As a 1K who's early time as an elite (1P for 2 years, 2P for 2 years, now going into my 4th year as a 1K) involved quite a bit of non-UA earning, I can generally say I'm very happy with most of this. It was a very thorny issue with dealing with the Million Mile issue, as CO took AA's easy route to status and UA's was quite difficult. I think this is the best combination of fairness and promoting greater loyalty.

I get cutting a bit from the lowest tier. Its actually really good for those who get stuck in IRROPS or get done way early and SDC to another flight, as there won't be nearly as may upper tier elites stuck in Economy Minus or in middles (or both!).

Its really nice to see that these minimum spend tiers and the idea of buying status has gone out the window. I get doing the minimum flying thing, it looks more generous than what AC has done, but I do have some questions.

1) How are the 4 required flights on UA calculated (obviously, this shouldn't affect me much, but will affect those at lower tiers)? Is it 4 round trips? 4 EQS/PQS? 4 one ways?

2) So, even 1Ks will get stuck behind GMs using miles to upgrade? Sounds fishy.

3) What are the SWU/GPU fare codes?