I don’t think you’re giving United enough credit here for the fact that there is a positive underlying this — they actually release a decent amount of longhaul premium cabin saver award space to their own members. Sure, some routes virtually never have space, but it’s actually not terribly hard to find on core Europe, Asia, and even Australia routes.
AA may have a lower award chart, but they virtually never release premium awards on…
AA may have a lower award chart, but they virtually never release premium awards on their own metal and are just coasting off what partners make available. (I just redeemed 90K miles one way for United business to Australia — AA’s pricing is lower in theory, but is it ever lower in practice?) DL has essentially killed saver awards altogether. And international airlines across the board don’t release nearly as much space as they used to.
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on One Mile at a Time.
