Re:United Airlines awards hackers millions of miles for reve...
by vidarh on Thursday July 16, 2015 @06:48AM
(#9896404)
> and you have to fly united, which for me would kill all the value.
I used to love flying United (note: I mostly flown transatlantic flights with them; only one domestic US flight and the difference was stark), for a simple reason:
While basic economy in United isn't all that great, their frequent flyer program is (or used to be, been a few years) very good in terms of ease of getting upgrades or perks. Getting up in the tiers enough to always get free upgrades to Premium Economy didn't take much, and the top tiers are actually possible to reach if you travel a bit for business, unlike e.g. British Airlines where you practically have to live in the air to get to their higher tiers.
Business on United did not match business on e.g. BA or Virgin, but on the other hand upgrades to business on United was as reliable as clockwork - I got upgrades ca. every 3rd leg once I'd gotten to one of their upper tiers (which includes a multiplier on miles).
If you fly now and again for leisure, base it on what you'll pay for, sure. But if travelling for business, how the upgrades stack up makes a huge difference.
I used to love flying United (note: I mostly flown transatlantic flights with them; only one domestic US flight and the difference was stark), for a simple reason:
While basic economy in United isn't all that great, their frequent flyer program is (or used to be, been a few years) very good in terms of ease of getting upgrades or perks. Getting up in the tiers enough to always get free upgrades to Premium Economy didn't take much, and the top tiers are actually possible to reach if you travel a bit for business, unlike e.g. British Airlines where you practically have to live in the air to get to their higher tiers.
Business on United did not match business on e.g. BA or Virgin, but on the other hand upgrades to business on United was as reliable as clockwork - I got upgrades ca. every 3rd leg once I'd gotten to one of their upper tiers (which includes a multiplier on miles).
If you fly now and again for leisure, base it on what you'll pay for, sure. But if travelling for business, how the upgrades stack up makes a huge difference.