LarkSFO

He won't.

But, if it makes you feel better, go for it!

LeadWings

I use Emirates a lot. Transit will almost always be via Dubai, but if that fits in with your plans, then IMHO they're pretty good. If you are in economy on a 777, expect 10 across instead of the more typical 9.

Lurker

History:
13-year 1k
Lifetime mileage: 1.75 million miles
Member since: 1992
Miles this year (to date): 155,586
Spend this year (to date): $25,165
cpm (YTD): 16.2

Other Stuff:
United tulip red carpet in my garage gifted by SMF ground crew
Attended last 3 United family days at SFO
Encouraged all my work colleagues to fly UA

Final straw: loss of transparency to elites; unanswered emails from UA Insider

Way forward: Comped to EXP on AA. Flying tomorrow on a premium economy TPAC with QF. Trying to find out tonight what lounges I am eligible for etc. A whole new ball game but not sorry, except for saying good bye to UA's SMF ground crew who have looked after me like family.

So sad.



Lurker

ani90

And that counts for nothing?

goodeats21

Hi Lurker.
Good luck with your transition to AA.

I haven't decided where I am going yet, but have taken the first step with cancelling Chase Sapphire card. Was good timing as the annual fee was due. Transferred out my UR points to get award travel booked on UA before the new mileage chart becomes active.

Just sad what UA has deteriorated into....

SFO777

There was no need to cancel your Chase Sapphire card. If you don't like the MP redemption rates, you could have transferred your UR points to other airlines including BA and KE. I recently transferred UR points to KE and booked our New Years trip to SA. 70,000 UR points to fly LAX-GRU in KE First.

nachosdelux

I hope you will enjoy EXP treatment as much as I have.

In my experience, the ability to use the first class lounge(s) on all international trips really makes a HUGE difference (for the better).

invisible

Let me add my note as well. Based in SIN, so PQD wouldn't apply, but from new year while I might continue flying UA, I will start crediting miles to SQ.

All my flights are in Economy - SIN-SFO, SIN-NRT, SIN-FRA, SIN-GRU. UA's E+ was the primary reason I was using it, plus MP, but with new reality it simply does not worth to stay.

goodeats21

That is true, but my spend rate on that card wasn't going to be high enough to accumulate meaningful awards. It was great to supplement my UA miles with dining and other travel expenses, but not as a standalone program.

I have a pretty high spend on Corporate Amex and have the Gold Premiere as well. Seems to make more sense to consolidate onto Amex Membership Rewards right now.

SFO777

Understand and that makes sense. MR is great and I've recently starting transferring my points to SQ. Overnight crediting, plentiful First Class avails and some attractive redemption rates. Our recent IAH-DME was only 115K roundtrip for First.

bldr1k

I just flew roundtrip on Emirates from Dubai to Bangalore. I do not understand why anyone thinks Emirates is a good airline. This flight, on an A330, had the most uncomfortable seats I've ever sat in. They were hard as a rock, the tray table and video on the back of the seat are "thick" so it feels like it is right in your face. You get free booze and a meal (which I didn't like) but I cannot see any advantage over United. Actually this felt like the last ANA flight I was on in Coach.

I've taken other Emirates flights to Beijing and Shanghai and these were 10-across 777s, which are also very uncomfortable.

As much as people complain about United seats, these were worse than any United flight I've ever been on.

The net of all of this is that all airlines are horrible in coach and rapidly getting worse.

SFO777

Yikes. Can't imagine any trip that long in Coach on any airline.
Emirates Business Class isn't that great either (2-3-2 angled lie flat on the 77W) except maybe on the A380.
Now if we're talking First Class, that is where EK excels.

LarkSFO

I'll be looking for the trip report in early 2014!

syrahnose

I'm on the edge right now. MM/1K/MP since 1994 at the moment. Having MM means I have gold forever on Star, so there is no more motive to ever fly with United again.

The deal breaker is that I've been sitting on 99,903 miles since June. I submitted six 1,600 mile United code share flights (SYD to Wellington NZ) on Air NZ that haven't been credited. These flights were booked off (deceptive/purposefully deceptive?) United's page or via 1k line. ALL indicated 100% mileage accrual and credit toward MP program when booked. At least 2 were double checked at time of booking as guaranteed class translation crediting on ANZ to United. From the 'newest' fine print, it seems now that United doesn't have to honor any class of partner crediting from the fine print I see, and classes can change without you knowing it. All seems discretionary on United's part now.

Being based in NZ I have to fly 3,000 miles out of my way to pick up United metal, think about what that says about loyalty, Jeff)

Although a non-USA resident I still spend over $10,000 per year on flights. I have two 24,000 flights I'm shopping for in 2014 at the moment, expecting at least 2 more coming up. I was flown biz on One World in Sept. and didn't insist on my previous preference for United. So it's crunch time.

Bad planes, bad seats, horrible entertainment, worst lounges, scroggin for food...last year two 24 hour delays, 2 lost baggage episodes, and worst of all, was my wife had 10 segment RTW flight booked where final middle 5-6 flights simply disappeared from itinerary without United warning her, which she discovered accidentally (and was restored with hassle). And on 2nd RTW flight, returning from EU with children, she boarded LFTH Toulouse to Frankfurt, only to find in FF that her whole return ticket on United had evaporated into thin air. It got fixed, but kids were 10 minutes from having to fly 10,000 miles on their own. And this year was better than last year!

Have put up with the gross incompetence, Neanderthal software interface, aging technology... but it's the corporate arrogance that burns the most. Either United wants my business or it doesn't.

It all comes down now whether United wants to lose me for 97 miles worth of credit.

All that said, with the new depreciation I'll be burning 200k before Feb and, unless some miracle happens and United find a way to credit 97 miles, Chase card is history too.

pigx5

You don't have Gold forever on *a. You only have Gold on UA and they can change it to silver anytime they want.