Originally Posted by gldwebs

Am I the only one here that recognizes UA is a business? I dont know many businesses that make money by creating a better product and constantly giving it away. The PN7 PZ0 makes a ton of sense. Most GS members are PAYING for F anyway (Im in paid F at least 75% of the time). GS members give 4-40x the revenue of 1k and are FAR more profitable. on a $ comparison - my $15k in flights to a 1k's $15k in flights (to compare equally) are probably worth 2x or more because mine are high value lower costs to UA. They WANT people with those flying patterns to be very happy. Last year I flew 88k actual BIS miles on around $50k in spend. That is far more valuable to them than the 1k flying 100k BIS for $15k. They WANT me to get an upgrade the few times I am stuck in coach then they want you to get it. I am not trying to be "Im better than you" here, but its a great business decision to keeping their money. Most 1k fliers are not necessary loyal, but are more likely hub-stuck to UA. Sure, an ORD person can go to AA, but there really isnt that big of a differentiation at this point to bother changing since you already spent the time building to 1k, have a bunch of banked miles, branded CCs, etc. You ARENT leaving unless your company makes you leave OR the competitors offer something awesome (which, they arent). I, on the other hand, could leave. I am buying international business class tickets. I could have bought my ticket on singapore airlines in their superior product, but I chose to consolidate with UA because I also fly to the EU (where I could fly LH F). They KNOW I would leave them because the GS benefits are not that much more above what I could get paying for F/C with top tier international fliers. This is the reality of the world. 1K and below are not getting something for free unless UA is 100% sure they wont sell it.

<NOTE: This post was not meant to piss anyone off but rather be a frank assessment of how I believe UA is looking at the difference between a GS and a 1K.>