economyplusfan

This is exactly right. Several years ago the only way to get the current Silver benefits was to fly 25,000 miles on UA and *A. That came at some cost since UA would not always be the lowest fare on a given route. Over time there were other ways to get Silver benefits (UA began selling E+, credit cards started offering EQMs, etc.). Under the new 2P, for someone at a UA hub who flies between 25,000 and 49,000 miles per year (me) the tradeoff is whether to spend on a PP or MP credit card + buy E+ access and get benefits that are now better than 2P or to fly exclusively on UA and US and go for the 25,000 miles. Given the availability of low fare carriers WN (no RJs!) and F9 out of Denver (both have reasonable seat pitch options), it is a no brainer for me - buy the card and the E+ option for those times when flying UA internationally or where UA has the most convenient domestic schedule. Fly WN or F9 on all other occasions. The fare savings will more than pay for the card and the E+ access. The only downside of not being 2P on UA is the 49% of the time that the UDU clears (according to UDUSTATS), though this percentage is likely to go way down with the new UDU priority list. I have to admit that the UDUs where the one thing that kept me with UA rather than F9 or WN in the past; it was always fun going to the airport knowing you held a lottery ticket for an upgrade, and watching your number go up and down (mainly down) on the upgrade screen.