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Mackieman posted:And feel free to ask mileage nerd questions and have those discussions in this thread. The topic is a little to niche to survive as its own thread, I think. We can talk about those topics as much as you like in here, including the wailing and gnashing of teeth when the devaluations roll in as they did over the last couple of weeks for pretty much everyone except AS and AA, mostly because AA hasn't announced anything yet due the merger. And I suppose DL flyers got a slight improvement in their global diamond upgrade certs can now be used on fares lower than Y/B/M. I have some questions I'd like to ask here before I try one of the more popular Internet travel forums. Let me know if any of these are beyond the scope of this thread, or if there are better threads to ask in. 1. What's the deal with boarding zones? I'm inevitably in Zone 5 and last to board. I like to board as soon as possible because I travel light. I don't like the anticipation of sitting around waiting to board, and I always get a twinge of anxiety as I watch people use up all the overhead bin space with their enormous baggage. I'll pay the "board sooner and not get my luggage gate checked" fee if need be, but maybe there's something else I can do to get a different zone. For reference, in case one of these is an automatic Zone 5: sometimes I buy tickets directly through the airline, sometimes through an aggregator. I usually book pretty far in advance. I never check in until I get to the airport. I always use self checkin. I never check any bags. I always go for aisle seats. I try to get get seats near the front of the aircraft. I almost always fly economy. 2. What's the deal with upgrades? At a high level, how do they work? Are they like the normal upsell process, just at the time of departure? Or are the upgrade rates different at the checkin counter? Oooor is it just a matter of asking nicely for a better seat? Just for miles programs members? I literally have no idea what an upgrade is, how much it would cost, or whether I should be trying to get one. 3. What's the deal with mileage programs? The other day I realized I'd randomly purchased about 60,000 miles worth of air travel with United over the last few months. That's definitely an abnormal amount of travel, but someone told me I should sign up with their mileage program. I did enroll, but I have no goddamn idea what, if any, benefits this affords me. United's website is an abomination, and the program description doesn't make any sense at all. From what I can tell, even 60k miles isn't all that much in the scheme of things, and I'd have to sustain that level of travel every year to maintain my status. It all seems like more trouble than it is worth. Again, for reference, I'd rather spend money (within reason) on a smoother air travel experience than my time. $50 fee to board early? Sure. $1000 extra for a first class ticket? No. $8 for an in-flight drink or Internet service? Sure, I guess. Hours of research and/or reimbursed expenses for the same perks via a mileage program? Eh, not worth the effort. Basically, I'd like to know if I'm missing any low hanging fruit as far as the actual airline experience goes. Kobayashi fucked around with this message at 23:46 on Dec 16, 2013 |
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Dec 16, 2013 23:42
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Thanks for the information. I'll keep an eye on my United mileage program, but it doesn't sound like programs in general are really my thing. My goal is to reduce flying to a known, consistent quantity as much as possible. I'd rather know that I can get on the plane, get my seat, and stow my carryon without a gate check than hope for and be disappointed when I don't get an upgrade.
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Dec 17, 2013 05:21
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sellouts posted:I don't think I'm following you. I cannot fathom forfeiting something that you've paid for and earned, especially when in a few years that something can turn into what would cost you tens of thousands of dollars or enable you to do something you wouldn't otherwise be able to do. I'm in the middle of a RTW trip in Business with my wife that has made all of the earned flights and credit card usage worthwhile. Upgrades really aren't worth the fuss. The free ones suck and the paid for ones you almost always know well in advance if you're getting it or not. They don't define any sort of mileage program, they're just a small perk that some people take way too seriously. Let me try to explain. Thanks to the advice I got earlier in this thread, I decided to look more closely at United's mileage program. I have a lot of complaints and questions. Before I call United support, I'd like to get a sense of what to expect from them. Over the past three months, I've flown United three times internationally. The first was "United operated by Lufthansa" on some dilapidated old 747s, with a ticket that someone else put on their card. Does this one qualify for miles if I didn't pay for it directly? If it wasn't operated by United proper? The second was an absolute disaster, but operated by United and paid for directly by me. My plane broke mid-way over the Atlantic, necessitating an emergency, middle-of-the-night landing at LHR. First/business-class customers were quickly assigned to other flights, while I was immediately bussed to an incredibly lovely hotel and given the runaround for 36 hours. The make-up flight taxied for nearly an hour awaiting clearance to pull into a gate. From the time I left my apartment to the time I arrived at my hotel was nearly 52 hours. I missed the first half of an Indian wedding thanks to that flight. To top it off, both legs of the my return flight were delayed. The entire experience was enough to sour me on United forever. The third was just this week to Mexico. The flight there went smoothly enough, but the return trip this morning was a pain-in-the-rear end. I know the storm on the east coast is affecting air traffic all over, but United didn't have any goddamn self-service kiosks at the airport. I had to wait in line for nearly an hour just to declare no bags with hundreds of pissed off passengers from other, canceled flights. The plane boarded on time, but remained at the gate with the door open for an hour because of other passengers stuck in the checkin line. During this time, my DirecTV system was stuck at a loading screen. Minor inconveniences in the scheme of things, but definitely did not do anything to soothe my growing disdain for United. I know this probably sounds dumb, but my natural inclination is to chalk it up to bad experience and leave it at that. Unfortunately, I have another trip to Europe in less than a month. I need to decide whether to use United or another carrier. I've worked with enough bureaucratic companies to know that "customer service" is an empty buzzword and that support organizations are considered cost centers. So it comes down to whether I should expect United's support to give a poo poo about the bad experiences I've had so far. I'd define "giving a poo poo" as any of the following:
That's the difference right now between giving United my loyalty in the future, even if they're not the cheapest option, and continuing to troll for the the lowest fares, hoping for the best. I'd like to think United wants my business, but everything I've seen leads me to believe I don't spend nearly enough money for them to offer anything other than empty platitudes.
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Jan 6, 2014 03:52
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Thanks for the quick and detailed feedback, this is exactly what I was looking for. The combination of bad experiences and byzantine policies made it tough to know what to focus on. I'm going to try to get United to acknowledge my previous flights onto my account -- I save all my travel documents in lieu of souvenirs so it shouldn't be hard to prove -- and let the rest slide. Adjusted for inflation, I know I'm paying like a tenth of what people used to pay when actual customer service mattered. Plus there's so much other bullshit with airport security, finding usable WiFi, other passengers, customs, terrible food, and weather that flying will never be something I look forward to. Mackieman posted:No US-based airline will have kiosks for check in for an international inbound flight. This is because of the passport and security check that must be performed based on FAA, TSA, and CBP regulations. It has nothing to do with UA and everything to do with what UA is required to do by the federal government. Are you sure you about that? Because I'm almost positive I've self-checked in myself (using the built-in passport scanner) every other time I've flown back to the US. In fact, I specifically remember seeing US Airways as one of the touch screen option. I think all the other US majors were on there too, but I could be mistaken. Regardless, no one else was backed up. It was just United. And yeah, I know it was the storm, so I don't blame for that. Actually, now that I think about it, I was hoping to eliminate the airport checkin altogether. Every other goddamn passenger around me seems to have figured out how to get their boarding pass on their smartphone, or print it out at home, so what am I doing wrong?
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Jan 6, 2014 06:13
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Just thought I'd provide an update: After a number of (unsuccessful) attempts to get credit for my flights through the United website, their phone support was able to help out. I'm still waiting on one leg of my travel from a partner airline, but I now officially have United Plus silver status, which I suppose is better than nothing. Thanks for the help.
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Jan 17, 2014 15:46
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LaserWash posted:
Are you making a moral argument, or did you get bitten by inactivity fees or something? If it's the latter, then I would like to know what happened.
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Jan 23, 2014 02:33
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One thing I've learned:
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What's the security like for TSA Precheck? Do you still have to do those full body scanners, or is it traditional walkthrough X-ray? I'm thinking about applying to the Global Entry program, but I'm not sure if it's worth it if there's still a full body scan, as I always opt for the manual screening. E: While the fast Customs clearance is a certainly appeal, I'm applying mainly for the domestic TSA Precheck benefits.
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Apr 3, 2014 16:22
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I just booked a flight from the US to Europe on “Iberia, operated by American Airlines.” I have Global Entry and was hoping for TSA Pre-check on my departing flight. I didn’t see a place to enter a Known Traveler Number though, only a Redress Number. I know only domestic airlines participate in Pre-check, but thought that maybe “operated by American Airlines” would be useful. Is there a way to get Pre-check for this outgoing international flight, or am I basically out of luck?
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Oct 6, 2015 22:38
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