US Airways Dividend Miles - Buy Silver Preferred + Club membership for $789

My husband received the following offer this morning. Deducting for the club membership, seems like you can buy Silver Preferred for around $400.

Glad I switched my loyalty to Continental a couple of years ago. If I had earned Silver Status through 25,000 miles of body-in-seat travel, I'd be very annoyed! I see from another thread below that US is doing this with Platinum status as well.

Where will this dilution of elite status end? If everyone is a preferred flyer, then no one is!

Enjoy Preferred status & US Airways Club membership for one low price Buy Up to Preferred status


Become a Silver Preferred member and get a one-year US Airways Club membership for only $789. After you buy up to Preferred, we'll automatically activate your membership so you can begin enjoying your US Airways Club membership in just a few days. Find out about the US Airways Clubs.

Learn more about the benefits of being Silver Preferred at usairways.com/silver.

I got the same thing for buying platinum status with club membership extension for $989. I'm assuming I got that offer since I currently have gold status this year (after dropping from CP for several years).

my wife got the same for gold. she's silver now.

Pity. I have a club membership. So no offers to bump my gold to plat with club included for me, I'm certain.

If anyone pays almost $800 for Silver status, they need to have their head checked. Silvers rarely receive upgrades and with the new Choice seats "enhancement" it's not even a guarantee that you can get a decent seat in coach. Basically you're paying $800 to board in Zone 2, not pay for checked bags and have the privilege of club membership where you get to pay for weak drinks.

Point is: these "buy in" elites will be competing for upgrades and preferred seats against "true" elites who have actually spent the time, the not-as-convenient stop-over routes, and the money to fly USAir.

No skin off my nose, for after 7 years of being a CP with USAir, I switched to Continental and have been much happier. Better planes, better service, better food, etc. But I retain an old affection for USAir (still have my old CP number memorized) and am sorry to see them diluting their FF program like this.

I'm surprised that more "true" elites are not outraged by this move. They certainly would have been back when I was a member!

The program gets watered down more and more every day. Why do you think everyone is complaining about upgrade percentages going down. No one seems to be able to figure out the dilution. It's obvious to me. It is not only with the club, and the buy ups, but U.S. is discounting the price of sold miles almost every month. These miles are used to buy upgrades which means less upgrades for elites. I'll bet that in my last 10 upgraded flights, my seatmate had used miles for upgrade in more than 50% of the time. There is a fine line about where the price of loyalty lies, and the airllines today, seem to be trying to find out what is the least cost of loyalty.
It seems like every flight over an hour now, the FAs are flogging the mastercard program..........I'm just waiting for the announcement that if you sign up for mastercard, in the next twenty minutes, you will automatically be a silver elite member.

I'm just waiting for the announcement that if you sign up for mastercard, in the next twenty minutes, you will automatically be a silver elite member.

LOL...and you get a free club membership after your first purchase!

LOL...and you get a free club membership after your first purchase!
What is so different about the Chase cards that offer e+, Lounge access etc?
The CO chase cards offer priority Boarding and Lounge access for 400$.

US is actually better in that the FREE upgrades, (if they ever occur) are not by fare class or time of ticketing, but by the actual BIS miles flown last year. So if you are a Plat, with 75 BIS miles, you ARE ahead of every GP who "buys up" to Plat.

Hello woolfcross.
I am totally new to this concept.
Please give some detail information regarding gold and silver status.
So that I can also get the benefit of it.

Thanks


All the info you need to know about Silver (http://www.usairways.com/en-US/dividendmiles/preferred/silver.html) & Gold (http://www.usairways.com/en-US/dividendmiles/preferred/gold.html) status.

Bottom line:
Silver;
1. 2 days out upgrades begin to process
2. Board w/Zone 2
3. First and second bag fly free, of course over weight/size fees apply

Gold;
1. 3 days out upgrades begin to process
2. Board w/Zone 1
3. First,second and third bag fly free, of course over weight/size fees apply
4. *A (Star Alliance) benefits on 23 other carriers come into play.

Key Benefits for US Air members:
Waived standby fee
Priority check-in/security lanes

Other then that the benefits are the same. The standby fee waive alone is a $150 value, use it just 1 time and you have basically recouped your membership cost.


As for $789 for Silver & Club?
$250 for Silver Membership? Seems that is what I paid for my trial silver
$375 for 1 year Club membership
$625 total before taxes/fees
$50 Club fee
$675 AI Not seeing $789 being special.

If anyone pays almost $800 for Silver status, they need to have their head checked. Silvers rarely receive upgrades and with the new Choice seats "enhancement" it's not even a guarantee that you can get a decent seat in coach. Basically you're paying $800 to board in Zone 2, not pay for checked bags and have the privilege of club membership where you get to pay for weak drinks.
I started flying as a Silver out of MCO in March of `10. I'm currently 9/13* on upgrades.
On those 4 flights where I didn't upgrade 2 of them were 100% RJ travel so no chance of upgrades, 2 others I always got my Window exit seat.
So for me $250 for Silver was an incredible deal, not to mention the standby fee waived that got me home 8 hours earlier.
Other markets might not fair so well.
As for club benefits, can't speak for the alcohol quality but 1-3 hours of peace and quite with unlimited beverages and free wifi a couple times a week sure seems like a deal to me!
I'm waiting for my offer from US Air :)