Interesting development. I suppose UA is not entirely to blame since they just followed other airlines. I wonder how this will play out when it actually goes into effect, whether it would reduce the numbers of elites, particularly 1K, and help retain value for that status. Of course, it also depends what priviledges are restored to make it worth $10k a year for travelers.

Personally, I haven't traveled as aggressively for the past few years and have maintained my 1K status on personal travel. I'm now in a position to travel for work again, but I find myself re-evaluating whether UA is still the right carrier given all the changes that have come about. I suppose the PDQ requirement won't affect me much since international travel for work should easily help me qualify, so the real question for me is, what will UA do for those 1Ks under the new requirement?