Saturday, June 10, 2023

MileagePlus 改悪 2023

帰省&内視鏡検査で日本への旅から戻って来て… まだ写真の変臭をなーんもやってません。
なのでシン記事の掲載が遅れています。ごめんなさい。期待しないで待っててね。>毒者

でも、この件は... もうネタとしては旧いでしょうが載せておきたかったので、書きます。

ユナイテッド航空のFFP、マイレージプラス® の特典発券に必要なマイルが、大幅に増えました
なんの予告もなく、ひっそりマイル数が増加しました。特に日本線がメッチャ改悪

これ、太平洋時間で2023年の6月10日、17:00 時点での検索結果です。
来年の5月10日に、成田発SFO行きの全日空8便、ビジネスクラスの特典が空いています。

 これ… 今までは8万~8万8千マイルで入手できました。
 それが、今度から11万マイル必要です。

もちろん片道の必要マイル数です。
4日前に乗せていただいた同便、NH8 の特典発券は同じく11万マイルでしたが、ファーストクラスです。

今までならファーストをげとできるマイル数で、ビジネスクラス…。

これは酷い

引き続き『UAマイルを稼ぎスタアラ他社の良質な内容を愉しむ』というストラテジでいきますが、日本線は厳しい。
幸い、トルコちゃんはまだ大幅な変化が無いので、特典発券はイスタンブールばっかりになりそうです。

こんな航空会社で300万マイルも飛んだの、失敗だったかも…。

5 comments:

  1. We, as readers, are well aware of your busy schedule, as well as the jet lag you experienced after returning to the United States from your trip to Japan, which included the challenging endoscopy examination in Okayama (lol). Therefore, we understand that you are facing a difficult situation. Please take your time and work on image editing at your own pace.

    It seems that the number of miles required for award redemption through United Airlines' frequent flyer program, MileagePlus, has increased significantly. It's surprising that there was no prior notice. The information suggests that the number of miles quietly increased. Why specifically were there such significant devaluations for flights to Japan? Could it be because the demand for award bookings on those routes is particularly high?

    The award redemption for Business Class on ANA Flight 8 from Narita to San Francisco, which used to be available for 80,000 to 88,000 miles, now requires 110,000 miles. If this were for Business Class on a United Airlines award booking, would it require fewer miles? If so, it seems that rather than MileagePlus devaluations, ANA is trying to tighten its guard against award bookings in their premium classes using miles from other airlines. Furthermore, what would be the mileage requirement for First Class award booking on ANA Flight 8 from Narita to San Francisco in May next year?

    I may not be able to provide insights on how to maximize the benefits of frequent flyer programs, but I still believe your strategy of earning UA miles to enjoy high-quality content from other airlines at Star Alliance is valid. Considering the numerous successes you have had so far, having flown three million miles with United Airlines, I don't think it was a failure by any means.

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    Replies
    1. Yamada Denki sensei,

      Apologies for not replying those aggressively posting comments… I’m still physically recovering by the jet-lag, as well as the little culture-shocks by food availabilities – I restarted taking ‘replica’ version of GariGari-kun but the real, original I kept having in Japan was soo good, Shirakiku – Nishimoto Boeki can’t cheat the real texture of GariGari-kun sadly.

      Well, I am delighted I didn’t have severe concerns on my colons and upper digestive areas, but I can’t have vanilla ice cream like I did in Japan, because of the quality. I can’t find Sujata ice cream or something similar. And Morinaga jumbo ice monaka is soggy… it is so pity when I ate it in Tokyo, it was so dry and crispy the shell, after imported to California, those became soggy and not so crispy. Instead I resumed buying healthier choices such as less sugar, reduced trans fat ice creams…Now I started opening Toraya Yokan so those healthier choice doesn’t help anyway.

      United already set the dynamic and flexible required miles so there are no more miles charts. It used to be 80K or 88K miles for north Asia from 48 contiguous areas, but now specifically the Japan trip required miles raised to 100K by United and 110K by ANA. Some Aseana routs showing 88K but Japanese’ favorite award tickets are quite high. I have an award ticket from HND to SFO in December, hence I was still looking for the availability of UA838 NRT to SFO. But if I change the flight it cost 30K more, so I maybe give up and use the international terminal T3 in HND. I used international flight from HND over 40 years ago…

      So, from JPN to SFO was 70K miles one-way, but now it’s 100K is the saver award. And if you wish to pick ANA flight, the saver award will be 110K. (ANA first is not shown because the aircraft is switched to B789.)

      The significant raised-amount routes are shown in trans-pacific flights. European flights are raised milder, and TK operated ones are sometimes no change in winter season. So… I’d rather go Istanbul instead visiting Japan.

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  2. As I always mention, feel free to disregard my random comments and don't worry about replying. I'm aware that your jet lag is quite severe, but even for a frequent flyer like yourself, it's not easy to adjust. And I'm also relieved to know that you didn't have any serious issues with your colorectum and stomach.

    I wasn't familiar with "GariGari-kun" myself, but I started eating it occasionally after seeing my children frequently enjoying it. I'm not sure how much of a difference there is between the authentic original version available in Japan and the replica version sold in the United States, but since you describe the former as truly delicious, there must be a significant gap. My guess is that it's not just about the taste itself but also the unique crunchiness that the US version may lack.

    According to your words, it seems that not only GariGari-kun but also vanilla ice cream in Japan is of higher quality. It could be because we, including yourself, are accustomed to the Japanese version, or perhaps the Japanese version is actually tastier. If the vanilla ice cream available in American is lacking in flavor, that would be unfortunate.

    For me, the impression of "Sujahta = Coffee Fresh" still lingers. I had mistakenly assumed that Sujahta originated from the Kansai region, but it seems to have started as a peddler's business in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, and later expanded in Nagoya City, possibly having its roots in the Chubu region. So, it's possible that the origin of Coffee Fresh is also more from the Chubu region than Kansai.

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  3. I also sometimes buy Morinaga Jumbo Ice Monaka from the supermarket and enjoy it. Oh, I see, they are directly imported to California instead of being the replica version. I wonder if they come with a hefty price tag considering factors like transportation costs?

    I rarely eat yokan or similar sweets, but I know that Toraya's yokan is made by simmering azuki or white beans and creating a special sweet bean paste. Then, agar and sugar are added to the paste, and it is carefully kneaded and refined. It's a distinctive product that sets it apart from other brands of yokan.

    Not only United Airlines but also various hotel chains have already set flexible required points that cater to the demand for reward stays.

    I hesitate to say, since I know you don’t like JAL, though JAL used to offer 110,000 miles for round-trip first class from Japan to North America and even 120,000 miles for round-trip to Europe, which was quite a good deal. Moreover, at that time, KIX had daily three-class B747-400 flights to LAX, CDG, and LHR, so even if I couldn't book a departure from NRT, I could easily secure reward tickets departing from KIX. I was grateful for that.
    Looking back, with just a payment of 12 million yen on AmEx, I could fly first class round-trip between NRT/KIX and LHR/CDG, and it was relatively easy to make reservations departing from KIX. I was truly fortunate.
    When I went on a quick 2-night, 4-day tour to watch a Real Madrid vs. Athletic Bilbao match at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid with my son, I was delighted that I could use reward tickets in first class from KIX via CDG for the outbound and via LHR for the return. I redeemed 240,000 AmEx Membership Rewards points, and it was a worthwhile use. Moreover, at that time, it was great for a land mylar like me that I could transfer up to 150,000 points per year from AmEx to JAL.
    That was a story from the past.

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  4. For my frugal dinner yesterday, I tried the "Cup Noodles: Kanto Factory Edition" that you bought in Chiba and went out of your way to bring all the way to Okayama. I have been eating the "Kansai Factory Edition" quite frequently until now, so I thought that if there were any differences in taste, even subtle ones, I would be able to notice them. However... I couldn't tell at all.
    On a previous occasion, when I happened to compare the flavors of "Nissin Donbei," I clearly noticed that the broth flavors differ between eastern and western Japan. But Cup Noodles, which seems to be a slightly different type of food from the ramen that has been in Japan for a long time, might be a presence that goes beyond the regional differences in taste preferences.

    The sales rankings by flavor are as follows:
    1st place is "Original (soy sauce)," 2nd place is "Seafood," and 3rd place is "Curry."
    It seems that "Original" has maintained its top position since its release.
    Personally, I still prefer the original flavor, but it seems that Midori-san's favorite is seafood. Cup Noodles is sold in 80 countries worldwide, and the cumulative global sales since its release have reached 40 billion servings in 2016, and as of 2021, it has achieved 50 billion servings. So, it could be said that it is more of a daily staple worldwide rather than just Japan's soul food. It might be something that we, as Japanese people, can take pride in.

    Since I rarely have the opportunity to buy Cup Noodles when I visit Tokyo, it was a fun experience. It allowed me to learn about a familiar and ubiquitous food item, and I want to express my gratitude again.

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