United or Southwest?

[sghosh5]

I applied for Southwest card for the 50K bonus they are offering. But CHASE wont let me open another card this year with them unless i close one of the recently opened cards. I was thinking more of closing United as usually their flights are very expensive compared to Southwest. Can you all give some suggestions if i close United and open Southwest?

[longhorn11]

Well for starters United has completely gutted their rewards program over the last few months.  It's still the same for domestic travel (if I recall correctly) but if you enjoy international awards, UA miles are worth A LOT less than they once were.  

On the flip side, Southwest is slightly devaluing their program next month, but it's nowhere near the level of UA's new chart.  I would probably go with the Southwest card since you can probably get a lot more out of 50k SW points.

[maksimfa]

Depends where you fly and what you value.

Personally, I would not want to fly the zoo that is southwest, free far all seating, etc.

United still is very valued.

Ticket prices vary.

Where do you live and mostly fly from?

My business is split between United and Delta, and fly Frontier or spirit here and there.

[B335is]

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@longhorn11 wrote:

Well for starters United has completely gutted their rewards program over the last few months.  It's still the same for domestic travel (if I recall correctly) but if you enjoy international awards, UA miles are worth A LOT less than they once were.  

On the flip side, Southwest is slightly devaluing their program next month, but it's nowhere near the level of UA's new chart.  I would probably go with the Southwest card since you can probably get a lot more out of 50k SW points.

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+1

United is losing many very frequent fliers over this. Just look through some of the opinions over at FT.  I only have 60k miles left which can probably get me an F seat on US Air to St. Thomas this year but that's it, when my AF hits this summer I'm canceling mine. 

OP, just consider Southwest's very limited international coverage and interline agreements. If it were me I would cancel UA and go over to Citi and get some nice American Airlines bonuses. 

[sghosh5]

Thanks for all the recommendations. I am now more inclined to get the Southwest card. I live in Houston. Hub for both Southwest & United. But whenever I compare the price for any flight to any destination Southwest beats United hands down. And Southwest also gives you full flight credit if you cancel, which I am not very sure United does or not. 

[takeshi74]

It's really your call to make.  I'm in Houston as well but 99% of my air travel is with United.

[Cdnewmanpac]

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@longhorn11 wrote:

Well for starters United has completely gutted their rewards program over the last few months.  It's still the same for domestic travel (if I recall correctly) but if you enjoy international awards, UA miles are worth A LOT less than they once were.  

On the flip side, Southwest is slightly devaluing their program next month, but it's nowhere near the level of UA's new chart.  I would probably go with the Southwest card since you can probably get a lot more out of 50k SW points.

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First, the gutting of United's redemption program really affects those that fly premium cabin international for their redemptions. The saver fares and economy redemptions (including international) changed very little and are still superior to many other programs. Plus, United actually has some availability. But you are right that people who used to redeem miles for 1st or business class international flights got hosed. Domestic and Hawaii haven't changed. Since we use MileagePlus points exclusively for Hawaii flights, we still get good value (2.1-2.2 cents/point).

Second, United MPE offers primary rental car insurance. This may or may not be valuable to the OP, but is the primary reason I keep this card. 

For the OP, the free bag thing is kind of a wash, since Southwest doesn't charge (yet). 

OP: Why not ditch both and get a CSP? That way, you get 2 points/dollar no matter what airline you fly and can convert points to either southwest RR or United MP depending on which redemption works best for you at a given point in time? Plus, your restaurant spend, parking fees, tolls, car rentals, hotels, etc. would all earn 2 points/dollar (really 2.14 with annual dividend, but whatever).

[sghosh5]

Thanks for your post. I already have CSP. The reason i was looking for Southwest card is their signup bonus and more easier to earn points yearly and redeem them for less than 25K limit.

[CreditScholar]

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@B335is wrote:

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@longhorn11 wrote:

Well for starters United has completely gutted their rewards program over the last few months.  It's still the same for domestic travel (if I recall correctly) but if you enjoy international awards, UA miles are worth A LOT less than they once were.  

On the flip side, Southwest is slightly devaluing their program next month, but it's nowhere near the level of UA's new chart.  I would probably go with the Southwest card since you can probably get a lot more out of 50k SW points.

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+1

United is losing many very frequent fliers over this. Just look through some of the opinions over at FT.  I only have 60k miles left which can probably get me an F seat on US Air to St. Thomas this year but that's it, when my AF hits this summer I'm canceling mine. 

OP, just consider Southwest's very limited international coverage and interline agreements. If it were me I would cancel UA and go over to Citi and get some nice American Airlines bonuses. 

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I'd be careful with this advice since we don't know how severe the AA devaluation will be. The only thing that's certain is that there will be a devaluation after the merger completes in 2015.

If you're going to burn your miles before then you'll be ok, but afterwards the landscape could look very different than it does today.

[CreditScholar]

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@Cdnewmanpac wrote:

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@longhorn11 wrote:

Well for starters United has completely gutted their rewards program over the last few months.  It's still the same for domestic travel (if I recall correctly) but if you enjoy international awards, UA miles are worth A LOT less than they once were.  

On the flip side, Southwest is slightly devaluing their program next month, but it's nowhere near the level of UA's new chart.  I would probably go with the Southwest card since you can probably get a lot more out of 50k SW points.

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First, the gutting of United's redemption program really affects those that fly premium cabin international for their redemptions. The saver fares and economy redemptions (including international) changed very little and are still superior to many other programs. Plus, United actually has some availability. But you are right that people who used to redeem miles for 1st or business class international flights got hosed. Domestic and Hawaii haven't changed. Since we use MileagePlus points exclusively for Hawaii flights, we still get good value (2.1-2.2 cents/point).

Second, United MPE offers primary rental car insurance. This may or may not be valuable to the OP, but is the primary reason I keep this card. 

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+1. Some very good points here. Also for those who live in th APAC region, international premium cabin prices have actually gone down. It really depends on what you're looking for.