I have debated whether to way in on this thread or not (I probably should not), but reading some of the other posts, I will. I am a first time 1K. It seems to me that some simple economics might come into play in terms of the number of 1ks (or other elites) there are today vs. the past few years and thus people think the devalued nature of elite status.

I would think that as our economy turned around since 2000-01, more and more companies are increasing their travel budgets, thus increasing the amount that employees travel, thus creating more and more elite members. (not counting the amount people spend on personal travel)

Now yes, United has had a lot of promotions the past few years to gain elite status, but I would be interested in seeing the year-over-year numbers as to how many elite members there were compared to previous years. I would expect the number to have dropped considerably after 2000 (due to the recession and 9/11). I know some threads around here have mentioned that at the end of 2004 there were ~40,000 1ks. I would be interested to know how many there were for the previous 5 years and how many there are in 2005 and 2006.

I think a lot of people that read this site seem to think that the value of elite membership is being devalued because of the number of promotions that are going on and the number of FT members that are gaining status via these promotions.

But my question is, what are the actual numbers. No one knows. I think that FT is an anomoly since an unproportional number of members are elite members who travel alot and thus it seems that elite membership is devalued over time. But many threads exists that have been posted about elite members who never even knew they were elite members.

Yes, the number of elite members has increased. Simple economics will tell you that this should be true. If the number of elites doesn't increase then (IMHO) the airline is doing something wrong. The airline should always be looking for ways to increase their business. Looking at the monthly and quarterly reports by UA, it seems they are doing a pretty good job of increasing revenue and profits over the previous years.

Bottom line, if you buy a coach fare, the airline is not obligated to sit you in first. If they are able to, then that is a bonus (a perk of the Frequent flyer program), but I feel too many people on this site feel that the airline is beholden to them and that if they don't get the upgrade or the preferred seat, that it is the airline's fault.

I know this is a ramble. And I hope I don't get misquoted or understood and get flamed for this, but I think simple, rational reasoning should come into play as to an airline trying to increase loyalty. If that means its members feel like the value of elite membership has decreased, then I place the blame on the members, not the airline.