EmailKid

Sorry, maybe someone else understands this, but that part of your query does not make sense to me

IIRC this has been asked before, and IIRC the answer is no. I'd love to be proved wrong on this as I too have interest in flying NZ in Premium Economy.

findark

Are you looking for award flights? You can book any Star Alliance airline but they will only show up if they have available space on your dates.

Looks like you cannot. All the NZ fares I pulled up require home plating, and UA does not publish Premium Economy fares.

cheaptom

Over on the AA scarcity board, they sing the praises of UA and so much Saver availability. I haven't found that to be the case, and I wonder if I'm doing something wrong?

Mostly, I'm looking to go LAX-FCO next spring, and my dates are very flexible. The UA Saver flights I find for biz class are 57.5 to 70K miles each way. But a long segment LAX-BOS or LAX-IAD are in econ. Also, the majority of itineraries are two-stops. This is especially true for the 57.5K Saver awards.

Yes, there are several flights with ONE stop where both segments are in J. But those are only available a few days per month. Overall, I'd say UA Saver available is indeed a it better than AA, but not THAT much.

Anyway, I'm just interested in your opinions about why UA has such a better reputation for mileage travel, in general, and not necessarily specific to the itinerary I was looking for.

WineCountryUA

Not going to tackle the actual general impression of UA vs AA but general impressions are amalgamation of many experiences -- and does not mean that every case will be the same. There will be exceptions. Better to try 10, 20, ... destinations before drawing a universal conclusion.

Additionally your origin will be common to your experiences and will heavily weight the outcome. So better to look at 10,20, ... origins and 10, 20, ... destinations.

And impression have inertia -- past experiences are weighted heavily. So if the actual experience is changing (some think it is), the general impression will lag.

Kacee

TATLs from the west coast are a real weak spot for UA redemptions. The best option will be on a *A partner - LH, LX, OS, LO, SK, or TK (if you don't mind the backtracking). Availability changes all the time so you have to check constantly.

Also note that the calendar returns false negatives. Just because a date shows blank doesn't mean there are no awards available.

cheaptom

I fully agree, thank you. The over-generalization on the AA forums is what prompted my question. Hundreds of exaggerrated posts over there like "I'm moving to UA so I can get J Saver seats anytime anywhere with any equipment," Rather than simply, "UA might be better."

Thanks. UA's site shows TK, LH, and LX (maybe others that I didn't notice). But I'll start checking those airlines' sites as well. If I find somethign on their site that isn't on UA's, I can call UA to book.

Kacee

Unfortunately not. What UA displays is what you can (theoretically) book. LH and LX (and presumably TK, though I don't know for certain) offer additional availability to their FFP members that is not available through UA.

z8108

If I fly from LIS to SFO in Y, connecting in BOS on TP and UA flights, can I access the United Club in BOS with UA gold status?

findark

Yes.

incaroads

I'll be looking to return to PDX from FCO around Sept. 5. I booked an economy flight on AA but am thinking of canceling it and waiting until late August/early September to see if something desirable opens up in F or J, e.g. on Lufthansa. Am I correct that space should open up closer to departure? I haven't done a late/last-minute booking before, so I'd be interested in hearing from others about the reliability of booking a *A flight this way. Looking at the next 1-2 weeks on united.com, I see lots of availability, but I'm not sure if this would hold true in late summer as well. If I can't get something in J or F to work out, I'm fine with Y...I just need to get home. I may end up booking through Aeroplan but thought I should leave my question here. Thanks!

sfo789

9/5 might be a shade too close to Labour Day, but 9/6-7 should be very doable. I have never failed to grab LH or UA XN space close to departure, and sometimes you get lucky and LH opens a seat in I at ~T-24. Good luck!

incaroads

Thanks! Little help with the lingo here?

threeoh

XN = economy saver award space if you have status or united credit card

I = business saver award space

T-24 = 24 hours before departure

DaTaco

I had a couple questions I was hoping someone could help me with for my flight coming up IAD-MUC that I've been upgraded to business class in;

1. Is there anyway to verify that my Global Entry number was accepted for the Pre-Check? My understanding is that it shows up on the boarding pass, but does it show up anywhere else? I'd like to confirm I've done it correctly as this is the first time I've done it.

2. My understanding is I get access to the Lufthansa lounge at IAD since I'm in business class on United, is that right? (I also have Priority Pass as well through Chase Sapphire if it matters) I however don't get access to one in MUC upon arrival right? It'll be early morning before I get to leave the airport so I just wanted to check.

WineCountryUA

Go to your reservation. "Manage Reservations"
Scroll down and look for the "Traveler(s)" section
Click on "Edit traveler information"
Click on "Known Traveler Number/Pass ID: " -- check the displayed info

If the info is correct, UA will forward that to TSA. It is up to TSA if you get PreCheck. Generally GE is pretty good bet -- 99.9% but not 100%. TSA can do random exceptions.


As a business customer you have access on departure in international business class.
At IAD, you will have access to the LH, TK and UCs.
Arriving at MUC, you will have no access based on business class status.

Anyway as most lounges are airside, as an arrival passenger you will not physically be able to access an airside lounge -- so the PP will not help.

Some airports have Arrival lounges, but believe MUC does not.