The long thread about the changes in boarding priority has me thinking about what it means to be a "premium" or "elite" member. I think the current structure tries too hard to make everyone feel special - sort of like those end-of-year awards that many schools give out where every kid gets a trophy.

Here is how I think the next iteration of MileagePlus should look:

Gold, 60,000 miles
Sorry, but flying less than this doesn't make you "elite". The current Silver and Gold categories are like winning Miss Congeniality. We applaud your efforts, now get the hell off the stage. These are like B and B+ students. Great job, but no Dean's List for you.
Flying one round trip per year to HKG on an unrestricted ticket doesn't make you elite.
I see many on this board refer to themselves as being among United's "best" customers. Not true. Some of these people are among United's "better than average" customers.
Flying 60,000 miles is an achievement that should be recognized.

Platinum, 80,000 miles
Even better. Keep working, and you might make...

100K, 100,000 miles
Doesn't "1K" mean "1 thousand"? Doesn't "100K" mean "100 thousand"?

Global Services, 200,000 miles
The current GS is like the Skull and Crossbones of United. Why so secret? Let's define the criteria and give customers something concrete to work towards.

I don't address what I think should be the perks of each level, but I would hope that a more rigorous structure would allow those truly "frequent" flyers to have a better shot at winning hard-earned upgrades, boarding priority, etc.