Kacee

Yes which is why I'm kind of scratching my head here. What's the point of status if one does not frequently travel on routes where it's useful? Since OP's non-commute travel is apparently not sufficient to gain any kind of status on its own, I'm wondering why OP thinks there will be a benefit which would outweigh what are, IMO, WN's substantial advantages for intra-California flying.

PTahCha

If the goal is UA status, you'll have a long way to go with only LA/Bay Area commute, with a minimum of 30/60 segments for Silver/Gold, with a minimum spend of $2.5/$5K.

If you live close to BUR, WN is your friend into OAK, with a short ride into the city. Easy in and out at both airports.

For LAX, there's DL, UA, and VX.

Don't forget B6 out of LGB.

splatkid10

WN substantial advantages: Refaring, no change fees, free bags, ease of BUR/LAX into SFO/SJC/Oakland. What am I missing?

UA/DL/etc. advantages: Earning a status that I can then use to gain benefits on my travel outside of my commuter travel. I'm pretty sure I'll obtain 50+ segments a year and spend the $5k required for example. Why wouldn't the status benefit me on travel x-country or internationally?

Kacee - any other details you could provide for your reasoning would be appreciated.

Kacee

What other flying are you considering? For those of us who are doing heavy miles on UA, status is essential. But if you're talking about handful of trips a year, I just don't see much benefit to being Gold. Or at least not enough to outweigh the pain of flying UA between the bay area and SoCal.

Just wait until you experience UA's rolling delays resulting in cancellation five hours later and a rebooking the next day. You will then start to understand why WN dominates these routes.

If I'm traveling on business to SoCal, and my employer is willing to pay for anytime or business select on WN, I do not even consider UA. I want to get where I'm going on time and without hassle. If my meeting or deposition ends early, I want the flexibility of just showing up at the airport and switching to an earlier flight (or even switching to another airport) without paying a $200 change fee. I don't want to deal with surly UA employees who hate their jobs. Or with the rugby scrum of UA boarding, particularly if I'm carrying on. This is so not a close call it's not even funny.

mgcsinc

What are the things you want from status?

Qualifying for status with segments is very, very hard. If you really want it, consider instead taking a single trip to the east coast or Hawaii and getting 5 intra-California trips worth of miles. Then just fly whatever is convenient within California.

splatkid10

Understood - so from a pure commuter standpoint, WN is the way to go because the convenience factor here can't be ignored. The ability to get out of work early and change flights easily or switch a nearby airport is a major plus no doubt.

I'm not sure just how much travel I will do for work yet, but I know it would involve trips to the East coast and Europe. Maybe run WN for the commute and try to hone in on one airline for my work travels.

abaheti

WN is the no-brainer solution for you. Convenience, reliability, much better schedule, more airport options, better planes, plus BUR. Get the Chase card so you can transfer to UA or WN if you want some options or a different Chase card to get priority boarding and a free bag or Club access for your east-west long trips. Depending on where you are going, WN is even viable for cross country trips, frankly, compared to a lot of what UA offers now.

Status on WN will get you A boarding group, bonus miles....

PLUS (based on how many flights you're looking at) you should get a Companion Pass (which, assuming the back and forth traveling may either be to see a S.O. or have you spending a lot of time away from a S.O. could be a nice feature!).

WN can also get you to some nice warm international destinations now (I just booked to CUN).

PV_Premier

i have to agree with the possible exception of AS mileage plan, which i think is not getting enough respect from the OP. with 20 annual SFO-LAX round trips plus one annual OAK-Hawaii or SFO-SEA-East coast round trip, OP would have MVP (if all flying on AS Metal) and the resulting reciprocal benefits/earning on AA (and DL for however long that lasts). AS miles are more valuable than WN points because of the network of international partners and region based chart rather than cost-based redemptions. in addition, OP will get upgraded fairly frequently out of SF area airports except on travel to SEA.

still, the flexibility of WN (if purchasing anytime fares) is hard to argue with and the companion pass if OP will fly enough to get it. that, and the awful option that UA would seem to be for this OP.

i'm not clear who is paying for the commuting...OP, or OP's employer?

derelict

I have been commuting BUR to SJC for the last 4 years and WN is my choice hands down. I have UA Plat which is great for work travel (I fly mostly TPAC) but for the commute I have never found UA to be convenient or flexible. Also, I will pick flying into BUR over LAX any day.

splatkid10

If you were landing at SJC and heading to Palo Alto area Caltrain would be the ticket no?

The BUR - SJC route option seems very interesting...lower rates...less of a hassle...may have been a problem solver. I thought I'd be a lot closer going into SFO but that may not be the case.

Duke787

Yeah I would think if the OP wants to avoid WN, AS is the obvious answer. DL can be flown for the SFO - LAX flights with miles credited to AS. OP would get minimal DL status (enough for a free bag and priority seat - not EC - at booking and possible chance of an upgrade).

OP would then have the flexibility to book DL or AA on any non-CA flights and have the same benefits on DL and similar benefits for AA.

The OP also would be able to fly AS which as an extensive West Coast network.

It would seem if the OP wants to avoid WN, AS is the obvious answer here.

splatkid10

Appreciate all the advice from everyone. I think I've stumbled upon the solution as WN for these commuter trips. I think the AS solution is fine as well, but a lot of the perks I noticed I'd receive on AA or DL are similar to owning their credit card.

I didn't realize how convenient SJC could be. Turns out it may be easier door-to-door then SFO and the flexibility for adjusting flights on WN could prove very helpful.

Thanks again!

guv1976

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

Mileage Plus elite status (or lack thereof) is irrelevant in determining how many miles Aegean will credit for a UA flight. Aegean's earning chart for travel on UA can be found here:

http://en.aegeanair.com/milesandbonu...on/earn-miles/

Of course, none of this will matter to the OP if he chooses to fly some carrier other than UA. And even if he chooses to fly UA, he might still prefer to credit those flights to UA rather than to A3, if free lounge access is less important to him than the perks he would get from MP elite status.