Thanks for the info as always jsloan.

One of the recent misconnects was a 3+ hour delay- missing crew member. Not even sure how they handle this at an airport without a crew base. The other was 3+ due to a delayed incoming plane. I've chosen to go home and sleep in my bed versus dealing with whichever hotel they want to put me in at the connecting city.

*If* I were ever able to convince UA to rebook on another airline, do I have a better shot with the gate agent or the 1K line?