Changes to MileagePlus have made me a much more transactional customer. At one point I would tolerate a slightly higher ticket price or a connection to fly Continental. Given lower upgrade percentages, more TODs, PreCheck and better 3rd party lounges MileagePlus no longer provides incentives for this behavior.

For example:
Although I'll end this year with a little more than 50k BIS miles on UA, I'm not sure it is worth aiming for elite status next year. For me the big benefit of Gold Status is E+ at booking---and as this year much of my *A travel has been on ANA + Copa, the benefit does not transfer. My Amex offers better lounge access than *A. Of course no upgrades so far on my minimal domestic travel.

The changes did mean that the 15k BIS miles I've flown on Alaska/Virgin this year would have previously gone to UA. (Largely SFO to HNL + MSP). I have also flown something like twenty segments on WN. UA has never been competitive between SF and RNO, so this is not a change.

I recently signed-up for a promotion that offers a Southwest companion pass with a new credit card; they have also announced service to Hawaii. A combination of my Amex including lounges at OAK + RNO, new service and the companion pass mean that going forward it will be hard to send much domestic business to UA. Without elite status it makes more sense to book whatever the best value international ticket looks like regardless of airline.

What could/should UA do to change my mind?