I'm not exactly sure why 2015 qualifications made it impossible for you to get UA Gold? You have the 50k+ miles per year it sounds like and if you're buying flex tickets then you certainly have the $$ spend as well. (even without the spend, what's that, 3 or 4 trips to India a year? Couldn't you move your Mileage Plus account to an address there if necessary? Sounds like you'd be there frequently enough to pick up your annual card)

The only value I see in Kris Flyer is access to SQ First Class redemption. You can get Business Class through other *A programs within 7 days of departure easily enough that I wouldn't use KF to access those seats. If you're redeeming for Y, then it's a horrible value as you've learned. I'll use AMEX or other generic points to transfer to KF if I want the F seat redemption, so even still I don't see it as being great as a program of first choice. As of now, even with devaluations I don't see much better in *A than Mileage Plus as long as you have the 4 segment minimum for status.