Originally Posted by
FlyngSvyr
So, with the year almost 7 months over, I just sat down & did the math. This will/would be the 1st year I miss 1K in the last 5 years buying Economy fares only for my travel
And that is with the small COVID "jumpstart" for 1Ks (probably the last time we get it).
For background, I fly almost weekly & average about 90-100 segments per year (99% domestic) & do not have any UA credit cards to augment PQD. This is business travel, but I am the owner, (so it does cut into profit for the year). My upgrade rate is about 85% between PP & CPU's. My wife is my MM companion, so she does get some CPU's & other 1K benefits from my status but doesn't travel nearly as much as I do. That being said, she has become addicted to sitting up front when she travels
I have all of my travel booked thru the end of the 3rd quarter & projecting 27 more flights for the 4th quarter, I will fall about $3200 short with buying only advance K fares.
IF I make 24 of the last 27 flights FC (P fares), I will squeak over the line. I think this is the new normal that UA was looking for. Get 1Ks addicted to the perks of status & then raise the thresholds to get people in my boat to buy more FC fares to keep it.
Just an observation & quandary I face. I wonder how many are in the same boat?
Easy. Get the UA club/infinite card…
Originally Posted by
WineCountryUA
Outside the FT / reddit / FB FF communities most earn what they earn based on their actual flying. We are a niche and unlikely very representative of the general elite community. At least that is my experience if I happen to get in a conversation with others at conferences, meetings, .... Status is incidental to travel needs.
The increase in travel costs almost negates the increase in earning thresholds.
Hmm. I’d bet that most on here travel a lot, and are just trying to optimize there levels airlines have set for the loyalty tiers. Doing it right involves evaluating what the different tiers get you vs what it costs to get there. Some people make “wrong” decisions, but if loyalty programs weren’t offering value, they’d die pretty quickly.
Originally Posted by
tednugent(no relation)
I still hold, but rarely use, my Chase United Explorer card from years ago, preferring instead to use my AMEX Platinum card for the Centurion Lounge and other benefits.
Holding a card is different from using it. If your UA card helps you get to the tier you want, use it. You can still use your Amex to get into Centurion. Still if your UA splendor won’t impact your tier, perhaps don’t bother.
Originally Posted by
UnitedHostage
I don't think it is correct to credit card spend to 1K, especially after United devalued their miles so much this year multiple times. American Airlines spend to top tier status is easier and earns much more valuable miles. The 3800 cash back is a low estimate too. I think it would be much better to put that spend in good cards or even good sign up bonuses like the Chase Ink Preferred 120K + 40K referral and just buy business class tickets on Aeroplan. Maybe it would be worth it for Global Services where you can put pluspoints on award tickets and have more availability in PN. For 1K, I think it is a waste.
”correct” is a funny thing. Whether UA branded credit cards are the very best thing out there, perhaps not. But if it gets you pre-boarding, PlusPoints and upgrades, why not?
Originally Posted by
UnitedHostage
Yes, I understand. I am talking from a benefits perspective. In other words, I don’t think it is worth it to spend on a credit card to 1K because the 1K benefits are not good enough. If you could spend to GS, that might be worth it because the benefits are much stronger. But we don’t even know what that would look like if United offered it. It is just a hypothetical framing to emphasize that 1K is not worth wasting hundreds of thousands of credit card spend on.
Au contraire, GS benefits are great, but if you can spend yourself to Pre-boarding, PlusPoints, free CPU upgrades, and the 1K hotline, I’d say that is a pretty good product. Life begins at 1K… (That is given that you spend that much on credit cards anyway. Nobody would suggest that just spending more on credit cards is the way to happiness.)
Originally Posted by
vladrad
like to travel in style, though perhaps not as often as others. I don’t purchase tickets—I always use miles instead. Honestly, it feels like a big deal because every time I travel, it’s in Polaris or Lufthansa business class, and I’m not paying for it.
Unfortunately, I haven’t had the chance to experience Lufthansa first class yet. I did have a ticket once, but while I was in the lounge in Frankfurt, they refunded me 800 euros and downgraded me to business class.
Also I like to show off with my "status" :-))))
I don't see that huge benefit in global services vs 1k or maybe I am just clueless.
It all depends on how much you travel. GS will definitely get you upgraded a lot more on domestic flights, but where it shines is when the world is melting and you need a flight out of a tough spot. You’d have to fly a lot before that becomes an objective in and of itself. If flying a lot of international, it might be worth it to concentrate spend on UA (as LH spend doesn’t weigh in on GS tier qualification).