skidooman

Personally, that is not a "change I like". I think that I will qualify, it may even contribute to me sticking with UA no matter what, albeit E+ and GPUs are already doing this. At first, at least. This is because I can probably bank on 8 flights to Asia next year. If I make sure some are at least Ws, which I need to do to get GPU cleared anyway, then it's a "pass".

Now, if I lose GPUs and it looks like I can run short of the PQD, then I will explore my options. If Y is the only thing in my future anyway, and the Asian carriers have a better level of service, then why would I stick with United?

At least, United could do something in return for tightening 1K access (this is pretty much what they are trying to do). We get 6 GPU at 100K, and then 2 GPUs at 150K. Why not give us some TLC and get 2 GPUs at 133K, 2 others at 166K and the like? What is the cost of the operation to UA? Pretty much nothing - I cannot believe they pay more than $15 a meal in C, or $2 for the pouch. You don't get C for sure unless there is really, really no way to sell that seat full price anyway. So... why not?

You should not always tightened the screws and never get something in return.

bob_the_d

i think mgcsinc was answering the question in bold. the bolded question was whether the PQD program was already in effect. it's not in effect until 2014. that's... well... it's not starting until 2014.

i'd be happy if they gave out 8 GPU's at 1K like AA does with EXP, but hey, while i'm dreaming anyway i'd like to win the powerball and have six pack abs too.

nova08

Why not give us 8 GPUs at 100k.

There is a big difference between someone on a W fare using a GPU to sit in C and someone that purchased C.

edcho

+1 ... not only "lesser" elites but CC holders too.

iflyuaaa

It's a business. What do u expect?

Often1

1. Along with others and as many predicted several years ago, carriers would over time shift their loyalty programs to focus on revenue rather than on artificial criteria such as miles and segments. This has become even more true as carriers provided "bonuses" to the miles/segments. Because the length or # of a flight bears no relationship to revenue or net revenue, it necessarily bears no relationship to a customer's value to UA. It's also the case that UA, as with the other legacies, has focused in on corporate contracts. Those typically grant various levels of status as a matter of contract, so it's the overall corporate spend, not any individual's which really matters.

2. If everyone is elite nobody is elite. That has to change. So, how to change? Simply require more miles or segments for each level? Or start to focus on $ spend? The latter makes more sense and fundamentally rewards those who spend more.

3. The requirements heavily favor those who travel in intl premium cabins. To put this in stark reality, an F ticket from East Coast - Beijing is $29K RT. Putting aside discounts and the like, it's easy to see where the split comes going forward.

4. There is no significant competetive disadvantage to UA from making these changes. If UA dumps mileage runners, that's probably a bet positive for the airline. Segment fliers on cheap tickets may well be hub-spoke captives so they aren't going anywhere. And, with only three legacy carriers, there will be less competition overall. DL has already shifted to a revenue qualifier and, it's a reasonable prediction that the new AA will do so as well.

5. My prediction for 2015-16 is a revenue-based system. Period. You get a point per $ spend + CC's and the qualification levels are adjusted so that there is a pyramid with the top 0.5% at GS and so on and so forth.

Karl-MDW

It seems that almost every day CO dba UA is announcing another way that they think they will earn money.

Yesterday, United announced higher fees to change an award ticket!

http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...0,333544.story

I suspect that all of the other airlines will announce the same type of fees today, but what else can they think of to drive people away?

Oh, for the golden days of regulation!

arttravel

I am one of those people that may be screwed by this, as I do a lot of my travel on *A. I read the 016 rule, but the problem is with UA website. If I want to fly from JFK to IST the website does not bring up Turkish Airlines as a possibility. Would I have to call and pay the agent/ticketing fee just to get this as a 016 ticket? EWR is not a good option for anyone that lives on the East Side of Manhattan, Queens or Long Island.... Really annoying as I like the *A a lot.

bse118

I added text in bold for as a key point for accuracy.

Yeah there's already a big separate thread on this. As there should be - rather than here.

mgcsinc

Yup.

Though I also think that the conspiracy theory about a super-secret upgrade prioritization is... a conspiracy theory. It has absolutely no basis in evidence, and goes against the clearly laid-out order that is described on the website and which reflects my experience getting plenty of pre-gate CPU's as a Gold.

Look at diditclear.com. Plenty of people flying in low fare classes receive CPU's, every day, all the time, with great frequency. Flying EWR-LAX recently, as a Gold, flying in a deep discount fare class, not only did I receive a CPU at the window, but I SDC'd to a different flight and again received a CPU within the hour.

If you think that somehow low fare classes are barred from or disadvantaged in pre-gate (EUA) SDC just because you've had a few bad experiences, you're suffering from the availability heuristic.

dulcamara

If it is, I'm probably in decent shape, if not, I'm in big trouble. This isn't clear to me and has not been addressed in the FAQs.

FlyDeltaJets87

This is a good balance. If you fly 100K but don't meet the 1K spend, you don't get slapped in the face and lose status altogether. If you spend $7,500, you still get Platinum Status. If you spend $5,000 doing it, you still get Gold. The problem (just like on DL) is that some people are now finding it a little difficult to swallow that DL and UA are becoming less and less impressed with "how far you fly". Using DL routes as an example: Passenger A flies ATL-DCA nearly every week. Passenger B flies ATL-LAX every week. Passenger B easily makes the top elite tier with close to 200,000 elite miles. Passenger B barely makes Gold on elite miles and will only make Platinum if he/she flies 50 weeks of the year and qualifies on segments. If passenger A and passenger B are paying the same or even similar fares (and it's more likely Passenger A is paying HIGHER fares), it's time we stop pretending Passenger B is more valuable simply because he/she flies longer distances. Without understanding how much you spend to do it, your BIS miles are no longer impressive.

See the first post. Just like with DL, fuel surchages (YQ) will count towards EQDs.

dulcamara

This wasn't clear to me and still isn't,

nova08

Pretty clear...

What should have you worried is the mention of 2014. It could have just been an addition to make it clear or it could have been a slip that in 2015 YQ may not be factored into PQDs.

TommyC80

Maybe this has been asked already but I haven't seen it. Wouldn't it seem logical to include Premier Maximizer purchases as PQD? Otherwise, where's the incentive to pay up? Maybe Premier Maximizer will just go away...