Beyond the obvious, published benefits for each of the three tiers, it is somewhat difficult to come up with concrete examples of how 1Ps prosper versus 2Ps--without misleading you.

I say this because so many of the unpublished benefits really depend upon the individual(s) that you come into contact with at United. What I can say is this: you odds of receiving "better" overall treatment (having the rules bent, getting a comp. upgrade, being let into the RCC on a long layover someplace, getting a free bottle of wine on a flight, etc.) increase as you move up the ladder. In my own experience, these "perks" dramatically increased between 1P and 1K--but didn't substantially differ between 1P and 2P.

I'd try to attain 1P for the published benefits--namely the 100% flight miles bonus and *Gold status that allows RCC entry when overseas (which you already get if you're based in Germany). Achieving 1P and expecting the "perks" to come rolling in will, in my opinion, lead to nothing but disappointment 90% of the time.

Hope that answer didn't come across as a cop out...it's the best way I know how to illustrate the differences for you.