Should I switch?
 

Hi, I would like to get some expert advice about whether or not I should switch to a different loyalty program. I am a million mile plus UA, 1K for many years but I'm not happy right now. I average 110,000 miles a year. I am dreading starting at the bottom again with another plan. I've heard that some programs recognize your value and start you at a higher level. Is there a thread where this is addressed? The pros and cons and most importantly, the how-to's of switching loyalty programs. Thanks.

This is an utterly impossible question to answer on such little information. Let's start with, what airport do you fly out of, and where do you normally go?

Sorry, I fly out of DEN, and I fly all over domestically for work. Occasional international, but all over the US. 1K the hard way.

The grass in not always greener on the other side

With the majority of ffp's benefits are reducing and ff mile costs are going up.
Upgrades are now harder to get.
The halcyon days of frequent flyer programs a decade ago are gone: just accept reality.
AA offers a challenge for faster status.

What are your objectives from a ffp?
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...help-here.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/onewo...help-here.html

Again, in case you missed:- The grass in not always greener on the other side

Why are you not happy now and what do you expect to find at the end of the rainbow?

UA had 43 percent of the flights out of DEN in February 2016, the most recent month for which data are available. (Source.) Southwest had 29%, Frontier 13%, and nobody else more than 6%. Unless Southwest's program meets your needs, and you haven't given us enough information about your goals in an FFP for us to weigh in on that yet, you may be pretty much stuck.

Unless there's something specific that UA's program doesn't offer, that another airline's does, and that is really important to you, I'd live with it. If it helps, try repeating "Frequent flyer programs are not the most important things in life." (FT heresy, perhaps, but true.)

With your amount of flying you should consider whether you prefer upgrades or whether you have an SO that you would want to bring with you. If you decided to switch to Southwest, you could probably easily earn A-List Preferred and the Companion Pass, which would you bring someone with you whenever you travel. To me this is worth more than the occasional upgrade, but I'm fortunate enough to have an SO who can travel whenever/wherever. If that's not of interest to you then you're probably better off sticking with UA.

I reluctantly agree that unless Southwest appeals to you, you're better off sticking with UA given that you mainly fly domestically out of Denver.

The alternative would be to simply fly whatever airline makes the most sense route-wise and cost-wise for a given trip, forking out additional $$ now and then for roomier economy seats. But you'd then lose whatever perks remain from UA's FF program and would end up flying UA a good amount of time anyway.

thanks everyone. My SO is going to retire soon, so he can travel with me, but I like the upgrades, although I don't get upgraded very often. I see the point of the grass is always greener.
Thanks.

My 1K colleague based in Washington DC is wondering the same thing as the OP. It's not the lack of perks from UA that bothers him but the frequency of major screw ups with late or cancelled flights, missed connections, and as a consequence, missed meetings. It's become an epidemic.

Honestly, I think part of the answer with those missed connections is to get a lounge pass and start padding your connections where you know there's a chance of trouble (e.g. if you're flying out of SFO, don't take an even-remotely-close connection somewhere else because of the fog). Granted, from what I've gathered, United is winning a race to the bottom...