fly747first

I hear you... and even the J and F products to Australia are not competitive with QF's at all.

skimple

No impact on my revenue due to PQD. With the gutting of Silver & Gold benefits, I already made the decision to stop trying to fly UAL. Now I just pick the most convenient or the cheapest. I'd say UA has lost ~$5K from me this year with flights that I might have booked with them

UA-NYC

I'd probably be a $5K drop - assuming I can hit 100K UA miles at 10CPM (shouldn't be a problem, I'm at 15CPM for this year), I'll happily put any overflow (*A int'l J tix likely) on non-016 tix.

UA_Flyer

It does not impact me as much as I fly because I have no choice that I have to fly for work. If I have a choice, I'd like to cut down my travel, but work is work......

787fan

Our current story is also very Titanic. Ruth (played by Kate Winslet) left England as part of the bourgeois (1K) and arrived America as a no-body (Kayaker)

She boarded what she called the "slave ship" (ghetto birds) and "nowhere to escape" (hub captive)

And yet SYD is one of the hardest routes to get award seats (O/I) and any type of upgrade (ON/R)

fly747first

That's not unique to UA. Scoring an award J and F seat on QF or even in DL BE on this same route is even harder. There just isn't a lot of capacity and airlines know that most of the time they will fill their planes with premium revenue pax, thereby eliminating the need to release award and upgrade inventory.

However, UA does open up F seats at the last minute when it is clear that no sucker is gonna pay $17K - $20K for seats that are already behind the competition and often come with surly service on this route... alas, if only the LHR-based cabin crews could work these flights.

PV_Premier

PQD will not specifically affect my purchases -- if UA has a competitive fare to a place I need to go at a time I need to go, I will probably still book it preferentially. However I will be much more attune to what is available from the competition and book more on the basis of schedule than I do now. Currently I take inconvenient flights to get on UA sometimes. That won't happen anymore. Some discretionary travel will also be reduced or eliminated, as will roundabout routings that accumulate more PQM than a direct trip.

The net result of this will probably be a small reduction in spend on UA. Since I have only spent about $8000 this year, I guess the reduction will be less than $3000 next year, but I really can't predict.

halls120

Same here. For the last 13 years, I have gone out of my way to fly United whenever possible in order to meet mileage status levels. Given the addition of spend levels and the apparent decision to not count PQM purchases as qualifying PQDs, I am now in a position that almost forces me away from United. I travel a lot on business, but it is cyclical and on employer mandated cheap tickets. Over past two years, I have been able to maintain 1K in the "good" years by travel alone, but in a down year, by purchasing PQMs.

Now, starting 1/1/14, I have to be able to guess as to how much travel is on the horizon. If I don't think 100000 BIS (or qualifying fare) miles is doable, there is simply little point trying to put as many flights on United as I can. I'll be better off booking 50000 on UA, and rest on AA or DL.

for example, this year I've alread crossed over 50k miles. Had you asked me if i thought on 1/1/13 that i would reach this point before the end of June, I would have said no. But because i knew i had the option of purchasing PQMs, i have optimized my travel on UA. Next year? No way.

A sad state of affairs, but it is what it is.

recreationguru

I have the luxury of just crossing the 3MM line on United -- one heck of a lot of BIS time. For me, all indications are that my 1K for life status innoculates me from the complexities of the new revenue matrix. But let me tell you, it does add some complexity and concern to the entire process. I probably would requalify even under the new scheme, but it would likely be close because I do catch some good fares on BWI to the West Coast and on leisure trips IAD to Florida. The real issue is that United and all of the US legacy carriers are following a model of profitability by cutting capacity and volume -- making money only from full airplanes, and harming the experiences of its customers and the ability of its partners, like hotels and other businesses at destinations, to attract guests when folks find that the cost of flying to these destinations is so high.

And I do worry about whether United will at some point decide that those like me who are actually looking forward to reaching a point in our careers where we don't need to spend as much time on the road will find our "lifetime" UC and 1K status voided.

skyvanman

I've spent a lot on buy ups this year but next year, goodbye buy ups, heck, likely goodbye UA, will just stick to DL, despite their crappy award program they provide a much better in-air product.

CLEHillbilly

I as a Lifetime Gold am also "innoculated" from the change, but the second part of your post is what I have been thinking about now. I have been with CO since 94, 150-200k per year then the job changed and no more travel since 2012. People like me must be on the radar at UA as I see these new changes announced.

In fact when I called them yesterday the CSR insisted I wasn't even a member, let alone *g and Gold for life (well until it gets axed).

CLEHillBilly

ETA: Apologies for going off topic, my spend would be "A". Suggestion: add Gold/1k/GS for life and it does not effect me, a poll answer, that makes a difference I think.

TonyBurr

You should ask me how much I will now spend on AA which is all my $$, and 0 on UA. Do you really think this is the end of Smiesk' downgrading of Elite ? It just continues.

fly747first

I'm doing the same... moving on with AA and not looking back.

fly747first

Plus the A319/A320s which don't even have wifi.

kenjih

I'll see if another *A can work or AA or CX. So c or d.

c. I will spend between $3,001 - $6,000 *less* than I would have previously.