hirohito888

Actually, after UA implemented the PQD requirement, the website has done quite a good job on ticketing domestic tickets, some at fairly reasonable prices. A lot of domestic tickets can be purchased on UA.com, including domestic Canada, Germany, and Japan.

biglinguist

I usually paid less, as I travelled yyt-(ydf/yyr-yhz-yul/yow-yow/yul-)yyz/ytz fairly often, and that's 5 tango segments for $214-$265.

Earn Your Wings boosted my spending per segment a fair bit.

FlyerGoldII

Even if AC.com could book (as an example) domestic (within USA) UA flights, by the current FAQs of AQDs - these flights would not count towards AQDs.

skybluesea

indubitably, not to mention an IDB this summer for spouse and I out of Dublin, supposedly for one of their best customer

skybluesea

Unfortunately your math is OFF

Your AE accrual is NOT incremental to E75, where 75% AE miles are already offered, plus most of the SE benefits are already achieved at this lower level.

E75 gets on reaching status total 131.25k AE miles
S100K gets on reaching status total 200k AE miles

So for net 68.75k AE miles incremental, an SE gets(and for arguments sake we round up to 75k that includes occasional SE bonuses), what you can get is Business class from NA to Northern SA (let's say Bogota).

Return from YVR-BOG in P class, assuming your not getting last minute seat on this route, so must book ahead, then return BIZ airfare +/- 1700 cdn for this coming Spring.

So, the gain is far less than you have identified, and still leaves big gap between E75 & SE100 with regards to the incremental cost to get to SE.

But as AllVest identified, plenty of intangibles that need to be accounted for in someone deciding to advance to SE, over E75

PLeblond

There is also a big gap in benefits between E75K and SE.

Thus begs the $25,000 question... or an $11,000 question in this case. How much more are SE benefits worth for each individual not currently spending $20k?

anotheran2

20K spend on AC metal may make it difficult for me to make SE for 2017 since I fly some UA metal within the US. If I do make it, it'll be a tight one. The jump from 50K to SE is a pretty steep one

canolakid

with the info vacuum, we are all in the dark re making this decision on anything other than faith that 'it will be worth it'. not a game I am going to play.

YYZFlyboy

if anyone thinks for a second that AC has not done the math and figured out exactly who will remain in the top tier (SE) through spending and who will not, you're dreaming in technicolour.

They are trying to pare down the top level to exactly the right number of their top spenders that they want.

They also have a very good idea who will drop down to the various levels and who will drop out altogether.

From what I've seen AC decided several years ago that the program had to change drastically and this is just another step in that process. I'm thinking that they know exactly the numbers they are striving for at each level at the end of this.

Here's one thing for sure, expect to be "worth" a certain value to AC to get the benefits of the program.

They also know that people will go. Many of them they don't care about because the value wasn't there anyhow. But people will also always come back or join the program.

The various programs and airlines will be jockeying for customers and there will always be a certain element that jumps between programs. But I guarantee there's a huge NA element that we don't hear about (because they are not on FT) and that spend a lot of money on AC and probably always will as long as they have to travel.

j_the_p

My days of flight pass purchasing are on hold due to corporate policy...BUT...one of my biggest beefs with this whole scheme is that AQDs on flight pass flights won't be earned until flights are flown. It doesn't make sense. If I buy a $5k flight pass, I have immediately given AC the revenue. They should immediately give me the AQDs. Full stop. I'm ok with the miles and segments being awarded upon flying. That makes sense. The AQDs...not at all.

xLuther

I have reviewed my routings, where I travel, where I will travel and keep coming back to simple conclusion.

ME50K no issue, ME75K will require some adjustments, using code shares to insure being over $9K AC spend.
SE100K , I spend enough in total, been SE100K a few times, never done a milage run to get it, always on miles. But there is no way I can do it on '014' AC tickets only without extra routings, and >20 % higher spend. AC lack of service and code shared routes to YEG make that next to impossible.

So based on final program, have decide if ME50K is worth bothering with, I won't punish myself to punish AC but if program not improved I will be taking a hard look at every flight for best deal for me, status be damned.

drvannostren

Agreed with everything you said, my only thing though is for anyone thinking the SE program will get better due to this I think is also off. Not only that but it'll still get degraded in future. Maybe not the next year. But it's only a matter of time before the 20k goes to 25k or the AQS gets bumped to 110-120 (doesn't UA have a higher AQS requirement than miles?) or maybe AA style with that annoying system of points vs miles vs segments.

There will be a time where they hit a bottom and stick with it for a while. But as they continue to unbundle fares, those will suddenly become "benefits" to upper elites. Perfect case in point is the YQ. It was put in...then repealed from SE. Even I see it as a "benefit" but the reality is it's a benefit from a self imposed semi-scam. Again I use the analogy of a gang forcing a business to pay protection money, when that protection is from the gang itself. It's not as extortionist as that but the concept is similar. Offer/force something, then take it back based on a condition.

I will say I don't oppose anything they're doing from a moral or business point of view. I think they've definitely counted the beans and figured out this will net them ________ to the bottom line. I do however wonder where it finally hits the floor, stops, maybe does a dead cat bounce and then settles in for a while.

24left

As of Jan 1 2016, AA will no longer have the EQPs (points) to deal with. It's miles or segments and dollars, and then status. I actually like part 2 of the change, later in the year, where you will also earn based on your AA status. I also think their approach to more EQMs per fare on American-marketed flights is more flexible than what AC is doing.

And yes, before someone here throws a fit, I am well aware that AC is not AA. They do not operate in the same universe or serve the same markets and so on.


I just find it interesting to see how the FFPs have evolved and I also agree with those who think these programs will either disappear completely and/or become a single-carrier program based on spend. I also think airlines would be more than happy to do away with these things but we all know, no one wants to blink first. Perhaps the various bean-counters and legal teams have not yet figured out how to get out from under the weight of the millions+++ of miles floating around out there in members' accounts. IMHO.

Still, while your miles may not be bananas and won't "go bad" soon, they are not going to be worth more (or get you more) tomorrow than they did yesterday.

canadiancow

In LHR? I'm not sure I agree with that.

But given their locations, I'm either flying out near the LH lounge, or the UA lounge, but not both.

"cpm" generally refers to earned miles, not BIS miles, so that doesn't really apply.

The Asia round trip in F doesn't cost Air Canada $10k though. AC pays maybe $2000 for 200k miles. At the high end.

So the miles are worth way less than $10k.

But you've also left out all the other benefits of status, which do have some value.

And you seem to be missing the point that for $20k spend, you actually fly many places. You're not paying $20k for 200k miles, or for status, you're getting those as a side effect of the flights you've booked.

Diabeetus

This method allows us to still get AQD for FP's purchased in 2015.