Originally Posted by
L Dude 7
Silver is the first step to more advanced FF status. If the experience doesn't provide many benefits, then why continue flying? I've managed to get exactly 0 E+ seats this year as a silver. All my flying has been international, so I have been permitted exactly 0 additional checked bags than I would have as a regular member. I prefer to board at the last minute, so early boarding is not a big benefit. At least the 25% mileage benefit shows up. However, 25% of 40,000 miles is only 10,000 - and it isn't too difficult to come up with that through a smattering of other partners. Priority lane? Well, I've moved faster through the regular lane.
So, I look at this and say "Hmm... I'm not getting much here. But, if I fly more I may get to another level with more benefits. But, I' haven't been getting much out of it. Should I bother?"
Right now the only thing keeping me with United is *A. I love the service on ANA and have heard great things about Asiana. EVA is coming on board soon. I can continue to fly them and accrue the miles to mileage plus. However, my loyalty level is low, since I am not expecting a whole lot in return.
Cathay Pacific has a better flight? The in-flight experience is much better than United. Why bother suffering to get a few additional Mileage Plus miles? (I even get more checked bags as a nobody on Cathay than as a 1P on United.)
Luckily, for United, they are still the only ones to offer a lot of flights out of SFO, so they will still be getting some of my business. But, I wont go out of my why to fly UA.
Don't forget about US then. You'll have to connect, but you'll still have UA as a back up and still have access to *A.
I was treated better as a silver on US than I was on UA. Now, you don't get E+, but you said you've been scoring a big 0 on that anyway so it won't matter. You'll at least be able to reserve exit rows at booking and also have a pretty decent shot at upgrades too. Now, you won't be rolling in them as a silver, but you'll see them a lot more often than on UA. I was upgraded about 40% of the time as a silver.
US isn't as bad as a lot of people here think, and they've improved a lot. They're still improving too, with wifi going to all of the Airbus fleet plus streaming entertainment to your tablet/laptop/phone is coming too.
You can always do a 90 day challenge, fly at least 7500 miles during that time and then keep it for the rest of the year.
It may not be viable for you, but it's worth at least taking a look at.
Super