Lol, people have been predicting that since qualification went revenue based in 2014, and it has never happened. As has been noted many, many times, the primary reason why upgrades get ever harder is because more people are buying premium cabin.

To answer your question, what's the value you place on 40 PlusPoints? They will probably be worth more once UA does away with the fixed pricing on mileage awards, which will also make it harder to value them. Right now, they're worth at most about $960 (the approximate cost of an MUA TPAC upgrade) less the delta from cheapest economy fare to a W.

Personally, I would hardly stretch at all for Plat (maybe $500-600). 1K is a different story, as the Plus Points could have significant value, especially if PZ TPAC to certain destinations remains as available as it is today.