Triangle Trip

I had the opportunity to be on two separate Star Alliance flights this month – US Airways and Air Canada. As a Premier Executive on United Airlines and a Star Alliance Gold member, I could board early and access the airport lounges before my international flights. Those are meager benefits for flying 50,000 miles with Star Alliance partners.

Even worse, Star Alliance Gold status doesn’t give any useful perks like advance seat selection when you book your flights on Air Canada and USAir. These benefits from the Star Alliance website are obviously over exaggerated or not honored by all Star Alliance members. I was on a domestic flight operated by USAir, and an international flight operated by Air Canada. Both carriers tried to charge me for picking an aisle or window seat during the reservation process.

USAir claimed their systems were not linked to United, and could not verify my status, when I called them to get out of a middle seat – and told me it would cost an extra $15 to $20 if I wanted to switch. Luckily, the USAir agent was kind enough to give me an exit row seat without any additional fees.

Air Canada also tried to charge me C$15 for selecting an aisle or window seat during the reservation process. Air Canada was more straightforward when I called to change my seat – the agent told me I had purchased a low fare ticket (Tango Class).

Apparently, Tango class ticketholders do not get to pick their seats in advance, regardless of the flier’s status – you can only pick a  seat once you check in at the airport. I was very fortunate again, as the agent told me that the flight was completely empty and I should get a good seat on the flight without paying. FYI, below is a chart I dug up from Air Canada’s website:

Given my recent experiences, I’m not sure if there are any incentives to remain loyal to Star Alliance, or any airline, for that matter. If you’re still keen on getting status on Star Alliance, I strongly suggest you checkout Statusmonger’s previous post: Fast Track to Star Alliance Gold.

Star Alliance is probably the best airline partnership out there. United, US Airways, and Air Canada in North America. BMI, Lufthansa, and Swiss among others in Europe. Asiana, ANA, Singapore, Air China and a couple others in Asia, which is probably the strongest aspect of the alliance. The Star Alliance Gold status is the highest status within Star Alliance, with benefits such as lounge access for any of the Star Alliance partners on any international flight, priority check-in and boarding, and extra baggage allowance.

Now you can get Star Alliance Gold by becoming Premier Executive on United or Gold on US Airways, but that requires you to bank 50,000 actual flown miles or 60 segments in one calendar year. There’s actually a better alternative: bank miles with Asiana Airlines when flying with United, US Airways, or any other Star Alliance partner.

Asiana Airlines requires you to fly only 40,000 miles or 50 segments and the qualification period is 2 years, not 1 year, to become Asiana Diamond, which gets you Star Alliance Gold. Not only that, your Asiana Diamond status is valid for 3 years, not just 1 year like United or US Airways.

No more banking miles with crappy US domestic carriers.

I recently was at London’s Heathrow airport waiting to board my flight to Seoul.  When I arrived at my gate near boarding time there was already a huge line of people.  Then they called boarding for first class, business class, and Star Alliance Gold members.  I bypassed the line to board the plane.  I had my economy class ticket in my hand, which is a different color than first and business class.  One airline employee apparently saw this discrepency and came up to me.  In a somewhat rude tone he said to me, "Will you please wait in line?"  I then proceeded to flash my Star Alliance Gold card and he responded with an apologetic, "Ah… ok."  That’s right, homie.