Originally Posted by
jlivengo
As a few others have pointed out, this new PQD requirement is not targeted at MR'ers. They are purely an incidental/secondary casualty. This is mainly targeted at the US based int'l business market. ... This program is targeted at bringing back HVF'ers, not MR'ers.
This is a huge gamble by UA requiring the purchase of airfare on 016 ticket stock. They are forcing them to choose one carrier or the other. It'll be interesting to see how the business community responds.
I basically agree. The ticket stock requirement is a sea change here because it alters the relationship between miles earning and status on *A. The big goal here is to increase the UA spending of *A flyers along the intensive margin. The gamble is whether that increase will override the revenue loss from current/potential elites unwilling to pay a loyalty premium due to not hitting the PQD marks. This gamble looks much more attractive in the current consolidation environment and the defection of US to AA (due to lack of FF program competition from a US based *A alternative). As I wrote
in a post on the bigger thread, the design of their program makes me think they are underestimating the potential negative consequences of introducing so much uncertainty.