coolbeans202

If the AA/US merger does not go through, I predict UA will back-pedal even further and either lower the PQD requirements or get rid of them all together. I have no basis for this other than "feeling," and it might take until 2015.

jackal

They only have one number: "What numbers did Delta pick for their MQD requirements?"

ETA: I see I was beat by UA-NYC. What he said.

Xyzzy

I disagree. UA has been wanting to do the PQD thing for a while. They have t many elites. They want to get the population (particularly for 1k) down so the benefits they offer can be meaningful.

EmailKid

I don't know if they wanted to reduce ranks of elites, but think most likely yes according to the entitled elites comment by SMI,J @:-)

And with fewer GPUs floating around and fewer elites in general one would think that remaining elites will get upgreaded more often - starting in February 2015

LarkSFO

OK, then let's take it one step further up the chain:

What justification / rationale did DL us to come up with their MQD / Elite Qualification chart?

Silver: 25K MQM's or 30 MQS's (segments) and $2,500 MQD's
Gold: 50K MQM's or 60 MQS's and $5,000 MQD's
Platinum:75K MQM's or 100 MQS's and $7,500 MQD's
Diamond: 125K MQM's or 140 MQS's and $12,500 MQD's

MQD Waiver: The new MQDs requirement for the qualification year will be waived if you make at least $25,000 in Eligible Purchases in that year with your Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express. That spending will also be tracked on the My SkyMiles page starting in January 2014.*

*Any time you purchase and fly on a Delta flight (flight number with a “DL” airline code), you’ll receive MQDs for the ticket’s base fare and carrier-imposed surcharges, but not for taxes or fees. You’ll also earn MQDs for flight spend on Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3 partner airlines that are ticketed through a Delta channel (the ticket number will begin with “006”). Certain specialty tickets such as unpublished or group fares will not count toward MQDs. For more about what counts and what doesn’t, see the FAQs.

"The MQD Waiver for Medallion status is an exclusive benefit of the Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express, and therefore does not vary by tier level. "

It looks like the $25K spend on the DL Skypesos AMEX is good for all elite levels (including Diamond). UA only allows this waiver through Plat.

This is DL's spin: "The new spend-based component will better recognize and reward our best customers and help ensure your Medallion benefits remain valuable."

exerda

Rather than making benefits more meaningful, I suggest the drive to thin the ranks is to provide benefits to less people, and to charge more people for essentially those same benefits.

I'd love to see UA actually improve benefits; it's been several years since they've done so in a meaningful way IMHO. Instead, they continue to nibble them away.

LarkSFO

A 1K (achieved in 2014) has minimum $10K in qualifying spend, and has flown minimum 100K miles on UA.

If UA does not begin enhancing / improving benefits for this class of flyer (dare I say, HVF) in 2015 then many people will be extremely disappointed.

The whole value proposition here is that the elite ranks will be thinned, leaving more benefits for those who remain. (Benefits could be as simple as a greatly improved CPU rate.)

Possibly by this time next year we'll have more visibility in to the 'enhancements' UA will be offering 2015 and beyond.

jackal

Yep. The crack team at UA can't even properly copy and paste DL's T&C.

UA-NYC

Agreed - there's been no indication whatsoever, based on the company's actions the past two years, that they want to actually enhance the benefits for the published elite levels (not talking GS).

I think it's crazy to believe upgrades are going to magically become easier just because there are fewer elites...it's far too easy to just turn down the "R meter".

bocastephen

Bingo...you got it.

RNE

UA is not trying to thin the ranks; it is trying to prioritize customers by revenue. Now, if the ranks thin as a result of this, well, all the better for UA.

RNE, in a capitalist reverie.

fieldeng

Or the same as they have more F seats to sell out from under the elite ranks.

Both DL and UA haven't made any promises on what the elite ranks will be rewarded with now they they are required to spend a certain amount. As of now, all we can say is we are having to spend x amount to receive the same benefits I was receiving before only without said spend requirement.

I'd love UA and DL to come out and say "For 10k spend, you will see the following improvements..." but I'm not holding my breath.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

Except maybe the 125k requirement at DL is enough of a jump over their Plat that they didn't have to institute a spend requirement to get to the percentage of HVFs they want.

But, yes - if the outcomes are the same, UA could have cut and pasted DL's program hurdles, but also change 1K to 1.25K.

exerda

I'm just as happy that they exclude 1K from the credit card spend waiver and glad they didn't copy DL on that aspect. If they're going to have a spend threshold, don't waive it, particularly for your top tier (non-invitation) status.

I'd easily meet the spend threshold on a credit card--but on Amex, not Chase. And I'll be damned before I give Chase that business (not that they want me at the moment, anyway).

fieldeng

I'd rather them go for the throat and make Platinum excluded. Platinum is where the real benefits come into play with reward ticket fees, credit for free GE etc.