Originally Posted by Boraxo

It's funny, as one who flies mostly for leisure travel on my own dime, I have reached the same conclusion. Not because I have received bad service - in fact I think UA has some great FAs. But just because the MP benefits, particularly for anybody below 1K are not sufficient to engender loyalty.
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For midcons/ transcons UA definitely has an edge with E+ but access can be purchased for $299 a year so there is no need to worry about elite status or miles. As for F, if a 1k has trouble from SFO you can imagine what it's like for us peons. Contrast to AA where I can simply buy into F for $30/500 miles and am more likely to find availability. Again, I think this is where status brings the most value, but B6 and others are rapidly closing the gap.

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So in sum I pretty much agree with you except about the in-flight service. MP has been so degraded, and upgrades are so few, that it now is smarter to play the game in a new way. Buy the cheapest ticket you can find on an acceptable routing, accumulate miles everywhere, play the bonus and partner game, and then cash them in for the highest value you can get.