WineCountryUA

While many are down on striving for lifetime status, either because it might be best not to tie yourself to a single carrier (shop for the best price) or because of the fear of potential downgrades of benefits. It is true there is a growing population of MMers and it surely is a consideration in airline planning. The UA BIS miles on only UA operated flights is the most stringent MMer program.

I have less concern there is going to be a major downgrade of MM benefits per se. If it does it hit will be *G that is the target, not MMers. However if one is more then 2-3 years from a MMer threshold -- and definitively if >3 years, this is too volatile of an FF environment to make MMer status a major consideration in your decision making. If it happens organically, fine. If all else is equal, it can tip the scales.

"Lifetime" *G is presently a sweet spot and while it is easy to worry about its future, I really doubt it is that much of a concern for UA. Back at the merger (2012) that was a significant change in benefits. Annual RPUs were dropped (& threshold GPUs) and companion status was added. This was a loss for some and a gain for others, opinions are greatly shaped by how one felt about that change.