Where to credit/spend after hitting 1k?
May 15, 2019, 7:31 pm
#16
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Los Angeles, California
Programs: United, American, Delta, Hyatt, Hilton, Hertz, Marriott
Posts: 14,792
I would agree. But the time horizon for that makes it a tough sell for a lot of people. It also means minimizing travel on other airlines even within *A.
However, that's exactly why I was advised to stick with one program, and that has just borne fruit for me as a newly minted 1MM. It's also why I signed up the iapetus jrs. for MP. Yeah, they're still well south of 100,000 BIS miles, but maybe by the time they get to college they'll have a nice head start on lifetime status (if they'll even care about that). Maybe they won't have to wait until they're an old woman and an old man ... like their old man.
However, that's exactly why I was advised to stick with one program, and that has just borne fruit for me as a newly minted 1MM. It's also why I signed up the iapetus jrs. for MP. Yeah, they're still well south of 100,000 BIS miles, but maybe by the time they get to college they'll have a nice head start on lifetime status (if they'll even care about that). Maybe they won't have to wait until they're an old woman and an old man ... like their old man.
My only regret is that I didn’t focus on the lifetime goal until recently. I’d never taken a mileage run before—I padded a few trips adding a few hundred miles here or there, but never made the extra effort.
I read the “Lemons into Lemonade” thread last March and a gene immediately turned on and won’t switch off!!
May 15, 2019, 9:28 pm
#17
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: HND
Programs: Delta Gold, Accor Gold
Posts: 30
Just be careful of some of the potential restrictions or expiry of miles! ANA at least requires you to fly 50% metal to get the status and the miles expire after 3 years.
May 18, 2019, 9:54 am
#19
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: SAN
Programs: 1K (since 2008), *G (since 1990), 1MM
Posts: 3,214
Wish I had thought a little more about BIS earlier in my flying career. I am only at 1.2 million miles with United and would be twice that if I had thought about it. With that said I do fly OALs a fair bit due to price/convenience.
May 18, 2019, 4:28 pm
#20
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 3,359
First, congrats on achieving 1K so soon in the year. I know for myself, it'll be a struggle to get past 50K this year on UA to maintain Gold status.
Out of curiosity could you comment on the nature of the remaining business trips you have planned in J? Have you already booked them? If not, I would consider actually crediting and earning miles on the other alliances (namely OneWorld and SkyTeam). IIRC both of them offer status matches and depending on your travel patterns, you may be able to hit the qualifying spend to secure status. From your standpoint, the best thing to do would be have status on all three domestics, and split up your travel with them for the remainder of this year and next. From that you'll be able to understand the ins and outs of the various elite programmes and determine which one works best for you. In particular, you'll want to consider things like lounge access, IRROPs handling, upgrades, award mile accrual/redemption perks, etc.
Safe Travels,
James
Out of curiosity could you comment on the nature of the remaining business trips you have planned in J? Have you already booked them? If not, I would consider actually crediting and earning miles on the other alliances (namely OneWorld and SkyTeam). IIRC both of them offer status matches and depending on your travel patterns, you may be able to hit the qualifying spend to secure status. From your standpoint, the best thing to do would be have status on all three domestics, and split up your travel with them for the remainder of this year and next. From that you'll be able to understand the ins and outs of the various elite programmes and determine which one works best for you. In particular, you'll want to consider things like lounge access, IRROPs handling, upgrades, award mile accrual/redemption perks, etc.
Safe Travels,
James
May 18, 2019, 6:30 pm
#21
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2003
Programs: UA*Lifetime GS, Hyatt* Lifetime Globalist
Posts: 12,318
About 12 years ago, I was into getting status match and/or obtain status after reaching 1K. I did get top tier status on AA Platinum with my 1K, DL Gold one year and then DL Medallion with 1K and AA Gold another.
In the end, it was not really worth it to keep elite status in all three programs at the same time , at least for me anyway. I ended up spending too much time trying to arrange flights to keep status in the subsequent years and the miles earned probably were more valuable and flexible had I consolidated into one program.
Since I decided to concentrate just flying UA, I have made GS every year. It took me 13 years to fly 1 MM with UA, and it has taken me on an average 4.5 years to make subsequent 2M, 3M, 4M and I am on track to 5M since focusing on UA. I do fly a lot of other airlines but mostly keep within Star Alliance so all my miles are in one place.
It has also saved me a lot of time browsing through FlyerTalk.
Now I mainly come to United and Star Alliance forums versus spending time on AA, DL, UA, *A, Skyteam and 1W....free up a lot of time!!!
My decision 12 years ago works for me but it may not work for others.
Since I decided to concentrate just flying UA, I have made GS every year. It took me 13 years to fly 1 MM with UA, and it has taken me on an average 4.5 years to make subsequent 2M, 3M, 4M and I am on track to 5M since focusing on UA. I do fly a lot of other airlines but mostly keep within Star Alliance so all my miles are in one place.
It has also saved me a lot of time browsing through FlyerTalk.
Now I mainly come to United and Star Alliance forums versus spending time on AA, DL, UA, *A, Skyteam and 1W....free up a lot of time!!!My decision 12 years ago works for me but it may not work for others.
Last edited by UA_Flyer; May 18, 2019 at 6:43 pm
May 18, 2019, 6:56 pm
#22
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 3,359
About 12 years ago, I was into getting status match and/or obtain status after reaching 1K. I did get top tier status on AA Platinum with my 1K, DL Gold one year and then DL Medallion with 1K and AA Gold another.
In the end, it was not really worth it to keep elite status in all three programs at the same time , at least for me anyway. I ended up spending too much time trying to arrange flights to keep status in the subsequent years and the miles earned probably were more valuable and flexible had I consolidated into one program.
Agree with you here. This free agent non-sense doesn't make much sense for more than a year. The whole purpose of being a free agent is to explore your options and make a decision at the end of the year where to place your investment. I've heard horror stories of frequent flyers diversifying only to get the worst of all worlds - the devaluation of all programmes followed by the lack of frequency of use in one program to reap the full benefits overall. This is precisely why OP should explore on the first year and figure out whether UA and *A makes sense for them. Maybe it does, but I've also met those who went elsewhere only to find out that the grass was a bit greener elsewhere.
Since I decided to concentrate just flying UA, I have made GS every year. It took me 13 years to fly 1 MM with UA, and it has taken me on an average 4.5 years to make subsequent 2M, 3M, 4M and I am on track to 5M since focusing on UA. I do fly a lot of other airlines but mostly keep within Star Alliance so all my miles are in one place.
-James
May 18, 2019, 8:37 pm
#24
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2017
Programs: AS 75K, DL Silver, UA Platinum, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Platinum + LT Gold
Posts: 10,466
1) Chasing status with one airline/alliance is tiring and expensive (mostly my own $).
2) Since I am flying premium for the most part on long haul flights, having one FF program is less alluring.
3) Collecting transferable currencies (e.g. credit card points) and making them work on high value redemption across multiple airlines/alliances.
4) My home location is where all three US legacies call hubs, along with many flights from non-US airlines and other smaller US airline carriers. I pick the schedule, pricing, etc; instead of being tied to the schedule and price the airline of choice chooses for me
4a) The downside of hubs for all three US legacies - upgrades suck - I went 0 for (lost count) on two most competitive TCON routes w/o successfully applying any certs.
5) I get to try out new airlines and interesting configurations, attend inaugurals (DL A220, DL A350, UA 787-10) and saying goodbye on UA747, just some recent examples - enjoying every moment I spend in the air!
May 18, 2019, 8:54 pm
#25
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 3,359
Being a free agent has been the best thing for me after trying to give all my business to UA.
1) Chasing status with one airline/alliance is tiring and expensive (mostly my own $).
2) Since I am flying premium for the most part on long haul flights, having one FF program is less alluring.
3) Collecting transferable currencies (e.g. credit card points) and making them work on high value redemption across multiple airlines/alliances.
4) My home location is where all three US legacies call hubs, along with many flights from non-US airlines and other smaller US airline carriers. I pick the schedule, pricing, etc; instead of being tied to the schedule and price the airline of choice chooses for me
4a) The downside of hubs for all three US legacies - upgrades suck - I went 0 for (lost count) on two most competitive TCON routes w/o successfully applying any certs.
5) I get to try out new airlines and interesting configurations, attend inaugurals (DL A220, DL A350, UA 787-10) and saying goodbye on UA747, just some recent examples - enjoying every moment I spend in the air!
1) Chasing status with one airline/alliance is tiring and expensive (mostly my own $).
2) Since I am flying premium for the most part on long haul flights, having one FF program is less alluring.
3) Collecting transferable currencies (e.g. credit card points) and making them work on high value redemption across multiple airlines/alliances.
4) My home location is where all three US legacies call hubs, along with many flights from non-US airlines and other smaller US airline carriers. I pick the schedule, pricing, etc; instead of being tied to the schedule and price the airline of choice chooses for me
4a) The downside of hubs for all three US legacies - upgrades suck - I went 0 for (lost count) on two most competitive TCON routes w/o successfully applying any certs.
5) I get to try out new airlines and interesting configurations, attend inaugurals (DL A220, DL A350, UA 787-10) and saying goodbye on UA747, just some recent examples - enjoying every moment I spend in the air!
Finally, it's the Bombardier C Series not Aribus A220
Yours Truly,
Proud Canadian!
May 18, 2019, 9:16 pm
#26
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2017
Programs: AS 75K, DL Silver, UA Platinum, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Platinum + LT Gold
Posts: 10,466
That's the point. You had claimed in the other post being a free agent would make no sense for everyone when one size does not fit all.
Buying BE fares would only get you 50% PQM. In the end, you may be spending more $ to earn those 50K PQM.
In my case, I primarily travel on k(ettle) fares, often times in Basic Economy since I'm a student. Hence, getting status is more important since I'll rarely be seated in a class that would give me the perks otherwise (i.e. lounge access, priority everything, etc.). 50,000 miles is a bit of an ask but can be achieved with well thought out travel planning.
May 18, 2019, 11:18 pm
#27
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2019
Programs: UA
Posts: 38
After considering all the great suggestions here, I feel like sticking with UA is my best option. Here are my reasons:
1. UA covers my domestic route and *A my intl routes very well.
2. I don't use award for domestic travel at all, so Alaska/Southwest are not useful.
3. Delta /AA's FF program doesn't seem as valuable as MP. My award travel time is flexible, so I expect to still find some cheap Asia tickets even with UA dynamic pricing.
4. BIS is a great point. I'm still early and would like to get to 1MM sometime. I tried to hit 1k with low PQD by taking connecting flight instead of nonstop. I'm young and have no family, so I don't mind extra stops. Could use the same strategy for BIS.
5. I already have points on Chase and AmEx credit card, so Delta/AA points don't add too much extra diversification.
6. UA polarize J is great. It's always been a pleasant surprise to find some polarize swap on SFO-IAD routes last minute.
7. Allows me to focus on UA Flyertalk forum to save some time.
May 18, 2019, 11:29 pm
#28
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 3,359
Good point and IMHO the most overlooked point when coming up with a FF strategy. What's the point in accruing status if you have to hop between hubs all the time and get impacted by the corresponding IRROPs headaches that increase.
That being said, I agree with your assessment on sticking with UA and * for travel. That being said, always look for opportunities to rack up miles across all milage programs through spend and other means. You'll never know when it comes in handy!
Safe Travels,
James
May 19, 2019, 8:34 pm
#29
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 57,524
I don’t know about others but after 20 years as a 1K I find that flying 200,000 miles or more with spend of $30,000 or more does not get me any more benefits that those who fly bare minimum. I earn extra upgrades but cannot use them due to lack of availability. Letters and complaints do not help. I also have 5 or 6 international business flights after achieving 1K this year and have no intention of flying these on United because I am furious that I cannot use upgrades. Adding to the upgrade total gets me nowhere. Flying Turkish, Lot and others with better business class product and typically lower prices. Have had it with loyalty that only works one way
since I have secured lifetime gold and have no realistic chance to reach 2MM, I’m flying other *A carriers. I don’t regret staying with UA while I did, but the only way I’m flying them now is when I can get a decent P fare or it’s the only option. The sad truth is that I am treated better on other *A carriers than on United.
May 20, 2019, 12:24 am
#30
Join Date: May 2010
Location: AVP & PEK
Programs: UA 1K 1.8MM
Posts: 6,335