SFO-SIN in Business - should i fly UA or Singapore..?
Sep 1, 2018, 1:14 am
#62
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,357
Sep 3, 2018, 11:55 am
#63
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: ZRH/LUX/LON
Programs: BA GGL/ VS Gold. Former: UA 1K (10 years+) , EY partners Plat, SQ PPS Club, SU Gold, LH SEN/HON
Posts: 770
Every time someone tells me how wonderful SQ is, I'll point out the KrisFlyer Gold lounge in SIN (where I happen to be sitting right now). It doesn't even have restrooms, and the whole place smells of fryer oil. I had the nerve to fly into SIN in J, but am flying out in Y, so this is the lounge I'm stuck with.
Krisflyer Gold Lounge is for folks flying economy.
Sep 4, 2018, 4:52 am
#64
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: DFW or Somewhere Else
Programs: UA Plt /Delta DM/ Marriott Platinum Prem./Hilton Diamond / Hyatt Globalist /Hertz PS / National EE
Posts: 1,107
2. UA food is absolutely disgusting. SQ food is better but who really cares... You are going to Singapore! Eat when you get there.
Last edited by aero0729; Sep 4, 2018 at 5:00 am
Sep 4, 2018, 11:50 am
#65
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: San Francisco
Programs: UA MM Plat, UA 1MM, Hilton Lifetime Gold, Marriott Gold, Hertz Gold, CLEAR, AS MVP Gold
Posts: 3,614
I suspect this has been stated above in the thread, while I prefer SQ to SIN from SFO your $$ spent will NOT apply to potential GS status. I learned that the hard way a few years back when I traveled to SIN for business multiple times a year and thought getting GS status was going to be no problem for me until I discovered that it is based on dollars spent on UA metal ONLY and not *A as well.
Sep 16, 2018, 1:45 pm
#66
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: NYC, BLR, LHR, SIN and a few others
Programs: UA 1K 1.01 MM
Posts: 1,245
So I booked SQ JFK-FRA-SIN(A380)-EWR(A350ULR). The timing was also much better as I leave Sunday PM, return early Sat AM and only have 3 hotel nights and get 4 full days in SIN. I’m kind of worried that I won’t want to go back to UA to keep 1K... from my previous experience with SQ C, that said having been in the Kris Flyer Silver lounge, FRA LH FCT and EWR Polaris lounge in the last 3 months.... UA really has done a great job! While dedicated security, personal assistant and Porsche transfer were great, I found the shower in EWR newer and with better products and the cocktails to be better executed at the PL than FCT.
So now I need to figure out miles, I need to double check my numbers but I believe that if I post this trip to UA it will put me over 150k PQM, so an extra 2GPU/2RPU. But I had these expire last year and likely will this year so not sure of the value. What are my chances of finding 4R seats both ways somewhere I can take Mrs tht and 2x mini tht now the youngest will need his own seat. I guess I need to ask on the SQ forrum but I signed up to Kris Flyer and it seems like I can get PPS credit for spend even if I credit RDM to UA. Would I need to add the Kris Flyer number to see upgrades to F, I can transfer the miles needed from Chase SR.
Any advise ?
Sep 16, 2018, 2:53 pm
#67
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Posts: 10,964
Kind of strange how SQ screwed up the A350 seat comfort as some point out here. I wonder if this is more of a regional taste / people size thing? For example, westerners tend to like softer fluffy beds in hotels but Asians like them firmer?
Sometimes I would over look less-than-perfect hardware for more reliable/consistent service. For example, I think the NH 77W is not nearly as nice as Polaris but the thought of inconsistent service and sometimes even rude FAs on UA would push me to NH even though it means losing the lifetime miles.
Sometimes I would over look less-than-perfect hardware for more reliable/consistent service. For example, I think the NH 77W is not nearly as nice as Polaris but the thought of inconsistent service and sometimes even rude FAs on UA would push me to NH even though it means losing the lifetime miles.
Sep 16, 2018, 3:46 pm
#68
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 3,359
K
Sometimes I would over look less-than-perfect hardware for more reliable/consistent service. For example, I think the NH 77W is not nearly as nice as Polaris but the thought of inconsistent service and sometimes even rude FAs on UA would push me to NH even though it means losing the lifetime miles.
Sometimes I would over look less-than-perfect hardware for more reliable/consistent service. For example, I think the NH 77W is not nearly as nice as Polaris but the thought of inconsistent service and sometimes even rude FAs on UA would push me to NH even though it means losing the lifetime miles.
-James
Sep 16, 2018, 4:00 pm
#69
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Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 10,964
Sep 16, 2018, 7:12 pm
#71
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: NYC, BLR, LHR, SIN and a few others
Programs: UA 1K 1.01 MM
Posts: 1,245
Kind of strange how SQ screwed up the A350 seat comfort as some point out here. I wonder if this is more of a regional taste / people size thing? For example, westerners tend to like softer fluffy beds in hotels but Asians like them firmer?
Sometimes I would over look less-than-perfect hardware for more reliable/consistent service. For example, I think the NH 77W is not nearly as nice as Polaris but the thought of inconsistent service and sometimes even rude FAs on UA would push me to NH even though it means losing the lifetime miles.
Sometimes I would over look less-than-perfect hardware for more reliable/consistent service. For example, I think the NH 77W is not nearly as nice as Polaris but the thought of inconsistent service and sometimes even rude FAs on UA would push me to NH even though it means losing the lifetime miles.
Sep 16, 2018, 8:35 pm
#72
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Join Date: Aug 2003
Programs: UA 1K 1MM (finally!), IHG AMB-Spire, HH Diamond
Posts: 60,155
what do you mean by Polaris, on this route, most likely none of the this trip on UA would have been on the new hard product, most likely it would have been a 757 and 787 with the same old CO style seat. Will be interesting to compare, have flown Polaris hard product 2x, once with full service FRA-EWR and once SFO-EWR without, my last time in SQ C was on The 777 W AKL- SIN but that was 8 years ago...
SQ keeps fiddling with C class every 4-5 years. Having to get up and physically manipulate it to a bed was a mistake on their part.
Sep 16, 2018, 8:58 pm
#73
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Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 10,964
what do you mean by Polaris, on this route, most likely none of the this trip on UA would have been on the new hard product, most likely it would have been a 757 and 787 with the same old CO style seat. Will be interesting to compare, have flown Polaris hard product 2x, once with full service FRA-EWR and once SFO-EWR without, my last time in SQ C was on The 777 W AKL- SIN but that was 8 years ago...
Sep 17, 2018, 5:09 am
#74
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: NYC, BLR, LHR, SIN and a few others
Programs: UA 1K 1.01 MM
Posts: 1,245
I see, I just assumed you were talking about SIN-SFO because of the threat title. Will be interesting to compare myself, as you say everyone has their own preference. I guess I will fly 2 different SQ seats since I will take a A380 out and A350-ULR back. But agree it’s about the whole package, not just the seat. e.g. on the return the main driver was a better departure and arrival time, and remiving the chance of a misconnect in SFO.
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Sep 17, 2018 at 1:25 pm Reason: merging consecutive posts by same member
Dec 1, 2018, 7:40 am
#75
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: NYC, BLR, LHR, SIN and a few others
Programs: UA 1K 1.01 MM
Posts: 1,245
Just got back from a SQ A380 JFK-FRA-SIN SQ A350 SIN-EWR and it was hands down better than the 4 or 5 previous SIN trips I have done on UA in the last year or 2. Miles and status aside the seat was way better for me, all isle access, more private, wider (especially on the A380 which is 1 2 1 in business and has a massive bathroom at the front left by the massive staircase to F). As others have noted I could see how this seat would be less ideal for someone tall, but at 5’8” it’s pretty much perfect. The timing on these flights is prefect, on the outbound you leave at 8pm, and have no connection worries as the aircraft continues, and you arrive at 7am ready for a full days business. On the return it’s even better. You don’t have to leave for the airport till around 10pm, and then land at 5:30am in EWR, I made a new personal best from Aircraft door to out of customs of 5 minutes and was back home in CT by 7am due to no traffic with such an early arrival, so I don’t miss my kids swim class. I plan trips based on door to door times, not flight times so this early arrival really helps. I would say that the new UA Polaris lounge beats both the Swiss lounge used at JFK and SQ lounge at Changi, especially for the showers, food and bar. SQ also gave the return flight a very far gate from the checkin terminal, which was not great, and due to so much of the plane being business they board by seat row number. With the SQ option consistency pricing at a massive discount vs. UA for my searches I now need to figure out how to reach UA 4 segment minimum to keep 1K and also how to ticket enough 016 for min spend by mixing in some EWR-FRA-BLR-SIN segments on the outbound. Also the SQ Wi-Fi offering is terrible, while you get a free pass in Business, it’s 30MB... which is tapped out in no time... the fact I can credit to UA and still get SQ PPS credit for spend is also great, so I can make status there and then have a option to move to SQ KF if I get more heavy on that route and I still have the backstop of UA / *A Gold as a MM.
