I am having trouble deciding how to handle my travel next year. I've been 1P (and sometimes 1K) on United for more than ten years. I travel internationally less than before so keeping even 1P will require effort next year. In the meantime, the benefits of 1P have been degraded and one can buy the same services a la carte in some cases. For instance, I could buy first-class tickets on Hawaiian Air for a fair price, skip upgrade roulette and get what I assume will be better service. For international vacation trips, I can simply plan ahead to buy discounted Z fares on United (or probably another carrier with more pleasant service). Since overall I end up paying more to fly on UA consistently during the year, I suspect--though I can't be sure--that the total cost will be about the same, especially considering that no mileage runs would be necessary.

What I would lose is 1P status on my domestic business trips; since it seems less and less likely that I will be upgraded due to all the various changes, I am beginning to think this will be a meaningless loss for me. Many of my colleagues are flying Virgin America and are much happier with the service and attitude.

One other factor is that, with the one-time recalculation of lifetime miles due to the merger, I will probably have about 725-750K in lifetime miles. My partner flies a lot less than I do, so the spousal benefit for him would be useful. But...the lifetime 1P status is worth a lot less than before.

I am sure I am not alone in making these decisions. (And I know many of colleagues have abandoned UA in the last couple of years for similar reasons.) Advice and references to other threads welcome.