yousavvy

I've given up a lot on United the past couple of years for AA. I got Turkish Airlines to status match me to the mid level - Elite or Star Alliance Gold.

I was wondering a couple things.

1) Can star alliance gold reserve economy plus and/or emergency exit

2) The website is a bit unclear on checked baggage. Am I allowed 1 checked in bag, or 3 as I would be as a united mid level premiere.

2a.) Does that extra luggage, if only one stack onto my United Explorer chase allowance of 1 bag, giving me in essence 2 checked bags

3) Are there any options for same day standby on alternate flights with star alliance gold?

I found a list of benefits here, but I thought it was different before:
http://www.united.com/web/en-US/cont...ralliance.aspx

I am really glad to have the lounge access from my star alliance gold match

The trouble is that I am flying out to Burning Man on United, and I anticipate a minimum of 2 checked bags with all my gear.

Thanks for any help

aacharya

1) No, but you can ask, and YMMV.

2) You are allowed 2 extra bags above the normal allowance as a *G. UA
gives one bag extra for *G. Three free bags.

2a.) No.

Did you even try this link?

http://www.united.com/CMS/en-US/trav...edBaggage.aspx

yousavvy

Thanks, that link helped clarify the baggage situation. So the gold and credit card stack to 3 bags That should be enough.

Disappointed with not being able to get the econmoy plus/exit seating that was one of the main reasons for matching on turkish airlines.

Last question. If I fly with my United Plus number and accumulate there, can I still get lounge access through the turkish elite card?

Thanks you very much for your help. I have not vested much time in the new united...

Scottrick

E+ at time of booking and exit row seating are benefits of MileagePlus Premier Gold status and higher. They are not benefits of Star Alliance Gold status. If you want E+, you need to fly 50K miles and credit them to United, not Turkish.

aacharya

No, the credit card and gold status do not stack. Your *A gold alone gives you three bags.

If you fly with your UA number, you 'might' be able to access the lounge, since you have a *G card....but then the numbers don't match. In old UA this was okay. But I'd say you've got a good chance of getting in.

You also know that you get domestic lounge access as a non-US FF *G?

emcampbe

OP should have no problem getting lounge access. Shouldn't matter what the account on the reservation is - a valid *G card and same day * BP is all that is needed.

dparkinson

The reason UA doesn't give E+ to *Gs is because they didn't want US and AC *Gs hogging the E+ they could be up selling. That being said, if at time of departure there are empty seats, the GA may be nice. Just make sure to approach when they look least flustered.

docbert

Whilst that might be the case now, it's not the reason they stopped doing it. Until about 2005 both *G and B-or-higher fare classes were given E+ access. They stopped it well before they started offering E+ as a paid product.

yousavvy

Thanks, this will change my strategy for United. The last two years I had Continental top status on a match. Now with Turkish Airlines I have gold on star through August of 2014. If I funnel 37.5k miles in the next two years, it's extended until 2016 Pretty nice for the lounge access and baggage alone.

However, without E+ being an option,,, I may have to put enough miles on united to keep that option alive.. at least same day with 25k. 50k may be a stretch, while re-qualifying for AA EXP

kevincrumbs

I've always thought that another reason is to prevent the exodus of frequent fliers to other *A programs, which would also explain the whole four segments a year requirement now. If other *A programs allowed access to E+ as *G (or even *S T-24), I would've jumped ship to AC or US by now and I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way.

cuto

Hm, I'm actually thinking the opposite, jumping from AC to UA...but most of the folks in this forum seem to be PO'd at the way things are running with UA. Hm...what to do.

Anyhow, I can confirm that E+ is not giving to *G, which my dad has. He was about to fly out to HK today on UA from YOW>ORD>HKG was denied giving E+ after calling in yesterday. After a few delays, he was re-routed to fly to HK via AC.

EsherFlyer

I haven't flown UA for a few years, and as I have a new set of flights to schedule am wondering how the merger has affected the reality of *G benefits for non-UA MP members.

When I flew UA fairly regularly ~2008 they seemed pretty generous towards my BD *S (and then *G) in letting me into E+, early boarding, etc. A little later on they tightened up a bit, and only appeared to be offering the defined *G benefits. I've no problem with this, and its good that they are looking after their own members.

But has it been noticeably better or worse for 'foreign' *Gs on UA recently? If it's unchanged I may stick with AC, although I've heard good enough things about UA TATL that I would like to find a good reason to try it .

WineCountryUA

unchanged is probably the most accurate summary -- limited to standard *G benefits (but occansionally a goodwill act). If you looking for a free E+ access, that is unlikley.

EsherFlyer

No, not expecting that, as that was tightened up some time ago. But not sure if there were other benefits that I took for granted that might have disappeared.

Thanks for the general update.

Gutenstein

As of October 17th UA's baggage calculator indicates Star Alliance Gold members receive only ONE checked bag up to 50lbs on domestic itineraries. Previously *Gs were afforded THREE checked bags up to 70lbs each.

This is the most significant devaluation of *G benefits by United in recent history.

What gives?