I had to move to DTW area due to graduate school (U of M, Ann Arbor) and had contemplated about doing a status match to NWA (as I had quite a bit of NWA miles then 60K, but had redeemed on a RT within SA award...GRU-LIM-EZE, which by the way was best 20,000 miles I have ever spent!). But heck no, I wasn't going to give up my UA loyalty, after having experienced E+ etc (I was 1P then). I definately did my research and shopping, but NWA wasn't as attractive after all despite all those "free upgrades" and 125% for its Plat members (I must say though redeeming for an award on NWA is a bit nicer since they allow you to get one-way awards).

As a result, I have proven myself that I can still keep flying UA and maintain and even reach higher status (that is 1K!!! ). Yes, I do notice many posts about unpleasant experiences and I myself have also experienced similar events on UA, but given that these unpleasant things happen with every carrier, I would say that UA is certainly the best amongst all US carriers ^