Mildly different question: is there any benefit to amassing >100K EQM? I'm in the UK now, and I will hit 100K on the way back to HNL. Other than the obvious fact that I don't get to enjoy the bennies of being a 1K if I don't fly COUA, is there any downside to switching over to another carrier to build loyalty?
Last year they had the elite flyer challenge thing, which gave me an incentive to keep flying UA. Is there any incentive now?