, drinks, wifi quality, everything. I've redeemed *A awards with United miles much more easily than SkyPesos.

Overall, DL has some really nice attributes, but for price, upgrade % due to plane configs and personal convenience, UA is just a better fit for me now. In SFO, you probably wouldn't get a lot of upgrades as a UA Gold, but your direct route options probably increase a lot.

mlmorg

I am new to mileage programs but will be flying quite a bit this year and decided to choose a specific airline for the majority of my travel. I wanted to ask advice as to which airline - between United and Delta - would be best to choose in my current situation.

I will be flying economy with most flights being from JFK (LGA is good too, EWR so-so) to LAX and SFO. I will also likely fly to AUS and TLH a few times as well. United seems slightly better to AUS because it has a few nonstops. And since US Air is a partner, I imagine TLH will be no problem (plus I love CLT much more than ATL). I'll be flying enough to get Silver status but probably unlikely to get Gold.

Since these two airlines seem pretty well matched in terms of awards and flight schedules, my main concern is basically just which airline offers better service, seat comfort and less headaches. It would also be nice to get upgrades once I have status; but, I imagine that would be difficult on such well-used routes.

Any insight y'all can offer in this regard would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

WineCountryUA

don't expect a consensus answer, but related threads are
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...ted-delta.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...-delta-ua.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...switch-ua.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...leageplus.html

When talking about JFK <> SFO/LAX, for both Delta & UA, you will be flying a special enhanced level of service and seats (in the premium cabin mostly), different than normal domestic service. UA calls their Premium Service, so that is another factor

FlyerChrisK

...why not consider AA? Unless the bulk of your travel is to TLH (where you'll have to go a little further out of the way on AA), AAdvantage is a strong program.

Your chances for upgrades ex-EWR or on p.s. (JFK-SFO/LAX) with UA as a Silver or Gold will be slim. I can't speak for DL.

lhrsfo

If you are flying Economy the whole time, and you make at least similar, you do get E+ on UA (selectable at check in). Otherwise, you won't feel the love from UA, but I'm not sure you will with the others either. For what it's worth, UA does seem to still have rather more disruptions at the moment, and they are embarking on a program of altering their dedicated fleet that flies JFK-LAX/SFO, so you can look forward to regular equipment swaps and all the associated fun and games.

awspilke

I am a Delta Diamond and 90% of all my travel is TPAC. Mainly SEA - NRT. My home base airport is Spokane, (GEG)
I fly a lot of government reimbursed travel where they will pay for full Y but not business class. So I have been using SWU's from Delta for upgrades from YBM fares. recently the availability of an upgrade on this route has become almost non-existant with SWU's.
Does anyone have any experience with SEA-NRT on United and what the upgrade policies are?
Last year I flew 150k mqm miles.
Any thoughts?
Thanks

GBadger

Currently SEA-NRT is a relatively easy upgrade because it is still operated with the old configuration of the 772. This will change in the not to distant future, as all 772s are being converted to lie-flat seats. Once that happens, I'm not sure what the impact on upgrade rates will be.

Having said that, on UA, using GPUs, you can upgrade W and above. Therefore your tickets can be significantly cheaper, and you can save the taxpayers some money.

sorka

Hello,

I am currently Platinum with Delta, with weekly travel from SFO to CLT (with layover in ATL). I am pretty much never upgraded and it's a pain to have a layover.

I am considering a status match to United Premier Platinum (http://www.united.com/web/en-US/apps...omoCode=TB8230)

I do not know much about United, but wanted to get the community's feedback. What I enjoy are upgrades (is SFO a busy airport with a lot of United Elites members?) and the ability to use miles for award ticket (I go to Paris 2 times a year and I usually need to spend 80 to 90k miles to seat in economy with Delta...)

Thanks!

star_world

Upgrades won't be much (or any) better on UA in and out of SFO as there's a huge elite population there, especially 1Ks and GSs compared with other hubs.

You may still have to connect depending on the schedule, I haven't checked to see where the real volume of UA flights to CLT operate from.

Much easier to redeem miles on *A partners through the UA program, flights in Y to Europe are 60k miles, flights in C are 100k.

lhrsfo

Upgrades are more difficult out of SFO than many places as there are large numbers of 1k and GS there. Off peak times will yield better results. You will, however, benefit from Economy Plus.

Currently flying to CLT is done largely with US metal where you won't get upgrades or E+ but this will likely change when US leaves *A.

Much more positive news on award redemptions. For that level of miles you have a good chance of lie flat business class, with economy at 55k miles IIRC.