well, just to be clear, you can’t put 8 passengers on a single ticket anyway...separate PNR or a single one, 8 passengers will have 8 tickets -1 for each. For TravelBank purposes, that’s 8 x $5 credit = $40 - no matter how many or few PNRs.

Also, while there certainly have been many cuts, there are some good things, too. I can tell you I think the decision to make the allowed bag weight 70lb for all premier levels is a positive.

i wonder if the tax issue was the straw that broke the camels back.

I tend to wonder if it was more the legacy aspect of this being started at a time when they were trying to incentivize folks to book online. Remember there was also a time that PMUA, and I think most airlines, gave you 500 bonus miles (I think, maybe it was some other number) if you booked your trip directly on the airline website. Wonder if they just never changed this program, maybe because there was also a real revenue line ties to it? And maybe they were ok not to touch this since the maintenance was probably pretty light. Until whatever issues happened with the gift registry (fraud was brought up as a possibility). I personally loved the registry - it paid for half of our honeymoon airfare, and there was a year where my wife contributed $X via her select card to get the leftover PQMshe needed for gold that year. And maybe the tax issue put it over the top from ‘relatively easy to maintain’ mode to ‘more trouble than its worth’ mode.

if the gift registry is no longer working, and the United.com club is gone, then yes, as far as Im aware the card rewards would be the only way to put new funds in the TravelBank.

you never know, though, maybe in addition to these changes, they’ll have other options. For example, what if VDB or other compensation just went into the TravelBank vs. into ETCs? That would make it much easier for customers to track/deal with.

Yes, you can have multiple people on a PNR, but not on a ticket. The United.com Club credit is supposed to be per-ticket; I’ve never booked an 8–passenger PNR, but I’ve certainly gotten $10 for a two-person booking.

same here. At one point, at least for me, splitting didn’t seem to be an issue. But more recently, maybe last year and a half or so, it is. When I don’t split, credit seems to be normal (I’m typically on PNRs with 3 total), but splitting only gets credit for 1. Emailing has always solved the issue - never get a response, but within a week of the request, the credit always gets added.

Does my TB credit survive after my account “expires” in a month? Do I need to use it ASAP or will it have a shelf life?

There are two expiration dates, one for the balance and one for the "subscription." if you have had recent activity / credit, the balance expiration should be mid to late 2020 -- see what date is listed next to the balance in your account summary

thanks. Yes. Mine says 10/31/20. I’ll be sure to drain the tank by then. Too bad it’s been canceled. It was always nice to get a little something extra.

I should have been paying better attention and renewed before April. My current enrollment ends July 1 (funds good until end of 2020). I really can’t complain; it was a great deal for me the past 14 or so years and i’m not a bit surprised UA finally terminated it in its current form.
It would be nice to see them still do something else with it.