fumje

It is correct. UA don't consider IAD-SFO/LAX to be (premium) transcon.

WineCountryUA

Flights out of IAD to west coast can be either -- mostly standard domestic F, some limited lie-flat (to SFO, LAX)

xerenthar

got it. it looks like the only washington-area flight to SFO (including ex-BWI) with lie-flat J are UA 1763 (on a 752) and UA 340 (on a 772), is that right? crap.

EmailKid

Would not even bother to look at BWI for lie flats.

WineCountryUA

It varies but 2 options a day is fairy typically

mm_sriracha

JFK to TPE on EVA Airlines (Economy)
Option 1: 35,000 UA Miles + $5.60
Option 2: 32,700 Chase UR Points (W class ticket - worst one i believe)

Is there any benefit of using United Miles instead of Chase UR pts? Whether its Ticket Class or ability to change flights?

jsloan

If you use UA miles, you'll be bound by UA's award change fees. Assuming you don't have status, it's $75 to change or cancel 61+ days in advance, and $125 otherwise. If you use UR points, you'll be bound by the fare rules of the BR ticket, which may be more or less generous; you'd have to read them to be sure.

You can potentially earn miles when flying on UR points (you'd have to look up the earnings for BR W class); you can't do so with MileagePlus miles.

RafKa

Hi all,

Complete newbie to UA here - am getting Silver Status by virtue of Marriott Premier Platinum, so thinking of crediting some flights in Air New Zealand to my brand new MP account.

Does the minimum 500 miles per segment also apply to Star Alliance partners? And is there any elite bonus on partner airlines? Most of my intended domestic flights in NZ will be in W-class which earns 50% mileage, but some of these segments are so short that without a minimum, I would effectively be getting 66 miles in some cases! Can anyone confirm if there's a blanket policy for all airline partners, or is it on a case-per-case basis?

Thanks!

FlyerTalker70

The 500 PQM benefit applies across all *A airlines. However, not all *A airlines will award the 500 mile minimum at 100% (i.e. when flying domestically in Canada on AC you only earn 25% PQM which turns that 500 PQM minimum into a 125 PQM minimum). Your UA Silver will get you *A Silver benefits across all *A airlines including NZ, which include Priority Standby and Reservation Waitlist. What that means in laymens terms is if you opt to get on an earlier NZ flight and there's no space to confirm you on that earlier flight you'll have a better chance of the standby clearing. In other words, the benefits aren't that great.

When flying UA your benefits are complimentary upgrades (subject to availability) when flying most domestic routes on UA like ORD to EWR. That being said the odds of you securing that upgrade are low since you're literally at the lowest rung for upgrades there. You also get access to UA's preferred seating for free during check-in (savings can be as much as $300 when flying long haul like AKL to SFO). You also get a free an additional free checked bag when travelling with UA.

All the big benefits for UA and *A start at the Gold level (i.e. priority everything, lounge access, additional baggage allowance, etc.). Since you're a Kiwi, you'll need to earn 50,000 PQM with UA and fly on at least 4 UA flights in a given year. I reckon that's possible with around 2 roundtrips to the US East coast per year (i.e. AKL -> EWR). At the end of the day the frequent flyer program you choose to accrue miles should depend on where you fly and the types of fares you book. For instance, Asiana will give you up to 4 years of Gold Status when you sign once you hit 50,000 miles per year and will give you lifetime Gold once you fly 500,000 miles on Asiana and Star Alliance partners! Keep in mind you can use your UA Silver benefits without crediting miles to the program. Simply update your frequent flyer number at the gate!

Hopefully that answers some of the questions posed.

Safe Travels,

James

WineCountryUA

Most partners have the 500 miles min for UA elites crediting to MP and that includes NZ
if purchased on an UA ticket stock, yes. If purchased on non-UA ticket, it depends - some do, some don't. NZ does not.

Earning rules can vary, see the partner-specific rules in partner mileage earning

Are you doing much flying outside of NZ? Much in the USA?

Also see United Silver Status - Experiences/Q&A
and Silvers: Report your experience with E+ seating at T-24hrs here.
and https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...solidated.html

jsloan

This is not true. It's done on a case-by-case basis, and you need to look at the particular partner's earning page (as WineCountryUA mentioned) to be sure.

RafKa

Thanks j2simpso WineCountryUA & jsloan !

tomsundstrom

I found some R availability on flights from SFO-LHR early next year, but I've used all of my GPUs. Can I upgrade with miles and $, then refund those after I requalify for 1K, and apply a GPU (assuming there is still R space left)?

fumje

There's no provision for doing that, but you may be able to convince an agent to process that. However, I would certainly not count on it.

WineCountryUA

If there is still R space yes (straightforward cancel and re-apply), but if there is no R space then it is agent's discretion -- some will, some wouldn't. And more importantly - many do not know how to do it without potentially losing the confirmed upgrade (and at that point it is hard to ask for supervisory help for doing something out of process), so important to have confidence the agent knows how to do this.