carsnoceans

Thanks. I did not know about it. It's a lot of money out of pocket but might be worth it if I am going UA exclusive.

Is this basically E+ seat, first come, first serve? Just trying to understand if 1K/GS folks will have priority over my paid seat.

wwu123

And also surprised no one asked the poster at 87K how much they plan to fly in 2014, as the benefits of 2014 status are largely consumed in, well, 2014. If the poster is typically a 50K/year flier, but 87K was anomalous, then the opportuinty to use 1K benefits is less than if their travel is increasing to a higher average.

WineCountryUA

Purchased E+ annual subscription gives you the same access as Gold or higher elites have -- at time of booking.

coolcoil

If you're doing 8 segments a month, that's only a little more than $5 a segment. Well worth the money in my book. Any other option to get you to Gold is going to be a lot more money.

As noted above, you would have all the same rights to an E+ seat that a Gold has. While it is not inconceivable that you would be bumped by a GS (not a 1K), I bet that would happen maybe one time in five years of flying. Plus, as somebody who actually paid for the privilege of E+, you would probably be compensated.

carsnoceans

I was checking out my flight for next 2weeks (already booked) and E+ is sold out on half of them. That's a real bummer. If Gold or higher are taking those seats right at time of booking, it's a pretty large pool to be in already.

coolcoil

A couple of thoughts on that:

1) The real question is whether there were E+ seats open when you booked, not at this late date.

2) I think, though someone else would need to confirm, that if all were filled when you booked, you should just not make a seat assignment. Then, when one opens, you will be automatically assigned that seat. There is almost always going to be somebody upgraded or change their flight.

Kacee

That's not really accurate. Several of us commented on the value of GPUs and that 1K was probably only worth it if OP would be able to use those on international flights.

aacharya

Not at all. People are being glib versus actually admitting what they reallywould do. Would you not fly 5K to renew?
(I know the answer, as I keep up with the roll-call thread).

Is 1K not what it used to be? Of course.

Is it worth 5K PQM to be 1K versus PP? In a heartbeat.

And in the interest of full transparency, I am not flying UA anymore this year after just reaching 103K PQM.

MCLC

I honestly wasn't being glib. Admittedly, it's not a decision I have to make because I am 1K for next year already and will probably have 8-10 international flights, so it would be an easy choice to go for it for me. But imagining myself flying only domestically, and thinking of the value of upgrades relative to the cost in $ for the elite maximizer or in $ and time to fly 5000 miles, I really am not sure whether it would be worth it for domestic.

rwm818

After 12 straight years as 1K...I only have 47k miles this year (with no more flights scheduled/planned). I am a Fed, so subject to the GSO contract fares - so many places I used to fly UA, I'm now on Delta (esp BKK). Now next year (FY14) even SIN is Delta! Seems only asia left for UA is PEK, NRT & HKG...ugh

I am a 1MM - so I guess no need for a MR, as I am guarantted Gold anyway.

Hoping for some kind of "soft" landing (maybe Plat?) - guess I'll find out after new year.

BigStuart

Hi everyone, I've been a lurker here on and off for a while, but I thought I'd register and post a question in the hope that I can get some tips...

I'm based in Scotland and make regular business trips to the US, often to the west coast. I've been Platinum for a couple of years, but I'd like to get to 1k this year due to the eligibility for Global Premier Upgrades... I'd give my left arm for a seat up front in the trans-atlantic leg...

So, this year I have one planned trip left, which will likely be EDI-EWR-LAX-SFO-RDM-PDX-EWR-EDI. After this trip it looks like I'll be around 88,000 miles, so quite a bit short of 1k. I'll be around RDM and PDX for a while on this next trip, so what would you guys recommend for mileage runs? I've had a look in the mileage runs forum, but I don't see much leaving from PDX. How would I go about researching mileage runs from specific airports?

nookanaya

Decent bets this time of year are MCO, PHL/ZFV (as mentioned in the MR forums) and maybe BOS. If you have schedule flexibility and want to do it in just two trips, two PDX-EWR-MCO-SFO-PDX for 6300 miles at $260-ish might work.

aacharya

PDX-EWR-ZFV is the best bet.

Fair enough. But many are glib about it. I honestly would provide "recognition" for someone to fly that last 5K (with a decent sleep at the destination, not an MR, if they wanted) in exchange for those upgrades.

But it all depends on personal preference, I imagine. I sure would not want to spend thousands on it.

BigStuart

I just checked PDX-EWR-MCO-SFO-PDX and United proced it at GBP 166.60... It's hard to believe such a lot of flying can be so cheap! It's not exactly the carbon-friendly way to do it, but I think I'll look into doing a couple of these!

Thanks!

lapo1234

My travel for the year is planned and at the end of the year I will be 820 miles short of gold. My primary airport is EWR. What is the best way to get the 820 miles? Do you feel it is worth it to move from silver to gold?

Thank you