At some point you realize there is nothing of value any more en route to 125k miles - where the only benefit kicks in - and that most of the awards are total gimmicks - like the restaurant vouchers that I never use and rarely get sent without complaining that they have not come, the "chance" to win a free ticket to heaven or wherever - that I will never win, etc. And then you decide to basically drop out of this nonsense, just like it is not worth the hassle of complaining about non-appearing Avis rental car miles etc which I get stiffed on half the time. I think what we are seeing is that being a 1K is only of benefit for flying what you actually fly (and a huge benefit let's be clear) and all these extra perks are now just a distraction. Ca la vie I guess.
Originally Posted by
nycua1k
I agree that the 2010 program really bites. I feel that there is very little incentive for people who are 1ks. in fact, in recent years, I feel like they're giving that status away, which is evident in the recent nomination program. what's wrong with earning the status the old fashion way. and I'm sure they know that 1ks will likely try to reach 1k status again so there is little incentive to get them to fly other than to fly more than 100k in order to qualify for some crappy reward. I think they can try to incentivize people to reach 2p or 3p and make 1k and gs truly their elite flyer groups. as much as I hate UA because of its bad service, *net blocking, now bad MP program rewards, i still keep coming back. the promos and the milage give aways APPEAR to be more generous than other domestic carriers. Though, I truly am seriously thinking about jumping ship to AA. Has anyone done a comparison of the two airlines? I'm in NYC so AA does offer more options, but since I fly to Asia a lot, AA really cannot compete with UA in that respect. I flew CO once and loved it, but don't think it offers as many great flights to Asia. I hate to be an elite on CO but have to fly coach in UA to asia.
Well put. This 2010 program is not the beginning of the end - it is the end. Maybe that is the intention - to get us weaned off all these freebies that they don't have the money for, and don't bring in much revenue anyway.
AA are a lot more formal than UA, and a lot less flexible than UA when things go wrong. I always feel AA systems work better than UA. Problem is lousy service to Asia. Yea I wish CO had better service to Asia and I'd go with them all the time.