What United Mileage Plus Members Need to Know about New Continental Alliance

What do Mileage Plus members in the Bay Area have to gain from the entry of Continental into the Star Alliance and a code sharing deal with United? First off, plenty of new Continental destinations south of the border (Mexico) and in the south Pacific (via a hub in Guam) where you can now redeem miles for award trips.

Plus, Mileage Plus members will have a lot more opportunities the EARN United miles on Continental flights—the code share agreement adds 60 cities previously not served by United.

Here’s Continental’s global route map

The miles you earn on Continental can be accrued in Mileage Plus. And the flight miles you earn qualify toward elite status. You earn one Elite Qualifying Mile (EQM) for each flight mile you earn and one Elite Qualifying Segment (EQS) for each segment you fly.

However, connecting from a United flight to a Continental flight at any of Continental’s three U.S. hubs is going to be VERY difficult for the time being. For example, most United flights land at Newark’s Terminal A. All of Continental’s operations are in terminal C. This means exiting and re-entering secure space, a transfer between terminals using the airport monorail system and potential delays transferring bags on tight connections. Also, EWR is famously congested and subject to serious air traffic delays. The same goes for connections at Continental’s main hub at Houston Intercontinental Airport. United flights use terminal A while Continental flights use terminal C (primarily) and terminal B (for mostly regional flights). If you’ve ever taken that rickety underground people mover system at IAH, you know it’s going to be a tough connection! (A newer “Terminal Link” train system will eventually connect Terminal A to the rest of the airport. But for now, it’s a slow-go.) When flying from SFO to Cleveland, only Continental offers nonstops, so connections in its Terminals C and D should not be a problem. However, if you arrive from elsewhere on United, you’ll use Terminal B, quite a long walk away.

Small upside: In recent months, Continental has co-located with United in several U.S. airports including Chicago, Frankfurt, Salt Lake City and Cincinnati. (And soon in Paris-CDG and Tokyo-Narita)

Frequent flyer guru Randy Petersen, the father of the mammoth frequent flyer social networking site flyertalk.com says that Mileage Plus members have a lot to gain and little to lose with this new alliance. “First off, Continental is going to force a lot of positive changes on the Mileage Plus program. Second, due to the way the alliance is currently structured, Mileage Plus members will not see any extra competition for Economy Plus seats or upgrades. However, Hawaii-bound travelers are going to be hearing a lot more Texas twang on United flights from the Bay Area to Hawaii as Continental OnePass members from Texas jump on those routes with their miles.”

If you are a Red Carpet Club member (or on a first or business class ticket), you now have access to Continental President’s Clubs at TEN new airports. Here’s what United’s Web site is saying:

United Red Carpet Club members now enjoy full access to Continental President’s Club locations, expanding members’ options to 58 clubs in 36 airports, including 14 lounges in 10 airports not currently served by a Red Carpet Club:
1. Atlanta
2. Austin
3. Cleveland
4. Dallas
5. Houston (five locations)
6. Ft. Lauderdale
7. Las Vegas
8. San Antonio
9. Guam
10. Panama City, Panama

Any Mileage Plus members flying in first or business class on United or Continental can also access the President’s Club lounges. Additionally, Premier Executive, 1K and Global Services members can access these lounges when traveling with a same-day international ticket.