I agree! I'm not a high revenue passenger, but I fly about 40K miles each year, and I book 5-25 companions for over 30K of those miles. I probably purchase in the neighborhood of 400K miles worth of tickets each year (too bad I can't get a cut of those miles!). So while large corporate clients booking business and first dwarf the impact of my spending, I believe that my booking decisions are probably a bit more important than those of most people who log the same number of miles that I do.

As routes and flights have been pared back, I've found myself booking other airlines more often, though I've always been able to manage 25K with United and its partners. I've viewed the UA/CO merger with a mix of excitement and trepidation. I'm excited about the expanded network, but I've wondered about the changes that would be made to programs that keep me coming back to United (companion baggage and the ability to book 9 passengers on one reservation being perhaps the most important to me -- without them, Southwest would probably see a lot more of my business). This clarification not only protects a benefit that I value, but also makes me look forward to the customer service culture that we may get with the new United Airlines.