follonica2

I made the same decision. Been with MP since 2002. 2P the first couple years and then 1P thereafter. Even survived traveling during the cluster**** of 3/3/12.

The final nail is not being able to book Premium Economy seats on LH (or TK or NH) via the UA website. So, book it with LH and get no PQD or book regular economy and get PQD.

The cumulative irritations: PQD and subequent increase in same, ERJs on routes like BWI/ORD, the 8 abreast seating in 777 biz class with no seat storage, miserable arrival and departure times in Singapore, flying from BWI, my home airport, means transatlantic connections in ORD (meh) or EWR (bleccch!) or using nonstops from IAD, which usually put me smack in the middle of the Capital Beltway rush hour. I just found out there is no IAD/FCO flight this winter. Add that to the list, too.

Its not a decision I made lightly but AA made it easier by giving me a status match to their Plat level. I'm kind of looking forward to finding my way around different aircraft and airports.

FallenPlat

You know the IAD Admirals Club closed and that the US Air Clubs are all at DCA, right? But then I guess BWI (ex Airspace) has no domestic lounges at all so you may be used to roughing it. Oh, the horror, the horror . . . .

follonica2

We BWI flyers - we tough - we don't need no steenkin' lounges

PV_Premier

with B6 in the game for $599 confirmed J one way on a product that blows UA (and most anyone else) out of the water, i wouldn't be anywhere near the fence anymore

Superguy

Although life has improved for US/AA now that US finally moved to the C gates. We get airside access to A/B which has much better eats than the crap that's in the D gates.

Boraxo

Misery loves company. I will be dropping from 1K -> Silver for 2015 though hopefully the status drop will be temporary as I expect my travel to increase.

Concur with your analysis: Clear and PreCheck eliminate any waiting at the security checkpoint, and upgrades are rare as a 1K flying between hubs. GPUs and RPUs are nice but not terribly meaningful as I fly paid C international. Not excited about boarding behind group 1 but I will deal with it on the few domestic trips where I fly UA.

The two things I will miss the most are E+ advance rez and 1K mileage inventory and fee waivers. I really enjoyed burning 400k+ miles this year while knowing that I had the flexibility to change, cancel or rebook without penalty fees. The loss of E+ hurts, but it will save me money as I've already booked leisure travel on competitors with lower fares (and not a big deal on 2-3 hour flights).

I wouldn't worry about requalification - I believe lifetime Gold = lifetime Gold. However I am 100% certain that you will see a reduction in benefits. DL has already eliminated free advance E+ for Golds (now 72hr) and UA will be sure to follow the race to the bottom. Expect more enhancements...

IME AS is terrible compared to UA if you want to redeem miles for saver awards on peak dates/destinations. Just this year I booked 4 UA saver awards to Maui (June) and Cabo (August). Zippo saver inventory on AS at any point in time.

On the plus side, MVP (i.e. Silver) and TOD upgrades are much cheaper and easier on AS, and Alaskan Amber blows away UA's swill. The FAs are also consistently wonderful, as opposed to luck of the draw.

As for partners, BA has been steadily decreasing C/F international seats from the west coast to LHR, but you can still find connections from central/eastern US. Of course there is the heinous "fuel surcharge"....

In general I have it impossible to get >.01 in value per AS mile, though I am sure you can do better if you have flexible dates and can work the partners. Unfortunately not an option for me.

In sum: I fly AS for the price and perks, but not RDM...

ROTFLMAO - so true!

Count me as one of the TOD skeptics. No doubt there are a few kettles who bite, but the vast majority are penny pinchers who are flying discount fares and won't spend the coin to upgrade to UA's exceptional/sarc F product for a couple of hours. Instead I blame the consolidation of CO/UA, which resulted in too many GS, or elites using RPU/GPU/miles, not to mention paid F/C connecting from international flights.

In any case the result is the same: elimination of CPUs for 1Ks flying between hubs. IMO this puts UA at a severe disadvantage to AA & DL on domestic routes, where elites have far higher upgrade %.

privacylawyer

Luv and kisses,
1k, million miler, 1k qualified for 2015, nvr again

P.s. Shoe-horned 3 seats packed across, no upgrades, rude customer service staff, charges for entertainment, new free bring your own device temporarily free if u have their app (no in seat screen options) and enough battery. In their wisdom, you have intranet entertainment capability on your device OR power in seats.

Pss: while shareholders may be happy, flyers are not. How long can they run an airline on luggage check fees and exorbinate change fees?

MatthewLAX

(Yawn)

I am no fan of UA either, but we must work with what we have. Whining "I hate United Airlines" with 10 exclamation points does no good.

Doc Savage

This is the direction all airlines are trending. I doubt you would like it better anywhere else.

follonica2

I don't remember the last time I flew from a BWI concourse other than D. Haven't even seen the "new" A/B gates. A whole new world is opening up.

I mentally blocked out the slop chutes in D a long time ago. Couldn't even tell you what's there.

anc-ord772

I used to be all UA all the time. At any price, with any schedule, number of connections or alternatives be damned. Then UA turned into UNITED and I started to look around. It was great timing anyway because my travel profile was changing. Once I moved past loyalty, I learned a lot about the state of the industry and my options. I am now mostly a domestic flier, based out of the west coast, and fly about 50-70k miles per year. Without loyalty, all purchases are based on best routing + best cabin at the price point I am willing to pay. Even internationally, with the proliferation of true premium economy cabins at a reasonable premium over economy, I have more options than ever. As strange as it sounds, I still sit upfront or in the best economy seats, but now I don't worry about "complimentary upgrades" since I just pay for what I want.

Once upon a time I was willing to work with UNITED. I was certainly open to giving more revenue, maybe ten or twelve cents per mile to receive more benefits, or at least the same benefits. Unfortunately UNITED went off the rails and they lost a customer willing to provide increasing business over the long term. Now, UNITED get's lucky every so often and has the right schedule and price, but they have to compete, and often lose. I don't see how getting less of my money was a win, and now other airlines get the ancillary revenue and more expensive tickets UNITED could have had all along. I don't hate UNITED or have ill will, I just don't get it.

As for the miles and wonderful redemption's of yesteryear, I know people argue that miles are worthless now, but I've been able to use miles effectively for a long time and expect to continue to do so. Instead of redeeming miles solely on UNITED & partners, spreading my travel around means I have more options via different programs. One way awards on the big 3 (with DL coming online in 2015) gives me unprecedented flexibility. The pitiful amount of miles earned on airlines where I don't have elite status is sobering. To offset this though I have become more focused on my CSP and SPG credit card spend. If times get really tough I can always use the credit card sign up bonus route.

• DL has some fairly cheap FIRST class fares, which I now buy often.
• B6 has great E+ options if flying economy.
• VX day of upgrade prices to MCS and F are fairly reasonable.
• AA is easy to upgrade using miles.
• Uh, WN has some crazy low fares and extremely random nonstop city pairs (MKE-LAX, ROC-TPA). Not a bad last resort.

So there you have it. IRROPS handing without elite status (even in paid F) isn't great, but overall leaving UNITED hasn't been that bad. I still have 1K and then lifetime gold starting in Feb. I picked up DL Silver, AS MVPG75K and Admirals Club along the way in 2014. I still travel upfront most of the time and that's the key take away for me. I have no idea how 2015 is going to turn out, but I just focus less on making that 1K nut, and more on me, the customer. DL,AS,AA and even UA are going to each have a chance at my business, and I will figure it out as I go along.

Superguy

A/B has a Silver Diner, Phillips Seafood, Arby's, Chipotle, Pinkberry, Jamba Juice, and wine and sushi bars, to name a few. C pretty much has Potbelly and a burger joint.

It's not that long of a walk over to A/B from C, and definitely worth it for a bite if you have a little time.

IAHUArunner

Old Onepass Elite and now UA 1K. Giving one more year -Gold (only) for 2015
Trying to burn through all the miles from those flights and CC bonuses. Used up almost 600k this year (4 Biz-through Asia). It is tough to completely ignore UA being based in Houston.

(Giving Away 2 SWU as Christmas gift! PM if you are flying before jan 31st)

profintraining

Question to the mid-level status members jumping ship (UA/*A Gold): is it worth trying to match status within *A? I know that A3 has changed their terms so its harder to earn status, but I was considering matching on TK + 25k mpy or 37.5 in two years for 2 years *Gold.

It's that or swap to BA (relocated to London), but every time I end up on AA its a mess. Does AA improve significantly with status? I'd imagine their elites are stuck with cancelled flights just as often...

UA-NYC

Multi-year 1K and an AA Plat regaining EXP in a week. I find my AA experience to be generally superior to UA, personally (even as a mid-tier AA elite this year vs. top tier UA).

Not sure what it is, but AA just doesn't seem to run the planes quite as tight, and seems to recover better in IRROPS. YMMV of course.