United Credit Card

[PigDogg]

(LoveYouLongTime @ Dec. 10 2008,20:36) but because I am flying on my return flight on United I can change the date without any $ penalty.

Interesting. I had always thought there was a penalty especially after one has flown the first leg.

But all my prior United redemptions have been on Thai or Sing so perhaps that was the reason.

[LoveYouLongTime]

Yes...there would have been a $ penalty if I flew back on Thai or Singapore. But because my miles were earned with UA, they said I can change the return date...if they have available seats.

[hoover69]

(El_hefe @ Dec. 07 2008,21:12) Sometimes on empty flights I snag 4 seats in a row and lie down  





Trying to remember the last time I saw 3-4 empty seats in a row.... maybe in the '90's?

You obviously haven't flown Thai LHR-BKK   BKK-LHR in the last 6 months

[EyeMahk]

(LoveYouLongTime @ Dec. 11 2008,17:46) Yes...there would have been a $ penalty if I flew back on Thai or Singapore.  But because my miles were earned with UA, they said I can change the return date...if they have available seats.

If the entire itinerary is on UA planes (no other star alliance flights), then the return can be changed. If there are any non-UA segments on the saver award ticket, the return cannot be changed at all once travel begins.

[dummy_plug]

Just checked UA recently and they opened up a lot of saver inventory for SFO to BKK flights in April, May, and June. Basically any dates to/from are only 60k round-trip. This is pretty rare. It would seem that maybe other departure locations from the US might have similar fortune if they look now!

[jhcal26]

I've made 3 roundtrips from LAX to BKK on Evaair. All 3 times I included my FF account number when I booked online. Apart from that I didn't do anything else. Now my mileage doesn't show up (only 1000 for signing up). I wonder if I'll get the flights credited to me.

[rxpharm]

jhcal26, how long ago did you make these flights? Some FF programs take a while to credit the mileage. If it has been a while, did you save your tickets and boarding passes? Most programs will allow you to submit claims for missing credits, but you need to send documents in - typically you have 6-12 months to submit depending on your FF program.

Ask your FF support program to determine what is going on, and submit your claims if the credits were not applied to your account.

Good luck and hope it all works out for you.

[deepthroat]

Guys, I have no experience using United's frequent flier program for LOS, but I've had great luck using Alaska Airlines and their partner program with Cathay Pacific. They have other international partners as well but I've loved Cathay so I've stuck with it.

What I've found in booking LOS from Seattle is that I either have to book it way in advance (10-11 months) or book it at the last minute - like within a week of travel. Now, I should note that I'm only talking about booking free BUSINESS CLASS roundtrips, it might be easier to book in coach, but I'm using my miles for Biz Class.

On my first trip, I booked the entire trip about 10 months in advance, but one leg was full (BKK to Hong Kong on the return trip) so I had to wait until about 10 days before departure, when a bunch of Frequent Flier seats where opened up by Cathay for Alaska Air to use.

I think that's probably typical - they have a few seats available and you have to book them immediately when they are first released, then the hold all the other seats for paying customers up until a week or 10 days before departure. If there's still a bunch of unsold seats, then they open them up for FF clients.

[bigtimetshunter]

^I'm moving to Seattle at the end of this year. I'll likely pick up Alaska's frequent flier card and try to master what you've done; especially buying the mileage. That's a great little play.

[Bumpa STIKKA]

Take an umbrella, mate!

[bigtimetshunter]

I know, I know. Not looking forward to that part but it's actually a pretty cool little city. I'm coming from San Francisco so a bit spoiled now. It's a great opportunity career wise and should put me on the faster track to leaving it all behind in another 10 years or so if I want to go that route. With a postive attitude I think I'll be just fine.

[PigDogg]

An added bonus is no state income tax so some Californians who move to Thailand make a pit stop in Washingtonor Nevada first.

[bigtimetshunter]

Good point! I was looking at my paycheck today thinking the same thing. The folks that really game it live in Vancouver, WA, and drive over the border to Oregon to do all their shopping because of no state sales tax!