I started an earlier thread on this topic, but it got merged to another, so I will try to make my intention clear.

I am interested in the UA status challenge, but since I fly a lot of international flights, I see a snag. T&Cs say that only flights operated by UA and Copa count, and NOT on codeshares operated by other carriers. Now, that sounds like that's quite the snag, especially into Europe. Of those intl flyers who have challenged, I have a few questions

1. What have been your experiences with this?

2. Am I sorry out of luck if I can't fly on *A partners?

3. Do you still think it would be worth trying to match by just flying UA metal?

Any thoughts or opinions on this? At first glance, I am finding the UA-only requirement to be quite limiting, and it certainly makes it tougher to qualify, especially when prices and services on partners are competitive.

Thanks!