Miles/FF?

IfferMarie

I am new to the miles/rewards thing. We had been flying a lot and happened to be flying with United quite a bit so we got the United Chase card. We earn points on flights and money spent on the card but we also have Frequent Flyer miles. What is the difference and how do you all best utilize your miles?

I am also getting ready to take a last minute trip and the price difference between other airlines and United is like...$200 so I am thinking of just going with a different airline. I would still use my United card to purchase the flight which get me points but I really don't understand the points, the FF, status etc.

Can someone help break it down for me?

Jells2dot0

I'm an elite United flyer. I am crossing my fingers for Platinum status this year. It's gonna be close!!! Your Chase use miles should deposit right into your United MileagePlus account. Any miles you earn on your CC will not count toward elite status (unless you have the Presidential card) but they will count toward the balance of using miles for a trip. When you are ready to book travel using your miles, United will pull from your MP account. They have charts on their website of how many miles it takes to book certain trips. To earn status with the airline, you have to fly a certain number of miles each year on United or one of the Star Alliance carriers. Silver status requires 25K miles, Gold requires 50K miles, Platinum 75K miles, and 1K 100,000 miles. Again, you cannot earn status just by using their standard credit card. Also, if you book with a Star Alliance carrier, you can place your United account number on the reservation. I earn United miles when I fly USAirways. For a full list of Star Alliance carriers, check out the United website.

GilliC

Jells2dot0:

I'm an elite United flyer. I am crossing my fingers for Platinum status this year.

Don't stress too much.  I have seen almost no difference between Gold and Platinum.  I'm taking the opportunity to apply for Global Entry, but other than that, I was just as happy with Gold.

Jells2dot0

I think it depends on your flight patterns. Plat would have given me a lot more domestic upgrades based on the routes I fly frequently. Global Entry would be nice, though!

GilliC

Jells2dot0:

I think it depends on your flight patterns. Plat would have given me a lot more domestic upgrades based on the routes I fly frequently. Global Entry would be nice, though!

You get the two regional upgrades with Platinum, but I always got the impression that when it came to complimentary upgrades, all the elites are ranked within their category as well.  When I was flying a lot as Gold, I definitely scored upgrades over a lot of other Golds.