Wildly different program benefits offer shocking results when placed under FCF’s upgrade survey microscope.
The transcon, JFK to SFO and LAX non-stop, is America’s glamour route. It’s the one domestic route on which the airlines strive to be equal (and more and more they do) the international Business Class in-flight experience.
With American’s completion of its premium seat roll-out last month on the LAX-JFK route; and with JFK-SFO finishing on June 12, it’s a good time to re-examine how U.S. airlines compare on mileage award (free and upgrade) opportunities on this route.
[aside headline="Comprehensive Transcon Overview" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]See FCF’s January 2014 article for a comprehensive overview of the transcon, from new seats and best published fares to stopover loophole strategies (SLS) and the best way to use miles on the five airlines that fly this route, American, Delta, JetBlue, United, and Virgin America. The upgrade strategies can net savings of up to 88%.[/aside]
Why? Because differences between loyalty program benefits can make all the difference.
FCF analysts checked the transcons for travel from this month through April 2015 to understand how free and upgrade mileage availability stack up with American, Delta, and United. We discovered that over the past six months, American and Delta’s mileage availability improved, while United’s declined.
Hang on another minute or three to see why this is so very important.
The Top Ratings Go to American Airlines
First off, never make a mistake about it: I’m not partial to any airline, except as to how it performs on value, which is simply price times comfort. If you’ve known me long you know this, and if you are new to the Upgrade Nation, then rest assured that my analysis is free of premium travel bias.
American gets a four-star rating when it comes to using miles on the transcon. It offers free and upgrade award availability —in Business Class on both routes, from September through March—15 or more days per month.
[aside headline="Using Miles to Save Up to 86% on First and Business Class on the Transcon" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]When I did the deep-dive series on each airline’s transcon opportunities, I also outlined how you could save big when using miles for an upgrade or award ticket. Please refer back to the special intelligence reports on each airline for more details and also other cost saving strategies: American; Oct. and Dec. 2013 issues, Delta; Dec. 2013 issue[/aside]
It is also the only airline that still offers a First Class cabin on the transcon and, for this class of service, it has a lot of free and upgrade award space from July 2014 through March 2015.
Getting American Miles: To save a big bundle is not that hard.
You can buy up to 80,000 miles from American, transfer points from Starwood, or use partner miles, which include mileage programs like Alaska’s Mileage Plan and British Airways Executive Club. (FCF frequently reports on how U.S. and non-U.S. residents can score miles cheaply, in order to redeem them on partners, in this case American, to save up to 89%. See FCF’s March 2014 for more on this strategy with Alaska and FCF’s Oct. 2013 for British Airways.)
Space-Hold Friendly: American allows you to hold free award space for up to five days, which is far from trivial (see FCF’s Sept. 2013 issue for more).
Delta Gets One Star
Delta continues to offer ZERO free award seats over the next 11 months, according to FCF analyst research. But it has, at least, opened up mileage upgrades on both routes. LAX-JFK has strong upgrade award space from June 2014 through March 2015, while SFO-JFK is strong to JFK but not that great to SFO. Delta’s upgradeable fares are about twice as much as American and United.
Getting Delta Miles: Buy up to 60,000 from Delta or transfer points from Amex Rewards or Starwood.
United Gets Three Stars
United has ZERO free award space from June 2014 through April 2015, but still has strong upgrade space on both routes during that time.
Anyone Can Get United Miles: To save a bundle know that you can buy up to 150,000 directly from the airline, or transfer points from Chase Ultimate Rewards.
FCF’s Upgrade Opportunity Ratings For Premium Cabin Travel On the Transcon
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