United's Trimming Service to Hong Kong, Buenos Aires
Hong Kong and Buenos Aires may be two of the world's most appealing travel destinations, but with ongoing political unrest in the former and an uncertain economic outlook in the latter, there's understandably been a drop in demand.
In response, United Airlines has taken the rare step of suspending select flights to both cities — just as the carrier recently did with flights to India (which are due to resume next month). The following flights will be suspended:
- Chicago (ORD)-Hong Kong (HKG) — daily flight suspended beginning September 8, 2019
- Newark (EWR)-Buenos Aires (EZE) — daily flight suspended beginning October 26, 2019
United will continue to operate the following flights to both markets, giving Chicago and Newark passengers an opportunity to rebook onto connecting flights, instead:
- Newark (EWR)-Hong Kong (HKG) — once daily
- San Francisco (SFO)-Hong Kong (HKG) — once daily (moves to 2x daily on October 26, 2019)
- Houston (IAH)-Buenos Aires (EZE) — once daily
Chicago is more likely to serve as a connecting point for Hong Kong-bound flyers, while Newark and San Francisco have more origin and destination traffic. As a result, connecting Chicago passengers should be accommodated through EWR and SFO without much impact.
Ordinarily, these flights would require two aircraft each, given the length of the journey to and from Hong Kong and the night on the ground in Buenos Aires, but in both cases, United has been able to assign these 777s and 767s to flights to Europe as well, in an effort to maximize utilization.
The HKG and EZE suspension leaves the carrier with two extra wide-bodies during this suspension, which will likely be used for domestic flights, including premium transcons, helping free up aircraft to operate flights that would otherwise be affected by the 737 MAX grounding, instead.
TPG featured card
at Bilt's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 1X | Choose to earn up to 1X points on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee |
| 2X | Earn 2X points + the option to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday purchases |
Pros
- Choice to earn up to 1 Bilt Point per dollar spent on rent and mortgage payments
- Elevated everyday earnings with both Bilt Points and the option to earn Bilt Cash
- $400 Bilt Travel Portal hotel credit per year (up to $200 biannually)
- $200 Bilt Cash annually
- Priority Pass membership
- No foreign transaction fees
Cons
- Moderate annual fee
- Designed primarily for members seeking a premium, all-in-one card
- Earn points on housing with no transaction fee
- Choose to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday spend. Use Bilt Cash to unlock point earnings on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee, up to 1X.
- 2X points on everyday spend
- $400 Bilt Travel Hotel credit. Applied twice a year, as $200 statement credits, for qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings.
- $200 Bilt Cash (awarded annually). At the end of each calendar year, any Bilt Cash balance over $100 will expire.
- Welcome bonus (subject to approval): 50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status after spending $4,000 on everyday purchases in the first 90 days + $300 of Bilt Cash.
- Priority Pass ($469/year value). See Guide to Benefits.
- Bilt Point redemptions include airlines, hotels, future rent and mortgage payments, Lyft rides, statement credits, student loan balances, a down payment on a home, and more.