Out of curiosity, I looked at the listings. First off, I love the part about "1K is United's highest tier and you will be treated very well." and the benefit of "First Class upgrades on all domestic flights for you and a companion, of which you'll be TOP of the list."

Looking further down the listing, it says "If you have had a status challenge in the last 5 years you're not eligible." So even though it's advertising a full year of status, it's still based on a challenge (even though it also states "This is not a challenge"). Also, "This does not include plus points." Pretty bad deal all around, even if weren't a violation of United's T&C.