Chris' Newbie Airline of Choice

Important Note: JD and I may talk about the loyalty credit card for our particular airline and hotel in these posts. Credit card sign-up bonuses are an important part of the “game.” Any credit card links in this post will be public application links taken from the issuer's direct website. We do not earn income from you applying from the links. Similarly, please take an extra minute or two before applying for credit cards. If you do not pay your credit card balance off every month then you should stay away from this aspect of the game. Credit cards can lead to major long-term problems if not used correctly. I encourage you to read JD's post on Young People and the Chains of Credit Card Debt for more details. 

Alright it's time to keep this throw down going. JD made some valid points and got a few nods from the judges...but now it's my turn to lay the hammer down. (Stop: Hammer Time? Sorry sorry I digress). 

My newbie airline of choice, and my personal airline of choice, is......United Airlines! 

I miss the Dreamliner 

As you might know United's frequent flyer program is known as MileagePlus and United as an airline is a member of the Star Alliance. When you accumulate United MileagePlus miles you can use them to over 370 destinations worldwide on United or one of their 26 partner airlines. The hubs for United include: Newark's Liberty International Airport, Houston, Cleveland, Denver, Washington Dulles, Los Angeles, Chicago O'Hare and San Francisco. 

Image Via United Airlines 

The wide range in hubs gives United the edge over US Airways, though post merger with American this will change a bit, but for now it offers tons of different choices all over the country. With most flights on US Airways you know you will have to go through one of three locations, with United your options will be much more abundant and should offer more choices in comparison. 

You can access award travel within the continental United States, Canada and Alaska for 12,500 miles each-way in economy and 50,000 miles to Europe in business. I know this is more than US Airways, but what I believe is an advantage is that you can use your miles for a one-way trip. If you only have enough miles for half of the award, you can book half of the award. With US Airways you are stuck until you have enough to get that 110,000 miles to get to Africa via US Airways. With their current credit card sign up bonus and no Grand Slam promotion to earn valuable miles quickly....United is gaining the edge here. 

As with US Airways you can currently use your United miles on any of their Star Alliance partners. I have used United miles to book flights on Lufthansa in the past and in July we will be using our miles to experience the great service on Thai Airways and Singapore Airlines. When US Airways moves to the oneworld alliance they will still have some great redemption options, but I don't think they are quite up to the level of Star Alliance. Especially with the availability in Asia and the South Pacific that Star Alliance has. United wins on this one here in my book as well. 

Like US Airways, United has the option to earn a decent sign up bonus via their MileagePlus Explorer credit card. The current offer is to earn 30,000 MileagePlus points for $1000 in spending during the first three months. The annual fee of $95 is waived for the first year. This card has had much better sign up bonuses in the past, but I have no idea what will happen in the future...but for all of our sakes I hope it goes back up! Where I think the MileagePlus card has the most value if you are a casual traveler is in the benefits. Your first checked bag is free, which is nice if you have to pack a little bit more. Also you are able to have Priority Boarding privileges in Group 2. That's in the same group as me as a Premier Silver and Premier Gold members. You also get two passes a year to the United Club which is a great way to try out the airline club lifestyle without committing to the fee for a full year membership. 

United also has many of the same other ways to earn extra miles that are equivalent to US Airways, like shopping portals and dining rewards so that's a push in my opinion. 

But where I think United has the edge is from the same exact position that JD uses to justify US Airways...the future. United had some growing pains during their merger with Continental and I understand why some long time fliers are angry at them. But they seem to be getting the kinks out and starting to integrate in better ways which is making for a much better airline. US Airways is going to go through those same growing pains (in different ways, of course) when they merge with American Airlines. What this means, we don't really know, but for now I would rather take the airline that is clear of mergers and is finally getting their feet again. That and for the most part the people at United are very nice. There are a few bad apples, as is to be expected, but for the most part their employees are awesome. Though to become a truly awesome airline they HAVE to be better at social media. 

United has been my favorite airline for years now, and was the first one I ever focused on as my only airline giving me the first opportunity to earn status. The earning options, route networks and partner availabilities make them my newbie airline of choice. Plus...when your airline theme song is Rhapsody in Blue...can you really go wrong? 

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