Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Journey to Top Elite Status on American and United Airlines UPDATE January 2012

After traveling these last 2 weeks that includes 4 DFW-SFO trips on American, a quick one day trip to Paris on American and a DFW-HNL on United... here's my progress to American Airlines Executive Platinum Status and United Premier 1K status for 2013 benefits.

I'm already half way there to AA Executive Platinum due to 2 promotions.  I am off to a great start in 2012!



United Airlines
American Airlines
January
Premier Qualifying Miles – 7,726
Premier Qualifying Segments – 4 
Redeemable Miles – 15,452
Elite Qualifying Miles – 54,942
Elite Qualifying Segments – 11
Redeemable Miles – 46,158
Remainder Needed
Premier Qualifying Miles – 92,274
Premier Qualifying Segments – 116

Elite Qualifying Miles – 45,058
Elite Qualifying Segments – 89
February
DFW-HNL Trip
SFO-MIA Trip
2 DFW-SFO Trips
SFO-BOS Trip

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Comparing American Airlines and (New Merged) United Airlines

Being a top elite member at both American and United/Continental Airlines and having flown over 250,000 miles last year on them, I feel that I have a good grasp about the differences that have in their loyalty program and their flight experience.  The new combine United Airlines has a more extensive route-map out of all the US carriers and is the biggest airline after dethroning the merged Delta-Northwest Airlines.  American Airlines is in the middle of Chapter 11 Bankruptcy so it will be interest to see what happens the next 2 years.


United Airlines
American Airlines
Hubs
SFO- San Francisco
LAX- Los Angeles
DEN-Denver
IAH-Houston
ORD- Chicago
CLE-Cleveland
IAD-Washington DC
EWR- New Jersey/New York
NRT- Tokyo
GUM- Guam
DFW- Dallas/Fort Worth
LAX- Los Angeles
ORD- Chicago
JFK- New York
MIA- Miami

Focus Cities: SJU- San Juan, Puerto Rico
RDU- Raleigh/Durham (LHR flight)
LGA- New York
BOS- Boston (LHR/CDG flights)
Mainline Aircrafts
Airbus 319
Airbus 320
Boeing 747
Boeing 757
Boeing 767
Boeing 777
Boeing 787 (expected)
Boeing 737
Boeing 757
Boeing 767
Boeing 777
McDonnell Douglas 80
Boeing 787 (expected)
Airbus 321 NEO (expected)
Routes
Asia (Good- NRT Hub)
Micronesia (Strong- Guam Hub)
Hawaii (Strong)
Australia/New Zealand (Cairns/Sydney/Melbourne and Auckland planned)
South America (Good)
Caribbean (Good)
Africa (Lagos/Accra and Cairo planned)
Middle East (Kuwait City/Dubai/Bahrain/Tel Aviv/Riyadh/Istanbul)
Europe (Extensive)
Asia (Limited- NRT/PVG/PEK only)*
South America (Extensive)
Caribbean (Good)
Europe (Good)
Hawaii (limited to DFW/LAX/ORD seasonal)
Elite Tiers
Premier Silver
Premier Gold
Premier Platinum
Premier 1K
Global Services (invitation only)
Gold
Platinum
Executive Platinum
Concierge Key (invitation only)
Alliance Partners
Star Alliance
 (Adria, Aegean, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Blue1, British Midland Airlines‡, Brussels Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EgyptAir, Ethiopian, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Spanair, Swiss, TAM, TAP Portugal, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines and US Airways.
Elect members
(COPA, TACA & Avianca joining 4/2012) (Shenzhen Airlines Joining late 2012)

(EVA Air joining 2013)
OneWorld Alliance
 (Air Berlin, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN, Malev, Mexicana†, QANTAS, Royal Jordanian and S7.
Elect Members
 (Kingfisher Airlines on hold)
(Malaysian Airlines joining late 2012)
Joint Business Venture
Lufthansa (Trans-Atlantic)
All Nippon Airways (Trans-Pacific)
British Airways (Trans-Atlantic)
Iberia (Trans-Atlantic)
Japan Airlines (Trans-Pacific)
QANTAS (Trans-Pacific)
Upgrades
Complimentary Domestic Upgrades for North & Central America and Northern South America and Intra-Asia/Oceana
(except BusinessFirst Hawaii flights from DEN/EWR/IAH/IAD
and NRT-BKK/SIN and HNL-GUM)
Regional Upgrade- All the above plus P.S. Flights and Hawaii-DEN/EWR/IAH/IAD
Global Premier Upgrade- Any flight (with fare class restrictions)
Gold/Platinum- 500 mile stickers required for Domestic / Canada / Mexico / Central America
Executive Platinum- Complimentary for Domestic / Canada / Mexico / Central America
System Wide Upgrades-good for 3 segments for one-way trip and no fare restrictions
Million Miler Program
1 Million- Premier Gold
2 Million- Premier Platinum
3 Million- Premier 1K
4 Million- Global services
1 Million- Lifetime Gold, luggage Tags / 35,000 award miles
2 Million- Lifetime Platinum, luggage Tags / 4 System Wide Upgrades
Each additional million- Luggage Tags / 4 System Wide Upgrades
Elite Benefits
All Elites
 Premier Access
Complimentary Domestic Upgrade
Free Companion Upgrade
Drink Vouchers
500 mile minimum guarantee on flights
All Elites
Priority AAccess
Free Stand By
Waived Quick Award Ticketing Fee
2 Free baggage domestically
Dynamic Air Awards
500 mile minimum guarantee on flights
Premier Silver (Star Silver)
25% bonus for flown miles
Upgrade clears on day of travel
Free Economy Plus seat day of travel
1 Free baggage domestically
Gold (OneWorld Ruby)
25% bonus for flown miles
Upgrade clears within 24 hours of flight
Free priority seat at booking
Business Class Check in counter
Premier Gold (Star Gold)
50% bonus for flown miles
Free Stand By
Free Route Change
Upgrade clears within 48 hours of flight
Free Economy Plus seat at booking
2 Free baggage domestically
Priority Baggage Handling
International Business Lounge Access
Platinum(OneWorld Sapphire)
100% bonus for flown miles
Upgrade clears within 72 hours of flight
Free priority seat at booking
2 Free baggage domestically
International Business Lounge Access
First Class Check in counter
Premier Platinum (Star Gold)
75% bonus for flown miles
Free Stand By
Upgrade clears within 72 hours of flight
Free Economy Plus seat at booking
2 Free baggage domestically
Priority Baggage Handling
International Business Lounge Access Free Route Change
Free Award Changes
Free Award Redeposits
Global Entry fee reimbursement
2 Regional Upgrades
Executive Platinum (OneWorld Emerald)

100% bonus for flown miles
Upgrade clears within 100 hours of flight
Free Exit Row/Priority seats at booking
Priority Baggage Handling
International Business Lounge Access
Dedicated Call Center
First Class Check in counter
Free Award Routing Changes
Free Award Redeposits
8 System Wide Upgrades
Free buy-onboard food and drinks in Main Cabin on all American Operated and American Eagle Operated Flights
Expanded SAAver Award availability
Advance seat requests on all British Airways and Cathay Pacific operated flights
Premier 1K (Star Gold)

100% bonus for flown miles
Free Stand By
Upgrade clears within 96 hours of flight
Free Economy Plus seat at booking
2 Free baggage domestically
Priority Baggage Handling
International Business Lounge Access Free Route Change
Dedicated Call Center
Free Award Changes
Free Award Redeposits
Global Entry fee reimbursement
4 Regional Upgrades₸
6 System Wide Upgrades₸
Award
Rules
No fuel surcharges on any award flight
Any routing  permitted as long as it does not exceed more 15% of the Maximum Permitted Mileage
Two stopovers and/or open jaw allowed on roundtrip travel
Chase credit card holders are eligible for free domestic upgrades on economy cabin redemptions (space permitting)
Redeeming AAdvantage miles on British Airways flights incurs fuel surcharge.
Routing using miles is limited to actual published revenue ticket routing
(PVG-NRT-HNL-DFW is not permitted since Japan Airlines nor American Airlines do not publish this routing for purchase)
OneWorld Award (based on flight distance zones) allows up to 16 segments (great for travel within Europe) over a one year period

US to Asia 2 (HKG) can connect in Asia 1 (NRT) but US to Asia 1 (NRT) cannot connect in Asia 2 (HKG) as one award (will require 2 separate awards)
Free 1 year stopover allowed only at US gateway for international itineraries (LAX/DFW/ORD/MIA/JFK/RDU/BOS) otherwise it requires 2 awards
US to India is valid for Crossing the Pacific Ocean only (traveling transpacific by connecting in LHR but if using AUH or NRT or HKG requires 2 separate awards)
US to Australia cannot connect in Asia
US to Africa can connect in Europe only
South America to Asia requires 2 separate awards

*ORD-DEL (Chicago to New Delhi) route discontinued as of March 1, 2012
† Recently Defunct Airlines
‡British Midland Airlines sold to IAG (parent company of British Airways and Iberia)
₸ Can earn additional for flying above thresholds

Friday, January 13, 2012

A few hours in Honolulu During January


The day started pretty early with a wake up time of 5AM for me.  It was a bit early but not something I am not used to now since I pretty much get up at 5:30AM pretty much every day.  I parked at The Parking Spot and then took the shuttle to Terminal E and my driver did not know what gate United flights depart.  He drove all the way to the Delta gates and then circled back around to the United Airlines gates.  There were no lines at the security and I went through with no wait or hassle besides the nude-o-scopes.  I stopped by the United Club to chat with my favorite agent, Jean, who enjoyed the chocolate-covered macadamia nuts that I gave her a month ago during my last United flight a month ago.  I grabbed an apple and filled up my water bottle before heading off to board my flight.

We departed from gate E5 on an Airbus A320 aircraft.  My complimentary First Class upgrade had cleared about 4 days before the departure time and I got my favorite seat 2E on the aircraft.  We were offered pre-departure beverages of orange juice or water (I chose the latter).  There is a new welcome video shown and the safety video has been updated for the merger alignment meaning, it should be shown on all United and Continental operated flights.  I drank Coke Zero with my breakfast that consisted of: corn flakes, 2% milk, banana, croissant, sausage, egg omelet, cherry tomato, and broccoli/potato cake.  The sausage was not well done in my opinion but the breakfast was just ok.  For the inflight entertainment an episode of Up All Night was shown followed by the movie, Moneyball, which I skipped.  For the rest of the flight, I worked on catching up on my blogging and then watched episodes of TV shows.



We arrived into SFO about 10 minutes early and the aircraft was parked at the International Terminal since was heading to Puerto Vallarta later.  I took the opportunity to use the United Club nearby since I usually visit the only near gate 80 most of the time.  The international section terminal is about a 10 minutes’ walk to most gates that United Airlines flies out of at SFO.

Just to compare this flight with the same route (DFW-SFO) that I took on American Airlines last week.
United Airlines
American Airlines
Airbus 320
12 First Class Seats
No in-seat power
Complimentary headphones
Full breakfast
No Wifi
Boeing 737
16 First Class Seats 
DC power supply
Complimentary earbuds
Cereal or omelet option
GoGo wifi (for a fee)

I had about a 90 minute layover so I took that time to surf on the internet while charging my iPhone and laptop.  Once 9:10AM hit, I left the club and headed off to gate 82 for my connecting flight to Honolulu. By the time I arrived at the gate, general boarding was just starting.  I took my spot on the Red Carpet (it exists for now) and the agent asked if I was First Class or premier.  I merely flashed my boarding pass and give it for him to scan. Since the aircraft was a 777, we boarded using both doors and the path to First Class was wide open.  I sat in seat 6B in the very last roll of First with a very full cabin of 32 passengers.  


Pre-departure beverages of champagne, water, and orange juice were offered.  After taking off, the drink and hot nuts service began promptly.  The purser came by and greeted each passenger by name and took our lunch orders.  We had an option of teriyaki chicken/macadamia with rice or the sea bass with mushrooms.  They were both served with a green salad, bread, and an oatmeal raisin cookie.  I enjoyed the Trader Vic’s Mai Tai on this flight as it is a Hawaii flight exclusive.  The purser played the drink down and told me it was not as good as the one they used to serve.  She asked if it was possible for me to write a letter to United and ask them to bring the other one back.  I did not think the drink was bad and enjoyed it very much especially the pineapple spear and cherry that came with the drink stirrer.  



The movie shown on the flight was Dolphin Tale along with episodes of Up All Night, The Mentalist, Mike & Molly, and How I Met Your Mother.  The Halfway to Hawaii game was done and the prize this time was a Hawaii guidebook from Lonely Planet (which is better than the Hawaiian Music CD given out last year).  I guessed a halfway point time of 11:03AM but the correct answer was 10:56AM of which I was really close.  I had a good conversation with my seat mate, a civil engineer, traveling to Guam for a work project on the island’s new landfill dump.  After eating, I napped for a bit and watched some TV.  We arrived about 10 minutes early into a beautiful day at Honolulu Airport.

After departing from the plane, I headed towards the new Admiral’s Club co-located with Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge.  It was great seeing Tempy, one my favorite agents, with a smiling face that greeted me.  She asked how my holidays were and how long has it been since I visited them (6 months!) in the old location.  We chatted for about 30 minutes about the relocation, bankruptcy, and the job security for the staff there.  This location is closer to the AA gates but lacks a showering facility.  The old lounge is operated solely by QANTAS 3 mornings a week and is closed for the remainder of the time. 

The Sakura lounge used to be 2 separate sections but now is connected from both sides forming a circle.  The left side was a business arrangement overlooking the garden outside with cubicle style seating along the perimeter.  There were plenty of seating with this area and there was a small room with 2 computer desktops for use.  There was a cooler that housed beer and canned green tea.  There was a juice and soda machine and a coffee machine was well next to it.  The food options were sparse but they included: Chex Mix, soup, and cake wedges.  When I got there initially, Chicken Noodle soup was available and then it switched to vegetable soup when I went back for seconds 2 hours later.  The wifi was good but I was not able to locate it using my iPad.  The other half of the lounge had a room set up for small children and then there was a circular room that was set up like a dining room.  The same food and drink options were available here as well.  I stayed for about 2 hours at the lounge making phone calls and using the internet while enjoying the beautiful view.


I left at about 5PM for the bus stop located in front of the Airport.  I waited for about 15 minutes to catch one of the buses to the Ala Moana shopping center.  I headed to Walmart to buy some souvenirs and macadamia nuts.  While waiting for the bus, I noticed that my Hilton HHonors points had posted from my American Express Credit Card spending.  I called reservations to have my 3rd night in Toyko at the Conrad Hotel booked using 50,000 points.  Since I booked 2 nights already using my Hilton 2011 Q4 promotion that allowed me to earn 2 free nights at ANY Hilton property, adding a 3rd night was not a problem as I was afraid that there would be no space left.  After this redemption, I have almost no points left so my account looked very sad having drained it almost completely.  This is my first time redeeming for a hotel stay but it will be worth it as the Conrad runs about $400 a night after taxes.   I am sure I will continue to earn more points in the future as this no fee credit card allows me to earn 6 points for all purchases at Hilton, grocery stores, and internet/phone bill.

After I finished shopping and checked out, I went by the food court at the Ala Moana Shopping Center for some dinner.  I got some Thai food and it was ok, nothing spectacular to write home about either.  It was not good as the Panda Express in my opinion and I will try the Vietnamese food next time.  I waited for the bus on the other side of the mall to return to the airport.  I waited for about 15 minutes for the bus to arrive and we got moved further down the waiting area by a policeman since there was construction right in front of the bus stop.  I used my free bus transfer pass from the earlier ticket purchase so I spent $2.50 for a quick trip from the airport to (almost) Wakiki area and return.  I made it back to the airport with about 90 minutes before departure.  Check-in looked like a big mess and I used a machine to print out my boarding pass and went straight to security area.  Nothing exciting at screening with the exception of using a nude-o-scope and the agents are pretty friendly in Honolulu.  I stopped by the United Club to change into my winter clothes and tried to use the wifi but could not get it to work.  I accidently dropped my boarding pass in the sink and had to ask one of the agents in the club to reprint it for me so I did not have to mess with the wet paper.

We were schedule to board at 9:20PM local time and I arrived at gate 7 at that time amongst a huge crowd of people.  We boarded by Global Services/military and then followed by First class/Premier 1K/Presidential Platinum/Platinum.  It was a big mad dash for these two cluster groups.  Pre-departure beverages were given and we had a few stragglers come onboard.  I fell asleep during take-off but woke up during the meal service.  Our choice this evening was the Caprice Sandwich of cheese and tomatoes served with strawberries or a grilled chicken served with tortellini, pine nuts, and olives.  They were offered with a cheese/cracker combo and a prepackaged brownie dessert.  This is the 3rd time within a year’s time frame that I flew United to Honolulu and the dinner options still have not changed surprisingly.  The movie shown on this flight was, One Day, starring Anne Hathaway which did not seem that interesting to me.  


After dinner service, I managed to blog a bit until I got tired and fell asleep as I was quite exhausted by that time.  The man across the aisle from me dropped his glass with a big crash.  Two flight attendants rushed to go clean it up and tried their best to grab all the splinters off the ground.  One even put a blanket on the floor in case anyone walking around in their socks would not step on it and cut themselves.  For reasons such as this, one should NEVER walk around barefoot even on an airplane.  I always carry a pair of hotel slippers for on board use when traveling internationally when the airline does not provide them.  I was impressed on how prompt the flight attendants responded to the mess that I gave each of them a “going the extra mile” appreciation certificate from my Elite credential packet.  They appreciated the gesture and were happy that I took the time to fill out one of the cards for each of them.  The rest of the flight was pretty uneventful and we even arrived with a smooth landing into San Francisco Airport Gate 82 a few minutes early at the early time of 4:50AM.


I headed towards the Domestic United Club to relax during my 3 hour layover in SFO to both use the Wi-Fi there and to grab some breakfast before my flight back to Dallas.  I saw a woman sleeping on one of the chairs with a familiar blue blanket, taken off an United plane, wrapped around her.  Not only was that tacky, she also placed her feet with shoes on resting on a table.  It gets even better; she apparently was not comfortable enough… so she proceeds to sleep on the ground.  At 7:45AM, I set off towards Gate 73A towards an Airbus 319 aircraft back to Dallas.  By the time I arrived at the gate; the general boarding had begun.  I wanted to make sure I had overhead space for my duffle bag full of swag I purchased from Walmart.  We initially were set to be arriving a few minutes early but due to a late departure; we would be arriving 15 minutes late into Dallas at 2:05PM (45 minutes before my American Airlines flight departing for SFO at Terminal A).  I was a little worry that I will be pushing it and might not even have overhead space because boarding would commence at 2:15PM.

We had a rough start at the beginning of the flight from turbulence and it came back after the breakfast service.  Breakfast was a croissant, sausage, egg omelet, cherry tomato, fruit bowl (pineapple / honeydew melon / grapes) and potato cake.  The other option was croissant, corn flakes, 2% milk, fruit bowl, and yogurt.  The funny thing is that the crew I had for this flight was the same one I flew on the outbound the day before.  The movie shown on this flight was Real Steel and I once again, skipped watching it, worked on blogging and catch up on my TV shows. We arrived a few minutes late into DFW Gate E5 and I headed off to the skylink towards Terminal C to board my American Flight.

I received a text message letting me know that my flight originally scheduled to leave at 2:50PM is now departing at 3:21PM.  I headed off to the Admiral’s Club at C19 to use the internet and during that time, I received another text stating that the new departure time will be 3:30PM.  At 3PM, I left the Admiral’s Club and headed off towards my gate which took about a 5 minute walk and by the time got to the gate, the general boarding had just started.  I was the last passenger to board First Class and I noticed that my seat of 6E was occupied.  The woman wanted to switch her window seat 6A with me so she could sit wither her friend.  Although I was not very happy with the fact that she sat in my seat instead of waiting for me to board first and then approach me, I went ahead and gave it to her.   I prefer the aisle seat for easy access for the bathroom and for getting off the plane.  The flight was oversold but they had already gotten enough volunteers so I did not get a chance to take a bump.  After boarding, I was offered a pre-departure beverage (not sure if it was the fact that I boarded late).  I dozed off a bit during take-off as I was still tired from all the flying around these 2 days. 

The captain came on to let us know that we will be arriving 30-40 minutes late due to the fact that we had to wait for a new 737 plane since anther flight went mechanical and took our plane.  The joys of American Airlines… a lot of issues with the older planes and having to fix them… I can hardly wait for the new fleet to come in and replaces these old, inefficient, prone-to-breaking gas guzzlers.  After we took off, the hut nuts and beverage service was started promptly and the movie shown on-board was Real Steal.  Even without actually watching it, I got the gist of the movie plot.  I worked on more blogging and caught up on more TV shows. 


The dinner options on this flight were: Grilled Salmon on green salad (green/yellow peppers, sugar snap peas, cilantro, and green onions) served with Oriental Sesame Dressing, Stacy’s Pita Chips, hummus and Wonton Strips or a chicken/cheese sandwich served with Stacy’s Pita Chips, hummus, and a green side salad.  I got the Salmon salad and with was really good especially the sesame dressing.  The only thing I think can be improved would be that the fishy could be less salty. The sweetness from the dressing did not jive with the saltiness from the salmon.  The sandwich looked really greasy and would be the unhealthy option.  The dinner service was quick and fast served from a tray instead of bringing it from the galley.  The flight attendant came by to collect the dinner trays and passed out our dessert: chocolate chip cookies (I declined).


We arrived into SFO Gate 85 about 40 minutes late.  I got off the plane and went to the Admiral’s Club to use the internet and the facilities.  The return flight AA 384 was scheduled to leave at 5:15PM but due to the late arrival of the inbound aircraft, we were departing at 5:45PM.  I left the Admiral’s Club at 5:20PM and by the time I got to the boarding area, the agent called for First Class and Executive Platinum members so that there was a mad dash for boarding from the group.  I noticed that on the jet bridge, the woman in front of me was Executive Platinum and had bought a M fare (almost full economy ticket) but was seated in row 10.  That means that even though she bought an expensive ticket, she was not upgraded since the upgrades cleared base on the time of request (usually at booking). 

No pre-departure beverages were offered and we took off after the Virgin America flight flying the same route.  The beverage and hot nuts service began promptly after we reached a cruising altitude.  During the dinner service, we hit a patch of rough air and the flight was very bumpy & choppy.  The meal service as delayed as the first half of the cabin got their meals while we waited until the air smoothed out.  


Dinner options were: a shrimp appetizer with cocktail sauce, side Caesar salad, bread and a choice of Tortellini with mushroom sauce or chicken with bĂ©arnaise sauce/rice/lima beans.  I chose the latter option as I have bad experiences with pasta dishes in the past on American.  The rule is if it is a red (tomato) based sauce- it will be good and it is a white sauce- skip it!  By the time I got my food, it was still bumpy and I sat there wanting to eat for about 5 minutes waiting for the turbulence to pass.  The food was not bad and it was certainly not the worst food I have eaten.  The movie option on this was Dolphin Tale and I passed on it once again. 




Dessert on this flight was a choice of a cheese/cracker/grape plate or ice cream with raspberry sauce and cheesecake bites.  I cannot say no to ice cream so it was very good (beats a cookie any day). The rest of the plane ride was uneventful and we landed at DFW Terminal C.  I called the parking spot to have them pick me up and drop me off at my car.