StingWest

Agree 100%

I would add to the mix the requirement to be conscious of the need to buy more than the minimum coach fare once in a while, to score a reasonable upgrade percentage. But 1k is generally a very good perk - even now!

For me traveling primarily TATL (and who highly values sitting in business class), as an exercise, I've looked at changing to either BA or Virgin Atlantic. I recommend this exercise to anyone looking to change from UA - with regard to pricing, upgrade and mileage ticket potential, UA beats these two hands down, and 1K is part of the successful formula. (note that AA is not in the running for me - no non-stops to London)

Syzygies

Yes. I took my brother straight out of work at his hospital, and returned him directly to work. His outbound began as the last possible combination of flights, with a connection time entirely typical of what United's award software is willing to show people. The commuter leg was several hours late as is frequently the case, and he overnighted on a broken connection.

I did not delay his trip to find better seats, but I did everything I could to fly him comfortably, while conserving miles for future emergencies.

If United's online systems weren't such a wreck, a no-status flyer would have easily grabbed the seats in question. Because I am an informed 1K, I was able to walk a very helpful agent through securing these seats. With more time to plan, I have to involve an agent in any case to construct a trip robust enough to survive United's persistent commuter flight delays. This is because United's software shows the flight combinations they want you to choose, not the full range of possible alternatives given the applicable fare class rules (YN, IN, XN, etc.). There is room for aftermarket software to fill this void, but United aggressively fights primitive versions of such software, such as offered by ExpertFlyer.

That is the concern of this thread. My family, and my brother's hospital patients, appreciate my 1K status and the expertise I have gained from FlyerTalk forums.

LaserSailor

Ok, I get it.

I get asked a lot of travel advice on bookings, etc from non-status friends and relatives and I direct them all to get a good (non mall type) travel agent..including the one I use myself on occasion.

There is nothing travel related she can't accomplish faster than I frankly, even as a GS.

I do think the industry erred in moving from commissioned sales to direct sales given the complexities of travel today.

PV_Premier

UA logic, for the win!

Kacee

Which legacy US carrier has a better on line award booking engine?

Michael D

And when a/the broken system is fixed we all scream "Unfair"

vandrei

UA just increased the prices of award tickets on *A partners. Do you really think that UA will allow GPUs to be used on *A partners?

(I think not.)

hookthem

My view has changed over the last couple months--

For me, being 1K just adds me to the pool of "everyone else" on my flights. Getting upgraded domestically typically means I'm using an instrument of some kind. IAH <-> DEN seems to be pretty brutal. I'll pay from U -> P on occasion just to take myself out of the upgrade lottery.

However, I will definitely take it over the alternative. When I'm flying outside of the Monday/Thursday timeframe, I have a relatively good CPU %. Furthermore, when I'm travelling with my partner during the holidays, we have a very, very high CPU (or RPU/GPU on high-demand flights) rate. Finally, the staff at SAT really know how to treat 1K's right. They really jump through hoops (have saved my arse on multiple occasions).

PanAmWT

Great remark!

garrym

I'm a newly minted 1K who wants to maximize his benefits because I'll never qualify for it again under the new spend rules.

Experiences on my last two trips (all K fares):

LAX-SEA-LAX on RJs:

No CPUs. Was #7 or 8 on upgrade list.

LAX-ORD-PVD-EWR-LAX:

No CPU on 757 LAX-ORD. Was #5 on upgrade list.

CPU on ORD-PVD leg on A320, no food service on 2 hour flight.

CPU on PVD-EWR on Q400, no difference in FC and E/E+ service except maybe free alcohol -- I don't drink, so that doesn't matter to me.

This takeoff was delayed 55 minutes because of a ground stop in EWR, and I had a 1 hour connection in EWR. We were sitting on a taxiway and weren't supposed to use our phones, but I did anyway.

I don't have the special 1K number yet, but after going through the phone tree to an agent, she recognized I was a 1K and protected me on a flight leaving 2 1/2 hours later, but wouldn't assign a seat. There was another flight leaving an hour later -- E/E+ were full, but there were 5 open F seats and I asked if I could get on that one. She told me I could stand by at the airport for that flight but couldn't put me in one of the F seats.

After waiting for my bag at the EWR jetway and walking most of the way around Term C, I got to the gate of my original flight. It was also delayed and hadn't yet closed. I was the last one on the plane, but they hadn't given away my E+ seat to a standby, so my rebooking and standby were moot.

No CPU on the 757 EWR-LAX leg. I was #3 on the upgrade list at checkin w/5 empty FC seats, but two hours before the flight, I was #9. How did that happen?

So far, my CPUs have given me more space for my butt on two short flights, but nothing else. I have the RPUs and GPUs but don't want to use them if CPUs can happen.

I've read this thread and see that some folks have had good luck with CPUs, but I've not experienced that. Is this what I can expect for 2014?

WineCountryUA

This is a classic YMMV situation.
CPU really depends on your routing and timing. You fly elite heavy routes during peak hours on rock bottom fares, chances will be poor. Fly off hours, not hub-to-hub on a larger plane at the higher fares (W, V and above) and the chances can be good.
From now until 1 Feb, due to the overlapping elite years things are always a bit worse.

username

Is it time to start the 2014 thread? With the PQD thing and the service level/benefits seem like a moving target, it is getting harder to decide...

In 2013, I have about 115K miles (including probably 25K on US) and 11K UA PQD. So, I am thinking Lifetime MM (about 80K more) and Platinum is what I should aim for...

escapefromphl

I'm going to drop to Plat in '14 while I try to burn through my miles. If you have no use for the GPU's plat is really fine. I'm expecting my upgrades to drop from around the 50% mark, and losing the extra 25% RDM bonus isn't such a big deal with the devaluation. If I see people start raving about 1K towards end of '14 and UA perhaps adds some value I'll reconsider.

aku

Throwing this out to my FT friends. I've been 1K for about a decade now. My business travel ended years ago, and my "natural" personal travel is 65-70K BIS/year, at a cost of about $6-7k. For a few years I did MRs to reach 100K, and the last couple of years I've paid maybe $3K/yr on Accelerators to maintain 1K status. Looking at the new PQD requirements, I'm already paying what UA wants, but they won't count the Accelerators, so I would need to go back to MRs (or pay more for existing flights) to keep my 1K. I may become one of those people that UA is going to lose, and in my case, they will lose pure revenue--they were getting my Accelerator $$ with no corresponding costs.

My UA CC will have at least $25K in charges, so reaching Platinum is no big deal. I might decide to keep going for 1K, but I have to think seriously about what I'm getting for that extra $3-4K. Here's the list I took from .bomb of 1K vs. Platinum bennies:

• CPU upgrade 24 hours earlier
• Instant M-class upgrades
• 6 GPUs
• 2 more RPUs
• 25% more RDMs (200% vs. 175%)
• Dedicated 1K customer service line
• $60/yr reimbursement for Chase credit card fees

I don't use half of these, and I use my GPUs as RPUs most of the time, so I came up with a "value to me" of about $2500/yr for the 1K stretch, which means it's not worth it to me to push for 1K.

Are there any other 1K-exclusive benefits that I'm forgetting?

mahasamatman

Higher priority on standby and irrops, but I think you hit the high points (though there really is no "dedicated 1K customer service line").