American AAdvantage (Edit)

American Airlines, the world's largest airline, has one of the strongest frequent flyer programs. AAdvantage provides even the most discriminating passenger a multitude of redemption opportunities and American is one of the few airlines that still offers three classes of service on most international flights. In addition, American is the ONLY airline that allows elite passengers to upgrade on ANY fare purchased directly from the airline or the airline Web site, http://www.aa.com

Features

American has a three-tiered elite structure -- Gold, Platinum, and Executive Platinum. To achieve Gold, a member must fly 25,000 base miles each year, Platinum 50,000, and Executive Platinum 100,000. In the event an elite member does not maintain the threshold each year, their status will go down one level (i.e., ExPlat to Plat and Plat to Gold), unlike other airlines which drop you to the base membership level.

Elite members can also upgrade themselves AND a traveling companion within their upgrade window -- meaning that if a Gold member and an Executive Platinum member are traveling together, both can upgrade at top level together if seats are available; unlike other airlines which only allow day of travel upgrade for companions, if any at all. Upgrade windows are 24 hours for Gold, 72 hours for Platinum, and 100 hours for Executive Platinum. Key point to note -- elite members can upgrade on ANY fare purchased directly from American or AA.com.

Elite passengers traveling on a full Y, B, or M fare can receive complimentary domestic upgrades. This is also extended to their traveling companion on a full Y, B, or M fare. Executive Platinum members may receive complimentary domestic upgrades on any fare.

Special Note -- American is the ONLY airline that allows upgrades on any fare for international travel systemwide (American Airlines planes only). This includes Web Fares.

Pros

Multiple opportunities to redeem miles on other partner carriers. First Class International seats turn into 180 degree flat seats that you can sleep in. Few airlines have flat sleeper seats.American dominates Latin America and flies to many Hawaiian Islands directly.

Cons

Upgrades on domestic/international flights are capacity controlled. American lacks a presence in the Northwest part of the United States. American has a small number of international flights. More cities should be added such as Hong Kong, Amsterdam, Athens, Moscow, etc. AAdvantage does not offer complimentary upgrades on domestic flights like Delta, Continental, or Northwest. American knows it is the 800-pound gorilla and, therefore, the airline doesn't give any breaks on upgrades or eliminating the $100 change fees. Admirals Club charges high annual fees and charges for drinks, unlike Continental and Delta.

United Mileage Plus (Edit)

Overall Mileage Plus does a good job of meeting expectations. Travelers will tend to get better results if they live near a United hub (Washington/Dulles (IAD), San Francisco (SFO), Denver (DEN), Los Angeles (LAX), or Chicago/O'Hare (ORD)), as those areas tend to have more experienced and better trained agents, who most likely deal with more customer service issues than other airports.

Features

At a modest level of travel (25 000 miles/year) one qualifies for Premier status (2P). At this level the traveler is able to pre-board the plane, which is probably the most important travel benefit. They can also select Economy Plus seats, which provide more space than standard coach seats. The traveler also receives a 25% mileage bonus for all travel. This also qualifies as Star Alliance Silver status, with some benefits on other Star Alliance air carriers.

The second level of status, which is also reasonable to obtain (50 000 miles/year), is Premier Executive (1P). At this level the traveler is able to pre-board and earns 100% bonus miles for travel. They are also able to obtain upgrade seats in advance of the flight. This also qualifies as Star Alliance Gold status, with some benefits on other Star Alliance air carriers. A primary benefit of Star Alliance Gold is the ability to access "Star Alliance Gold" lounges at international airports when departing from that airport on an international itinerary.

The top level of normal status is the Premier Executive 1K (1K), which requires 100 000 miles/year. At this level the traveler can pre-board, earns the 100% mileage bonus, receives more upgrades, gains access to a special reservation/help phone number and other privileges. This is also Star Alliance Gold, with some benefits on other Star Alliance air carriers. A primary benefit of Star Alliance Gold is the ability to access "Star Alliance Gold" lounges at international airports when departing from that airport on an international itinerary.

The top level is "Global Services" (GS). United Airlines have not published any way for this status to be earned. Anecdotal reports on FlyerTalk say that if one spends about US$ 30 000 per year on full-fare tickets, one is likely to be offered Global Services status. Other reports indicate that if a medium or large firm has a corporate agreement with UA, then the firm will get several GS cards for use by top management (e.g. CEO). In recent years, GS status also automatically qualifies one with the full 1K benefits, including full Star Alliance Gold benefits.

Pros

At each level of status, the traveler receives access to a phone line that is dedicated to their travel needs. United also looks after its travelers who are not frequent flyers by having targeted promotions from various cities. Even a casual traveler can find ways to increase their mileage balance.

Probably the biggest benefit is that UA generally will not deny boarding to a UA Frequent Flyer if a flight is oversold. Another benefit is that UA staff often will make extra efforts to re-route or otherwise help out a stranded elite traveller during irregular operations (e.g. aircraft mechanical fault, flight cancellation, and/or weather). UA has recently (Spring 2009) restored flexibility to Gate Agents and CSRs in handling irregular operations; this had been restricted a year or two back.

Cons

While there are not too many down sides with United, when the traveler faces one of them, it is usually at a time when the traveler is already in a stressful situation. Among the down sides are 1) lack of space on flights to use miles for award tickets; 2) some customer service representatives do not know the rules of upgrades/fares; and 3) new rules for using upgrades that are covered by vague language.

As with other US-based airlines, different UA agents not uncommonly will give different answers to the same question . If you do not like the first answer given, politely end the conversation, and then call back -- the next agent will probably have a different (possibly better) answer/solution to your problem.