Airline cards seem like a good way for a low or no status flyer to get some of the benefits of having status, but I'm hard pressed to come up with what you might get for $1000. If you're going to spend $1000 on a UA credit card, I imagine you'd have to be a fairly committed UA flyer, at which point you probably have some form of status already.

E+ subscription? Unlimited WiFi worldwide? Unlimited lounge guests? PlusPoints accrual for spend (e.g. such as with the Marriott promo)? Maybe access to IN space?