Airline/Hotel Loyalty Programs

[LiveCoug]

Southwest cards are still enough bonus points to fly my family free to California with some left over for my wife and I to do a weekend.

I think it's harder to get companion status now though

[creekster]

Any updates for this thread in the last 3+ years? Any airline loyalty rewards programs get appreciably better or worse?

creekster - does United still suck?

old_gregg - did you get your track day at the nurburgring?

For reasons I won't bore everyone with, I have been travelling on other airlines a bit more than in the past and I still find UAL to be one of my least favorite flying experiences. As before, however, the UAL on-line experience is pretty good and makes it easy to book awards travel.

[Bo Diddley]

For reasons I won't bore everyone with, I have been travelling on other airlines a bit more than in the past and I still find UAL to be one of my least favorite flying experiences. As before, however, the UAL on-line experience is pretty good and makes it easy to book awards travel.

United sucks. American Airlines too. They've been going downhill fast.

[Pelado]

United sucks. American Airlines too. They've been going downhill fast.

So Delta is the only international carrier worth accumulating points toward?

[Bo Diddley]

So Delta is the only international carrier worth accumulating points toward?

Those are just my impressions of them in general. It's been a few years since I've flown internationally with them.

[CJF]

I’ve flown 6 different airlines internationally in the last 12 months or so. United business class is solid. I do like Delta the best of domestic carriers. Cathay is probably my favorite and China Southern my least favorite.

[Katy Lied]

How about Lucky Airlines? With a name like that, you gotta be begging peasants to chuck pennies into the motor.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I’ve flown 6 different airlines internationally in the last 12 months or so. United business class is solid. I do like Delta the best of domestic carriers. Cathay is probably my favorite and China Southern my least favorite.

I hate China Southern.

[Omaha 680]

I can't find it, but I read an article yesterday about how airline loyalty programs are oversaturated so they are making it much more difficult to get reward status so that those with reward status will actually be able to get upgrades, etc. It is almost all about dollars spent now vs miles traveled and the dollars requirements keep going up. Getting to where only the busy business travelers will get status.

After my busiest travel year ever, I got diamond on Delta for the first time ever. Since achieving that level, I'm 0/4 on upgrades. Part of that is moving to SLC where there seems to be much more competition for upgrades than in nyc where business travelers were divided between three major airports and all major airlines. But I think another component is what you mention: there are just a ton more skymiles medallion members now. I also read that delta in particular is pricing first class seats more aggressively to sell them outright leaving fewer complimentary upgrades.

My diamond dreams appear to have been just a mirage!

[Pelado]

United sucks. American Airlines too. They've been going downhill fast.

I’ve flown 6 different airlines internationally in the last 12 months or so. United business class is solid. I do like Delta the best of domestic carriers. Cathay is probably my favorite and China Southern my least favorite.

CJF - any opinion on United economy for international flights? Takes a lot of miles/points to get to business class.

[creekster]

CJF - any opinion on United economy for international flights? Takes a lot of miles/points to get to business class.

I know you didn't ask me, but here it is anyway:

United seat pitch on anything but the 787 is not very good. Plus some of the 777s are pretty old in terms of available amenities (plugs for each seat, etc.).

United meal service is also not very good internationally.

Several of United 's Star Alliance code share partners are better. Air Canada and Swissair, for example. Some are as bad or worse: e.g. AIr Egypt and ANA.

I use United points quite often to go abroad. I look for alliance partners that I like, or I look for United 787s (the Dreamliner remains my favorite plane) and if not I just book it. Bottom line, the flights can be sort of unpleasant, but in the end it is just a handful of hours and then you are wherever it is you want to go.

[CJF]

I haven’t flown economy international in probably 15 years. I’ve been lucky to work for companies that pay for it and status has me upgraded the few times I purchased domestic economy. I’m pretty freaking spoiled at this point.

[Pelado]

I haven’t flown economy international in probably 15 years. I’ve been lucky to work for companies that pay for it and status has me upgraded the few times I purchased domestic economy. I’m pretty freaking spoiled at this point.

Damn. The company I work for is way too cheap to pay anything more than they have to.

[Bo Diddley]

Damn. The company I work for is way too cheap to pay anything more than they have to.

Me too. And sometimes we take the company turbo prop, where it takes forever to get there, and we're packed in there like sardines.

[Copelius]

Me too. And sometimes we take the company turbo prop, where it takes forever to get there, and we're packed in there like sardines.

Brings back memories of my return from Kosovo to Germany.