Triangle Trip

Before booking an international ticket on United, I went through the Coach’s “Checklist for buying an international ticket.” In addition to the checklist, I went to UAL’s upgrade award chart and noticed UAL will be charging its customers a co-pay to use their airline miles to upgrade beginning July 1, 2009. Here’s the PDF and link for more details on how your miles are worth less and less in this economy. This is why I have been advocating to everyone to bank hotel points vs airline miles.

Under the new co-pay using miles to upgrade system, United will charge you $50 plus 15,000 for a one-way domestic (North America excluding Hawaii) upgrade unless you have a full fare economy ticket (which is class Y or B). The cost of the class Y or B ticket is nearly double. Your best bang for the buck on using miles to upgrade is for international tickets. The new co-pay system will have you paying $250 to $300 plus 25,000 miles each way for an international upgrade. Also keep in mind that the class of the international ticket must be class M or H or B — near full fare economy class.

The cost differential between a discounted economy ticket and a near full fare ticket is nearly double (see picture below):

The cost to buy a round trip international ticket is: $2,193.20 when it is “Upgrade Eligible” compared to $1,324.20 for a discounted and un-upgradable international ticket. As of today, I would have to use 60,000 airline miles plus $2,193.20 to get a round trip business class ticket on UAL from North America (San Francisco) to South Asia (Hong Kong).

Beginning July 1, 2009, I would probably have to pay an additional $500 co-pay charge plus 50,000 for the same international round trip ticket. The Upgrade Award chart was not really clear on the exact co-pay charge but it did say it would cost me 50,000 miles for a round trip upgrade from North America to South Asia.

For the record, a Business Class international ticket for the exactly time and dates was $2,985.20. The total price of $2,193.20 + $500 and 50,000 miles is not much cheaper (if not more expensive since you need to earn your miles) than the regular $2,985.20 Business Class ticket. With the business class ticket, you probably can earn more bonus points on UAL.

In summary, I strongly urge everyone to use their airline miles upon accrual. Just like the US dollar, inflation is inevitable. Today’s miles won’t go as far tomorrow.

All major airlines except Southwest are using domestic change fees to make up for lost revenue. United is notorious for imposing strict penalties on changes to your airline ticket. Below is an example of how they are doing it.

I will not be able to depart on my scheduled return flight from JFK to LAX on March 11, 2009. I went to United.com to modify my itinerary to change my return date from JFK to LAX to next Sunday, March 17, 2009. I noticed United has repriced my ticket to: $319 plus a $150 change fee making the new ticket $469. United then subtracted my original ticket of $279 and tells me I will need to pay $190 for the change. Below is a print screen directly from united.com.

I then went to Kayak to see how much the one-way JFK to LAX ticket for the same flight with the exact same date and time is worth. The result (below) is $200.

United is basically telling its customers that they are getting a $10 discount for making a change on a return flight vs buying a new one way ticket. United and other airlines should reward their customers for booking round trips with them. Booking a round trip used to be cheaper and customers were rewarded for being loyal. Under this circumstance, I do not see why I should be booking round trips with United or any airlines that charges a hefty change fee. I recalled back in 2005 when United would only charge you their change fee ($50 or so) and put you on the next available flight.

Based on my current finding, I will cancel my United return flight on the very last minute to make sure United cannot sell my seat to another person. As long as you cancel before the flight takes off, United must issue you a credit. In the meantime, I will monitor Kayak and other sites for a cheaper return – I noticed American has a 9AM return on the same date for $180 which is a $10 saving.

Taking advantage of customers through change fees should be reviewed by our Justice Department. Here’s a link to my previous post regarding airline change fees making your ticket under $200 worthless.

When traveling abroad, I generally like to stay with US-based hotels as they are pretty consistent in terms of quality of service, providing a clean room and being in convenient locations. You also get better value for your hotel rooms at international locations as US hotel chains rarely discount their international rooms compared to domestic rooms. All the major US hotel brands are in Hong Kong (Hilton Conrad, Hyatt, Marriott and Sheraton). Here’s an evaluation of each US hotel in Hong Kong:

I highly recommend you stay at one of the following hotels for convenience in Hong Kong:

JW Marriott or Conrad – Both hotels are located inside Pacific Place in Central. The MTR (train) station is also connected to Pacific place. The main bus terminal is right across the skywalk from Pacific Place. The Hong Kong JW Marriott and Hong Kong Conrad also offer great views of the city if you are on the top floors. Both hotels have hotel lounges that server food and alcohol. The JW Marriott lounge is one of my personal favorites in the world. The JW Marriott is by far the best hotel in Hong Kong.

Sheraton – Located in Kowloon’s Tsim Sha Tsui area, the Sheraton is in an extremely convenient location. The Hong Kong Sheraton is next to the famous Peninsula Hotel in Kowloon. You can go any where in Hong Kong or Kowloon from the Sheraton. The Kowloon MTR station is two blocks away and all major buses travel through Tsim Sha Tsui. You are also minutes away from Victoria Harbor where you can catch the Star Ferry to get to Hong Kong Central or Wanchai.

Renaissance – Located in Kowloon near Victoria Harbor. If you have a room with a water view, you will get a panoramic view of Hong Kong Island which is one of the best views in the world (on a sunny day of course). Like the Sheraton, the Renaissance is close to all major attractions and transportation. The Renaissance is actually a few blocks away from the Sheraton

I would shy away from the following US hotels:

Grand Hyatt or Renaissance Harbour View – Both hotels are in Wanchai, near the Hong Kong Convention Center. Hyatt is near the harbor so it becomes very inconvenient to by car or MTR. If you were taking the MTR train (to the Wanchai stop), you will have to walk ¾ of a mile to get to the Hyatt or Marriott. To compensate for the long walk from the Wanchai train station, you will find a great view from your room at the Marriott. I would not stay at either hotel unless I am attending a convention.

The W – The W is located in the newly developed section of Kowloon and attached to the Elements Mall. Aside from the mall, there is not much to do in the evening (or day). Public transportation can also be a challenge as only one MTR line goes to this station. You can always take cabs from the W to your destinations but it can be costly.

You can also check out my earlier post on: Where to go when you are visiting Hong Kong.