How many are REALLY leaving UA? [2014 edition]
Nov 22, 2014, 8:00 pm
#1426
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Chicago
Programs: UA1MM*GL/1K, AA, BnVy PlatL, HH Silver,
Posts: 681
If the former wife ever decides to end her fling over at the trailer park and gets off the delusional drugs and can regain the charm and sophistication that attracted me when we started dating, then I might consider taking her back...but I don't see that happening any time soon.
Nov 22, 2014, 10:11 pm
#1427
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: OSL/IAH/ZRH (time, not preference)
Programs: UA1K, LH GM, AA EXP->GM
Posts: 38,265
how to replace UA for foreigners
As much as I dislike UA's product these days, it cannot trivially be replaced on transpac and TATL routes.
TATL I exclusively used BA PE and AA for the last two years and I would not go pack. AA uses tons of old hardware but at least they still offer decent food and the free drink for EXPs is a nice touch.And so are the FlagShip lounges. SO that ship has sailed successfully.
CX and BR do not offer a consistent and affordable PE product. AA doesn't reach Singapore, no thoroughly fine alternative can be found for a reasonable price.
Now that BA and BR lowered their PE prices to the East Coast, they are superior alternatives to UA for me .. but to the West Coast, I have yet to find a bearable alternative.
TATL I exclusively used BA PE and AA for the last two years and I would not go pack. AA uses tons of old hardware but at least they still offer decent food and the free drink for EXPs is a nice touch.And so are the FlagShip lounges. SO that ship has sailed successfully.
CX and BR do not offer a consistent and affordable PE product. AA doesn't reach Singapore, no thoroughly fine alternative can be found for a reasonable price.
Now that BA and BR lowered their PE prices to the East Coast, they are superior alternatives to UA for me .. but to the West Coast, I have yet to find a bearable alternative.
Nov 22, 2014, 10:14 pm
#1428
Moderator: Smoking Lounge; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: SFO
Programs: Lifetime (for now) Gold MM, HH Gold, Giving Tootsie Pops to UA employees, & a retired hockey goalie
Posts: 28,878
TOPIC DRIFT ALERT
The subject of this thread is about how many are leaving United. If you want to discuss the merits/demerits of various airports, you're free to do so in another thread.
goalie
UA Forum Co-Moderator
The subject of this thread is about how many are leaving United. If you want to discuss the merits/demerits of various airports, you're free to do so in another thread.
goalie
UA Forum Co-Moderator
Nov 25, 2014, 2:27 pm
#1429
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: DCA
Programs: AS MVP Gold 75K
Posts: 947
Gaining an AAdvantage
1) What did you like most about fkaUA or fkaCO?
SDC, CPU's, the app, *AGold, Y+, international routes from IAD
2) What changes have had the greatest negative impact on you?
PQD, spend-based RDM. Without PQD, I'd be a 1K for 2015. Without spend-based RDM, I wouldn't be looking at at 60-80% reduction in mileage earnings for 2015.
3) What remains about the current UA that makes it hard for you to leave?
International routes from IAD, *AGold, redemption availability on many partners.
4) What airlines are you considering switching to? Or kayaking?
I've purchased US Trial Silver and am booking 30k in mileage runs during that period. This will get me CP status on US, which becomes ExPlat on AA in the second quarter of 2015.
5) What benefits / improvements do you expect on your new airline?
As ExPlat, I'll have SWU's for use on all economy fares. Also, I'll have nonstops ex-DCA to many locations stateside (as opposed to UA, which requires connections to non-hubs from DCA, and will no longer award distance-based miles as a consolation for transiting ORD or EWR), so that I can leave my car at home and not pay for airport parking. Also, full EQM earning on codeshares across OneWorld.
6) What aspects of the new airline make it hard for you to switch to them?
Not as much transpac service, no morning flight WAS-LHR, more difficult award redemption, including YQ on BA.
SDC, CPU's, the app, *AGold, Y+, international routes from IAD
2) What changes have had the greatest negative impact on you?
PQD, spend-based RDM. Without PQD, I'd be a 1K for 2015. Without spend-based RDM, I wouldn't be looking at at 60-80% reduction in mileage earnings for 2015.
3) What remains about the current UA that makes it hard for you to leave?
International routes from IAD, *AGold, redemption availability on many partners.
4) What airlines are you considering switching to? Or kayaking?
I've purchased US Trial Silver and am booking 30k in mileage runs during that period. This will get me CP status on US, which becomes ExPlat on AA in the second quarter of 2015.
5) What benefits / improvements do you expect on your new airline?
As ExPlat, I'll have SWU's for use on all economy fares. Also, I'll have nonstops ex-DCA to many locations stateside (as opposed to UA, which requires connections to non-hubs from DCA, and will no longer award distance-based miles as a consolation for transiting ORD or EWR), so that I can leave my car at home and not pay for airport parking. Also, full EQM earning on codeshares across OneWorld.
6) What aspects of the new airline make it hard for you to switch to them?
Not as much transpac service, no morning flight WAS-LHR, more difficult award redemption, including YQ on BA.
Nov 26, 2014, 6:02 am
#1430
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: OSL/IAH/ZRH (time, not preference)
Programs: UA1K, LH GM, AA EXP->GM
Posts: 38,265
Agents are much nicer and more helpful than @UA but the ancient software is a major pain.
Actually one of the nicest aspects of moving on to OW is the "no more IAD" exposure and the "stay clear of SFO" power I gained with the switch. As an alien arriving into JFK rather than IAD is a significant decrease in suffering.
Nov 28, 2014, 4:59 pm
#1431
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: LAX
Programs: UA 1K MM, AA EXP, BA Silver, Marriott Plat., Hertz Pres. Circle, Avis First
Posts: 917
I am very close to deciding to leave, and I have until the New Year to do so. I status matched to Alaska and am 90% of the way to deciding to use them as my main repository for crediting miles next year. Maybe you all could help me out with finalizing this decision...
Context: I have been a 1K for 10 years and earn 100-150k per year in EQM, although that is maybe 80-120k BIS. I take several (3-5) trans-Pacific or trans-Atlantic business trips per year, all in paid business class (I often fly ANA and credit to UA, but sometime I fly CX and credit to BA). And, I fly maybe 25-30 domestic segments per year all on UA. This represents a total spend of maybe $40k+, mostly on United (016...) ticket stock, although often on metal with NH and LH.
Problem: I used to be upgraded on the vast majority of my domestic flights. But, like so many people here on this thread, I have found that since the merger I get upgraded less and less--to the point where I get upgraded so rarely it comes a surprise. Since I have 1K MM status with lifetime Gold (at least until they renege on that promise), I no longer see much added value in 1K. I can't use the GPUs, since I buy Z fares for the overseas flights and they make so little R bucket space available I am never able to use them for leisure trips. So, I end up using them for domestic flights. That's nice, but not much added value since I could use miles if I really wanted to upgrade in the absence of the GPUs and RPUs.
Solution: I think I may just fly United next year when it is convenient and plan to sit in Economy Plus, which is no change from now. Then, I can credit CX and BA flights to Alaska and pretty readily make their 90k requirement for renewing top status. Plus, the Alaska status provides access to preferred seating on Delta and AA on those rare occasions where I fly them (so with lifetime Gold on UA and Alaska MVP75 I can get an exit row seats on any of the big three domestic carriers). My first big overseas trip for 2015 is already booked on UA, but I can do the rest on CX and other Alaska partners thereafter...
Question: Am I missing something here? Is there a flaw in this logic? If I don't get upgraded much and don't value GPUs and RPUs very highly is there any reason to fly 100k with UA given the modest incremental benefits over Gold status?
Context: I have been a 1K for 10 years and earn 100-150k per year in EQM, although that is maybe 80-120k BIS. I take several (3-5) trans-Pacific or trans-Atlantic business trips per year, all in paid business class (I often fly ANA and credit to UA, but sometime I fly CX and credit to BA). And, I fly maybe 25-30 domestic segments per year all on UA. This represents a total spend of maybe $40k+, mostly on United (016...) ticket stock, although often on metal with NH and LH.
Problem: I used to be upgraded on the vast majority of my domestic flights. But, like so many people here on this thread, I have found that since the merger I get upgraded less and less--to the point where I get upgraded so rarely it comes a surprise. Since I have 1K MM status with lifetime Gold (at least until they renege on that promise), I no longer see much added value in 1K. I can't use the GPUs, since I buy Z fares for the overseas flights and they make so little R bucket space available I am never able to use them for leisure trips. So, I end up using them for domestic flights. That's nice, but not much added value since I could use miles if I really wanted to upgrade in the absence of the GPUs and RPUs.
Solution: I think I may just fly United next year when it is convenient and plan to sit in Economy Plus, which is no change from now. Then, I can credit CX and BA flights to Alaska and pretty readily make their 90k requirement for renewing top status. Plus, the Alaska status provides access to preferred seating on Delta and AA on those rare occasions where I fly them (so with lifetime Gold on UA and Alaska MVP75 I can get an exit row seats on any of the big three domestic carriers). My first big overseas trip for 2015 is already booked on UA, but I can do the rest on CX and other Alaska partners thereafter...
Question: Am I missing something here? Is there a flaw in this logic? If I don't get upgraded much and don't value GPUs and RPUs very highly is there any reason to fly 100k with UA given the modest incremental benefits over Gold status?
Last edited by Muckus; Nov 28, 2014 at 5:10 pm
Nov 28, 2014, 5:14 pm
#1432
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: LGA/JFK/EWR
Programs: UA 1K1.75MM, Hyatt Globalist, abandoned Marriott LTT (RIP SPG), Hertz PC
Posts: 21,167
A better question - why don't you credit to AA over BA? Award chart/status earning, for at least the next year, will be quite good. And if you make EXP, you can use those SWUs to upgrade C to F on any fare.
Nov 28, 2014, 5:17 pm
#1433
Join Date: May 2005
Programs: Million Miler, 1K - Basically spend a lot of time on planes
Posts: 2,202
I am very close to deciding to leave, and I have until the New Year to do so. I status matched to Alaska and am 90% of the way to deciding to use them as my main repository for crediting miles next year. Maybe you all could help me out with finalizing this decision...
Context: I have been a 1K for 10 years and earn 100-150k per year in EQM, although that is maybe 80-120k BIS. I take several (3-5) trans-Pacific or trans-Atlantic business trips per year, all in paid business class (I often fly ANA and credit to UA, but sometime I fly CX and credit to BA). And, I fly maybe 25-30 domestic segments per year all on UA. This represents a total spend of maybe $40k+, mostly on United (016...) ticket stock, although often on metal with NH and LH.
Problem: I used to be upgraded on the vast majority of my domestic flights. But, like so many people here on this thread, I have found that since the merger I get upgraded less and less--to the point where I get upgraded so rarely it comes a surprise. Since I have 1K MM status with lifetime Gold (at least until they renege on that promise), I no longer see much added value in 1K. I can't use the GPUs, since I buy Z fares for the overseas flights and they make so little R bucket space available I am never able to use them for leisure trips. So, I end up using them for domestic flights. That's nice, but not much added value since I could use miles if I really wanted to upgrade in the absence of the GPUs and RPUs.
Solution: I think I may just fly United next year when it is convenient and plan to sit in Economy Plus, which is no change from now. Then, I can credit CX and BA flights to Alaska and pretty readily make their 90k requirement for renewing top status. Plus, the Alaska status provides access to preferred seating on Delta and AA on those rare occasions where I fly them (so with lifetime Gold on UA and Alaska MVP75 I can get an exit row seats on any of the big three domestic carriers). My first big overseas trip for 2015 is already booked on UA, but I can do the rest on CX and other Alaska partners thereafter...
Question: Am I missing something here? Is there a flaw in this logic? If I don't get upgraded much and don't value GPUs and RPUs very highly is there any reason to fly 100k with UA given the modest incremental benefits over Gold status?
Context: I have been a 1K for 10 years and earn 100-150k per year in EQM, although that is maybe 80-120k BIS. I take several (3-5) trans-Pacific or trans-Atlantic business trips per year, all in paid business class (I often fly ANA and credit to UA, but sometime I fly CX and credit to BA). And, I fly maybe 25-30 domestic segments per year all on UA. This represents a total spend of maybe $40k+, mostly on United (016...) ticket stock, although often on metal with NH and LH.
Problem: I used to be upgraded on the vast majority of my domestic flights. But, like so many people here on this thread, I have found that since the merger I get upgraded less and less--to the point where I get upgraded so rarely it comes a surprise. Since I have 1K MM status with lifetime Gold (at least until they renege on that promise), I no longer see much added value in 1K. I can't use the GPUs, since I buy Z fares for the overseas flights and they make so little R bucket space available I am never able to use them for leisure trips. So, I end up using them for domestic flights. That's nice, but not much added value since I could use miles if I really wanted to upgrade in the absence of the GPUs and RPUs.
Solution: I think I may just fly United next year when it is convenient and plan to sit in Economy Plus, which is no change from now. Then, I can credit CX and BA flights to Alaska and pretty readily make their 90k requirement for renewing top status. Plus, the Alaska status provides access to preferred seating on Delta and AA on those rare occasions where I fly them (so with lifetime Gold on UA and Alaska MVP75 I can get an exit row seats on any of the big three domestic carriers). My first big overseas trip for 2015 is already booked on UA, but I can do the rest on CX and other Alaska partners thereafter...
Question: Am I missing something here? Is there a flaw in this logic? If I don't get upgraded much and don't value GPUs and RPUs very highly is there any reason to fly 100k with UA given the modest incremental benefits over Gold status?
The question that comes up for me with your plan is the how usable are the miles you earn when flying Alaska. I know that Alaska certainly have partners you can use Alaska miles with, but I have ZERO experience with who those carriers are, and how the good options are for redemption (both in availability and in options, premium cabins etc)
Nov 28, 2014, 5:33 pm
#1434
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: LAX
Programs: UA 1K MM, AA EXP, BA Silver, Marriott Plat., Hertz Pres. Circle, Avis First
Posts: 917
Not at all - the answer in the past was "MileagePlus", but it's no longer an industry-best program.
A better question - why don't you credit to AA over BA? Award chart/status earning, for at least the next year, will be quite good. And if you make EXP, you can use those SWUs to upgrade C to F on any fare.
A better question - why don't you credit to AA over BA? Award chart/status earning, for at least the next year, will be quite good. And if you make EXP, you can use those SWUs to upgrade C to F on any fare.
Nov 28, 2014, 5:36 pm
#1435
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: LAX
Programs: UA 1K MM, AA EXP, BA Silver, Marriott Plat., Hertz Pres. Circle, Avis First
Posts: 917
The question that comes up for me with your plan is the how usable are the miles you earn when flying Alaska. I know that Alaska certainly have partners you can use Alaska miles with, but I have ZERO experience with who those carriers are, and how the good options are for redemption (both in availability and in options, premium cabins etc)
Nov 28, 2014, 5:40 pm
#1436
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2001
Programs: DL 1 million, AA 1 mil, HH lapsed Diamond, Marriott Plat
Posts: 28,190
Thanks for your reply. My hesitance with AA is the huge fuel surcharge for flights. With Alaska you still have to pay a surcharge when redeeming with BA, but not with any of the others. I have 500,000 Avios and it has been a struggle to use them without paying $1k in fees for every business class ticket...
Nov 28, 2014, 6:23 pm
#1437
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: LAX
Programs: UA 1K MM, AA EXP, BA Silver, Marriott Plat., Hertz Pres. Circle, Avis First
Posts: 917
Thanks. That's good to know. I mostly want to use them to go LAX-LHR and AA never seems to open J seats (at least when I am looking!). I know this is OT, but Avios is terrible. The fuel surcharges are huge and on almost every carrier. I finally managed to use a big chuck of my miles in J on Air Berlin, which is coin of the realm since there are no surcharges (just taxes, which you can never avoid).
Nov 28, 2014, 9:31 pm
#1438
Join Date: May 2005
Programs: Million Miler, 1K - Basically spend a lot of time on planes
Posts: 2,202
That is/was a big question for me. But, their partners include BA, CX, Emirates, Korean, Air France, Qantas. And, you get EQM (plus class of service bonuses) as well as RDM (with a 125% bonus) when flying their partners. And, BA is the only one with fuel surcharges. It seems like a good set up...
Nov 28, 2014, 10:25 pm
#1439
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: OSL/IAH/ZRH (time, not preference)
Programs: UA1K, LH GM, AA EXP->GM
Posts: 38,265
For me living in Asia, I found it dead easy to redeem on CX and quite easy to get seats on QF. One problem off AAdvantage is that you currently cannot redeem it for PremiumEconimy products on BA,QF, and CX.
I am not sure how big you are in that credit card => miles game but if you fly paid Biz intercontinental often, you should compare other carriers' FFPs. While I still think that for coach and PE travellers, AAdvantage is an unbeatable product. BA and CX compete very hard for Biz customers and that includes regular op-ups.
Generally I find that OneWorld treats Emeralds of other carriers very, very well and much more consistently than the *A. But the route network is very different and often one has to fly *A.
Back to the *A: I found for the last 18 months that SQ's KrisFlyer was more useful for me than MP. Excellent availability in all classes even for the lowest redemption level (Save). Upgrades are offered very consistently. If I could start again, I would probably not use MP anymore.
But if you live in the US and have access to tons of shopping miles, the situation might look different.
I am not sure how big you are in that credit card => miles game but if you fly paid Biz intercontinental often, you should compare other carriers' FFPs. While I still think that for coach and PE travellers, AAdvantage is an unbeatable product. BA and CX compete very hard for Biz customers and that includes regular op-ups.
Generally I find that OneWorld treats Emeralds of other carriers very, very well and much more consistently than the *A. But the route network is very different and often one has to fly *A.
Back to the *A: I found for the last 18 months that SQ's KrisFlyer was more useful for me than MP. Excellent availability in all classes even for the lowest redemption level (Save). Upgrades are offered very consistently. If I could start again, I would probably not use MP anymore.
But if you live in the US and have access to tons of shopping miles, the situation might look different.
Nov 29, 2014, 12:04 am
#1440
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,448
To answer your "on topic" question, I don't think you're missing much assuming the alternate route networks work for you.
The only other fact you might want to consider is that $40K in spend on UA will net around 400,000 RDM under the new scheme (netting out taxes and multiplying by 11).