Originally Posted by
ryan182
Remember the old days where people earned their respective status by flying, while I'm quite sure this won't be a popular opinion here I can't see how the constant elite inflation through this type of offer can do anything but dilute the benefits offered to elites, especially top-tier fliers.
to this and
for constantly being a tool of AA, try leading rather than following for once. Would have much rather seen them release some PR mocking AA decision to again do the DEQM, something along the lines of our FF fly UA because of our route structure, products and service (ya I know, insert joke here) not because we bribe them with extra EQM which only serves to add more fliers to the elite ranks which will all be competing for the same limited pool of benefits such as upgrades and award tickets.
You're right - this won't be a popular post.
There's more to elite status than just 'competing for upgrades & award tickets'. If this helps a 2P become 1P, they get to access lounges across the world when traveling internationally. They get quicker boarding. There's immediate benefits, even if no award seats were ever released again. And if it helps a GM become 2P, the immediate benefits are possibly even greater.
At the risk of sounding like a parrot, 'look at the economy'. People aren't flying as much. UA is hurting. If this injects a rush of more bookings for the promo period, then your elite status is worth something because UA is still flying. Some of the refare/new bookings indicated in this thread alone will prove how useful a promo like this can be to UA.
Finally, I share your frustration on UA being a follower rather than a leader, though. However, I think the new business class seats & entertainment systems redeem UA a bit. *shrug*