For me it is definitely worth it now that I am no longer flying on OPM and my annual travel on *A carriers is greatly reduced.
E+ at time of purchase and Boarding Group 1 are the biggest benefits, free checked bags are a plus (though I try to avoid checking), and it is nice to have *A lounge access for international trips.
Originally Posted by
rabilancia
I fully agree! It took me 42 years to reach that level.
Late in my life it's just nice to have.
Ditto! I think it took me 31 years or so, and then only with the addition of BIS from the CO merger. Which is not bad considering I never had a road warrior job.
The UA-metal requirement was definitely a killer as I often used to fly LH, SQ and other *A carriers. I'd probably be lifetime Plat by now if I could include those flights.
Originally Posted by
jsloan
If you’re within two years of achieving a lifetime status, you might want to consider it in your calculations — for example, you might choose to take a UA flight over a slightly more convenient option on another carrier in order to lock in lifetime status faster. The reason that i use an (admittedly, arbitrary) two-year cutoff is that the uncertainty continues to mount the further out you go. Someone who is traveling 50K miles a year — a not inconsiderable amount — will take 20 years to hit one million. Even if they’re halfway through that journey, you’re still talking about planning for 2035, with no idea what the airline industry might look like then.
Nor do I recommend a mileage run just to achieve lifetime status. Spending your weekends flying back and forth, at considerable expense and wear-and-tear on your body, between SFO and SIN, does not seem to be justified by the rewards achieved.
In my opinion, most travelers should ignore the lifetime programs and make their flight choices as if lifetime status doesn’t exist.
I mostly concur. However, if I was at 950k-975k lifetime miles I would certainly consider a push and even more incentive if I did not currently hold *G and typically buy low fare tix. I prefer to do family trips in E+ and the savings can be quite significant. I would be less inclined to do so for 2MM lifetime Plat, though this may become the sweet spot if UA decides to degrade Gold. I would definitely push if I was close to lifetime 1K and GS, but really if you are already near that marker then you probably don't need to do mileage runs.
But if you had 200k to go like OP, you are too far off to waste $$$$ on mileage runs. Just let it happen organically and hope that UA doesn't move the goalposts (or the prizes) before you complete it.