bocastephen

I'm still confused - what if you hit a mileage target without hitting the spend target? You get the lower tier that matches your spend? So a 100K mileage person spending 4k will be a Gold??

Smisek and company can float this sort of nonsense all they want - but no way will corporate contracts stand for it. Airlines tried this revenue approach before and corporate customers bristled at it. US tried a similar approach years ago where only full-high fares qualified for elite status, and customers just about tore them apart over it.

Based on the chat over at the DL forum, they might be re-thinking their current program fiasco - if this UA change becomes a reality, I think a good many of us will be heading over that way....but I think the hue and cry from our group along with UA customers worldwide will be quite loud.

The question is, are these rumors actually true, and if this is how the program will look, is CO/UA prepared to go to war with its frequent customers? Us CO folks can tell you, Smisek is no fan of frequent flyers, especially the Flyertalk bunch. I think a change like this would affect 80% of the people on this board in one way or another, and now is the time to begin formulating an effective response if this is going to be nipped in the bud.

medellinfein

Logical, but terrible changes.

BearX220

They must have run the numbers already. Figured that a certain number of customers will fly less (naah, never mind those three or four end-of-year RTs you used to rationalize taking to make the next tier; now the revenue requirement makes them pointless, or the tier isn't enough of a prize)... or exit altogether. And decided it's worth it.

In a weird way these changes mirror what's happening to the whole country. Major benefits refocused on the upper-tier elite... middle class not welcome here, wiped out.

As I read it, yes. You have to have the BIS miles AND the spend threshold. If you flew 100k miles and spent $4,000, you'd be Gold. If you flew 50,000 miles and spent $1,999, you'd be nothing.

belfordrocks

If you fly 100K a year but spend less than 2K (which is possible for mileage runners, including ecerts etc), then you get jack diddly squat (and no bonus RDMs either)

Brilliant huh?

Let's just hope US doesn't match- so we can still have a decent *A option in NA.

mre5765

Go spend a hundred grand on S fares and see if you get gs. You won't. Gs is about fare class, B and higher.

They might be tracking revenue once you make gs, but that is easier to implement. And revenue on s fares still won't get a requal.

Moreover, revenue based would weaken the star alliance, since money spent on other carriers would not go toward requal. UA doesn't give me any choice in many cases but to fly a partner. It doesn't even code share all the routers UA metal does not fly.

So doing anything but basing eqms on fare class would kill the whole system.

demkr

This would indeed be a very radical change if United were to do this. It would make my decision on how to move forward an eAAsy one. I have EXP to fall back on. This would essentially end the concept of mileage running.

I hope this is just a nasty, nasty rumor.

Having just left AA, they'd get my loyalty back in a heartbeat if something remotely like this goes through. Smisek could be AA's best friend this day.

I hope AA and DL are paying very close attention. And hey, if they follow through, it's been a fun ride for us mileage runners I guess!

bocastephen

The impact of this on the FF rolls would be massive - I think this change needs to be fought tooth and nail with as much coordination and effort as Saveskymiles and the US cockroach movement.

I still don't see how the corporate contracts would even allow this.

belfordrocks

One can still MR on UA and credit to US... I hope...

MikeMpls

If & when my wife & I start flying again, I would not be surprised if this is the new paradigm.

bocastephen

The other question - how does this affect people who complete 25/50/75/100K miles during 2011 - are we all going to be told "sorry, you didn't spend enough last year" and lose our status? I would hope we have a grace year to work on fighting these changes - or at least burn off our miles using our status as we depart for greener pastures.

BearX220

I don't think this is an accurate read. Your spend can go to any *A partner as long as there are four UA segments in there somewhere (a wrinkle they stole from BA, where you have to have a certain number of BA flights each year to make BAEC Silver or Gold, no matter your total mileage)... and you hit the tier spend threshold.

youreadyfreddie

Fugly if true. Not a change I will like, $MI/J.

dparkinson

I'm 1k and only do it on less than 4000 in revenue or so, so this is a huge hit. Worst part is I'd switch to DL but SkyTeam SUCKS! If only there was another alliance that even came close to star. And us doesn't count as an option, they don't even have IFE.

palefire

So combining the spend-only qualification with SWUs, it's basically "Buy one international F ticket, get your next three B tickets free"?

zabes64

THANK GOD I didn't pull the trigger earlier today on like $2K worth of trips for next year... I'm going to hold off giving UA another dime.

Now here is my other question with the name changes and will UA try and wiggle out of this, my Million Miler email stated:
Lifetime Premier Executive® status in our Mileage Plus program

What happens when that status level is no longer there? I assume they have to give me the equivalent of whatever Star Gold is, and that was a question that wasn't listed of which category will be considered Star Gold too.

Actually I remember TWA had something like this a long time ago and their programme faltered huge because of it. Delta back in 03 tried something with the decreased EQMs for low fares and that backfired..