I wanted to start a positive thread on changes to UACO you actually like.

1) CO insider is now UA insider (good for all)
2) ELR coming to CO (good for CO)
3) Free drinks at RCC (good for UA)
4) More clubs with merger (good for all)
5) More flights/rewards (including getting bonus miles, etc) (good for all)
6) Status match tool (and more free drink coupons) (Temporary)

I was thinking of starting a similar thread. Getting sick of the negatives!

Had a really nice pancake Bfast on PS-C this morning!

None of these matters to me based on my flying pattern.

So far I have yet to see a positive "change" SMI/J brought to UNITED.

I'm not sure you can attribute #3 to the merger. Didn't it happen because AA started free drinks in their Admiral's Club?

I agree that more flights is generally a good thing, but I've yet to have to fly somewhere that that I couldn't reach beforehand on PMUA metal. Other than that, the negatives outweigh the positives for me - so far.

There are plenty of threads on the negative (some of which I have chimed in with my own). The point of this thread is really to focus on the positives.

I wouldn't count this. A club membership gets you access to all * clubs, and this didn't change anything. In fact, I think we've lost a few clubs (HNL comes to mind)

Fortunately for me, I just began traveling October, 2010. Thanks to my company, anyone who flies one flight w/ United receives 2P status. I barely flew 25,000 miles in 2010, so I never experienced any of the other elite status perks. I will cross the 50,000 threshold in eight days (pending delays and cancelations) which means that I really don't know any better when it comes to elite status.

Because this is all still new to me, there are a lot of things I like. And once I, hopefully, hit 1K this year, I'm 100% positive I will like those perks even more than the ones I have now. I realize I am in the minority, but it's hard for me to complain about the merger related changes, when in fact, there really aren't any changes...Except for more perks as I fly more.

I do like the following: Free E+, UGU (even though it rarely happens as 2P) priority boarding, the ability to bring a guest into E+ with me...And for me, I have a feeling I'm going to like more things after I hit 1P!

There are definitely "network" benefits (more flights, new routes, interim reciprocity) with the merger, those can't be doubted. Adding E+ to CO and more DTV/wifi, sure - but those exist already.

However, the "elite" benefit changes have been virtually all negative IMO (we all know what they are, no need to re-list). I'm trying to think of a single improvement for 1Ks - can't do it. Maybe more regional upgrades for 175K+ EQM flyers, that's it (but that's a negative for probably 90% of 1Ks).

The "free drinks at RCC" example is a negative for many, just so you know (all of our saved drink chits for "premium" booze are now worthless).

Actually - the best changes in the past year were MP-related...1 way awards, open jaw/stopover on the same award, MPM changes seem to be a plus, etc. But those are different from the merger.

While I like UA Insider, much of his work on the CO board was resolving routine CS matters that his CS organization failed to address. Hopefully UA will not degrade its CS to CO's levels so that we'll need an executive presence to handle routine matters.

That said, I appreciate his open communication, and I hope the recent mileage plan changes announcement can be used as a template for future communication -- it clearly summarized the pros, cons, and possible pros/cons for varying types of customers without trying to bury the negatives in any sort of ridiculous doublespeak. I guess we've evolved quite a bit from the days of "enhancements."


Agreed and much needed.


YMMV. If you fly a lot of int'l and gathered a lot of drink certs, this is a net negative as it downgraded the quality of the drinks you get.


Neutral. We had that before the merger as straight partners. I was visiting the RCC on a PC membership long before the two merged.


Neutral. The flights were available as alliance partners. I booked several UA flights using CO miles before they announced the intention to merge.


Agreed. This is a nice way of handling it. DL/NW never did that since their programs were already closely aligned. At least UA/CO recognizes the nuances and is allowing the status matches until the kinks can get worked out and everything is streamlined into one program.

Another positive change for the UA side is that they now allow you to go 15% over the MPM [Maximum Permitted Mileage] for award bookings...

The NH joint-venture which now allows us to earn full miles plus elite bonuses on almost all fare classes.

You can now earn unlimited SWUs/CR1s rather than a limit of 6/10 each year... An improvement for those who flies north of 150K each year...

75K flyers will earn CR1s and get upgrade priority over those who flies 50,000-74,999 miles...

That is all I can think for now...


I would say that soon we will have the luxury of using SWUs on both airlines, CR1s on both airlines, get the appropriate upgrade priority on both airlines, etc...

I know you are an UA 1K and CO Plat, but most people do not hold top tier status on both airlines before the merger, so really it is a more positive change rather than a negative change...

However, with capacity cuts, more flights will be more elite heavy and that won't help much either... Hopefully those capacity cuts are not long term cuts and capacity will increase as the economy continues to improve...

There's never been a limit as to how many SWUs you can earn, AFAIK. It's 2 for every 50K above 100K. No change.

CR-1 limit was formerly 8 (but much easier to earn, and was a strong incentive to fly UA metal).

It's hard to focus on what isn't yet apparent. The only real positive I see up to this point is something that hasn't yet happened - the promised expansion of E+ to the PMCO fleet.

According to sfogate, the horde of bullrushing elites boarding on CO will be alleviated. ^

For the mid-level UA elites, much of the fees have decreased.

4 mileage tiers of Elite. Flying over 1K I will appreciate it on CO. I am sure UA fliers between 75-99K will appreciate the 3rd tier as well.