No, I am saying that hub captive is choice.

I live in DEN. That is a UA hub and I do fly UA from time to time. I have been 1K for about five years in addition to DL. Theoretically I would have concentrated my flying on UA and been GS (which I likely could have hit). I would have spent at least another 15k a year had I done that though. Many of my neighbors do just that using the hub captive argument. If you want to claim that being hub captive means you have to fly DL feel free. But that is an illusion. The rest of us do not have to believe that anyone is hub captive. It is a choice. Everyone makes them and lives with them.

Presumably all elites are elites because of the perceived value of the program. I am saying there is no real lasting value in the program. I am upgraded WAY MORE on DL than UA when I fly out of DEN. But then I have to switch planes. And that can add time and create room for more delays. Conversely I could overpay on UA for the few hours I save knowing I will sit in C+. I fly on OPM/My money so sometimes value is more important than time and sometimes I need the flexibility of more options to travel.

This year I will drop to Plat on DL and Gold on UA. I am content with that. My days of flying like a lunatic are over thank goodness. Last year I went to asia 10 times, europe three times and africa once mostly in J but not always. It finally became too much. I can see hitting 2MM on DL and 1MM on UA in the next few years. Now I actively work to not fly for work if I can avoid it. I find the extra time raising my daughter to be more than worth the :"sacrifice" of not having elite status.