I have sympathy for the OP, as I've been in this situation like for Hilton, where I didn't pay attention and had turned off junk mail notifications... That hurt.

But in the end only what he/she does relative to UA's policies matters.

Also, we all at some point realize that as customers, your loyalty is only valued and rewarded as much as you continue to fly the next year. Unfortunately, when you "retire" from flying UA, they don't look out for you beyond 18 months.

UA made a move to reward travelers who didn't have the time or inclination to learn the ins-and-outs of the system, but were spending $ and didn't feel the reward of all that spending. That was CPUs and GS.

It is a tall order for a company incentivized to perform on a quarterly basis to take care of its "retired" fliers who no longer provide them revenue...