Triangle Trip

Continental Airlines is trying to bring back some prestige to airline status by introducing an invitation only, Presidential Platinum status. To get Presidential Platinum, you will need to get Elite Platinum status with Continental; and you must have spent $30,000 USD on Continental Airlines, excluding partners.

Presidential Platinum does not offer anything more than Elite Platinum, except for being ahead of Elite Platinum for upgrades. Presidential Platinum status members will be prioritized behind United’s Global Services and 1K members, but ahead of Premier Executive members when traveling on eligible UAL flights. Essentially, Presidential Platinum is a junior United 1K status.

One more thing: Presidential Platinum status holders also get their Continental credit card annual fee waived. But who pays for annual fees on credit cards these days?

Continental missed its mark. What’s the point of another status tier when it doesn’t have any added benefits? Continental should have made Presidential Platinum like Delta’s new Diamond status – which requires 125,000 Delta miles to quality, and comes with tangible benefits like six (6) system-wide upgrades.

Since joining Star Alliance, Continental has been creating closer ties with United. Continental has adopted United’s system-wide upgrade this year. I am not sure if Continental’s OnePass program is heading in the right direction.

Getting from south of San Mateo (or south of the 92) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, or Oakland International Airport (OAK) via the Bay Bridge – fast – is possible, and easy. Just memorize the following:

If you can get to the 92 (Belmont area), take the following route and I can personally guarantee you can be at SFO in less than 20 minutes and to San Francisco in less than 35 minutes, at any time during the day. I can’t guarantee the commute time to OAK, unfortunately, as the on-ramp to the Bay Bridge and beyond is too much of a wild card.

Here’s what you will need to do to avoid the dreaded 101 traffic to SFO and the city:

1. Take 280 northbound. If you’re already on the 101, you can catch the 280 by taking 92 east. It may seem out of the way but the 7 miles or so to go from the 101 to 280 via the 92 will save you 15 minutes.

2. Stay on 280 until you are on 380 west. Take 380 west towards SFO. This route also works if your heading to the city or Oakland. Going from 280 to 380 drops you back on the 101.

3. From 380, get back on the 101 north. By taking 280 to 380 and then back to the 101, you have avoided one of the worst bottlenecks in the Bay Area. The stretch on the 101 from Belmont to SFO can take 45 minutes due to heavy traffic merging from the 92 (folks coming from Foster City and the East Bay). The turn at Burlingame also causes congestion because of sun glare during rush hour.

Going back from 280 to the 101 once you’ve passed SFO is also a much shorter commute than taking 280 directly into San Francisco. You’ll rarely run into traffic from SFO to the city using this route unless there’s a 49ers game.

3a. After you’ve passed Candlestick Point on the 101, you’ll have the option to stay on 101 north or go back on the 280 north. You’ll have to make a gut decision here: 101 north could be backed up due to the Bay Bridge on-ramp traffic; but 280 north could also be backed up due to a Giants game on the Embarcadero.

Staying on 101 north is the most direct route. If you prefer to take 280 north and want to get back on the Bay Bridge, here’s a shortcut:

1.  Exit on King street
2.  Make a left on 3rd Street
3.  Make a right on Bryant
4.  You will see an on-ramp to the Bay Bridge once you’ve passed 2nd Street

Happy travels.

I’ve been flying coast to coast on Delta and United this year. I made Delta Gold Medallion without Double Medallion Qualification Miles (MQM) because I was flying Delta from January to March for their free upgrades as a Gold member from 2008. I was able to reach Premiere Executive status with United in just nine weeks, thanks to their generous Double Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM) promotion.

With all the Double Elite Qualifying Miles programs going on at the moment, I wanted to help explain which program to choose. Here’s a summary of current promotions:

*  American Airlines is offering Double EQM (previous post)
*  Delta is offering Double MQM AND Rollover miles (previous post)
*  United is offering Double EQM and Elite Qualifying Segments (previous post)
*  USAir is offering 7,500 flight miles for Silver status (previous post)

So if you’re not loyal to any particular airline, like me, nor do you live in a hub city, which one should you pick?

Here’s what I am going to do; I recommend that those in a similar boat to do the same:

1.  USAir isn’t really offering anything for its customers with status. If you don’t have status with any airline, I suggest you give them a shot. Seventy five hundred (7,500)miles is two round trips from New York to Vegas!

2.  With status on both Delta and United, I will pass on American this year; I’ll show some love next year. If you have status on one of the above airlines, I strongly suggest you stay with them (see Statusmonger – he can’t quit United).

3.  As for me, I will evaluate the rest of my 2009 travel schedule to see if I can make 1K on United. Holding 1K status is the only way to get decent service on United. I have decided to register for double EQM instead of EQS since I am typically on coast to coast flights. The segments would not help me to 1k – I probably have 15 to date.

4.  For those dealing with the dilemma of having to choose between doubling EQM or EQS, the simple guideline is:  take Double Qualifying Segments if you fly weekly, and you’re earning less than 1,000 airline miles each way. It will take you either 30 one way trip segments or 25,000 airline miles to get entry level status (Premiere on United, Gold on American, or Silver on Delta). Based on the requirements to qualify for airline status, 1,000 airline miles per flight should be the deciding factor when choosing between EQM or EQS. The precise number is actually 834 miles (30 segments times 834 miles = 25,020).

5.  Since I have 55,000 MQM on Delta, and they are allowing me to rollover extra airline miles earned in 2009 to 2010 (in this case, 5,000 miles if I don’t fly any more this year), I will most likely book my next trip on Delta. I will stick with Delta unless I know I can get 25,000 flight miles on United for the rest of the year, as double EQM will give me 50,000 miles, making me a 1K on United.