Feb 5, 2015, 5:25 am
Last edit by: mkr
THIS IS A THREAD FOR WHICH ALL MP MEMBERS WILL BE ABLE TO RESPOND ...THANKS.
The goal of the survey is to benefit all of us.
This thread is to ask ALL MileagePlus members who read the MileagePlus Forum to please respond to this
short 3 question survey. It will only take a few minutes..
PLEASE PM YOUR MP FTer FRIENDS TO ASK THEM TO ALSO POST IN THIS SURVEY....THANKS.
This thread is to ask ALL MileagePlus members who read the MileagePlus Forum to please respond to this
short 3 question survey. It will only take a few minutes..
PLEASE PM YOUR MP FTer FRIENDS TO ASK THEM TO ALSO POST IN THIS SURVEY....THANKS.
The 3 questions are in Post #1
WIKI UPDATED FEBRUARY 24 (already over 275 posts)
PLEASE READ THIS WIKI AND POST #1 BEFORE RESPONDING TO THIS SURVEY. THANKS.
WE NEED YOUR INPUT....PLEASE TAKE PART.
IF YOU ARE ONE OF THOSE WHO HAS ALREADY RESPONDED, KINDLY CHECK YOUR POST TO MAKE SURE YOUR REASONS FOR MAINTAINING OR CHANGING YOUR STATUS LEVEL ARE CLEAR IN QUESTION #2. KINDLY EDIT, IF NEEDED. THIS IS TO HELP IN GATHERING OF DATA FOR THE SURVEY, TO BENEFIT US ALL. THANK YOU.
The data will be compiled and posted in this WIKI after approximately each 100 respondants during the year to keep it simple for someone (me) who has trouble figuring out where Boarding Line 1 is
DATA WILL BE UPDATED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WIKI
UA monitors these threads. They will not release their statistics on MP membership changes, so let us work together to compile our own data.
PURPOSE OF SURVEY
The aim is to get a very large number of data points in the coming weeks/months to see percentages of those who dropped, maintained, or increased in status through their 2014 earnings activity for 2015 status in MP because of many reasons.
The survey asks persons to state their individual reasons for their 2014-15 activity for attaining a certain status level for 2015. The survey will determine in a objective, structured, measurable and efficient way, what were persons' experiences in flying on UA in 2014 in light of various changes in the MileagePlus program or other UA flying experiences that have affected the amount of flying they did on UA in 2014. This MAY have affected their Premier status. Kindly PM your UA FTer friends to ask them to post in this survey. Thanks.
The Feb. 1 changeover date is to include those persons who responded to a "Buy Up" offer in January to maintain their 2014 status.)
IF YOU RESPONDED TO A BUY UP OFFER AFTER FEB.1, PLEASE INDICATE THAT IN YOUR RESPONSE (UA's BUY UP OFFERS EXTENDED UNTIL 2/28.
. (Some persons have other reasons for changing their 2014 flying on UA other than complaints about UA or MileagePlus.... such as the amount of business travel changing).
It will take just a few minutes for you to respond. Data will be updated in this WIKI after every 100 responses. Please read Post #1 before responding to this survey. Thank you.
(There is a separate thread for 2015 in which a brief, 3 question survey is being taken in regards to persons' plans for 2015 for earning 2016 Premier status (and reducing, maintaining, or increasing the amount of your UA flying) in light of the new PQD requirements for 2016 and new policies regarding earning Reward Mileage, or your other unique reasons. Kindly expound on your 2015 plans for 2016 status in that thread. Thanks.)
HERE IS THE LINK TO THAT THREAD:
[2015] Version: What plans do you have in 2015 for earning 2016 Premier status?
DATA
I am working on the data for this thread and will post more information later. So far, I have counted 200 respondants through Post #204 (including those who reported for 2 persons). 46% have dropped in status from 2014 to 2015. 40 % have stayed the same. 14 % increased status.
The most noticable trend so far among FTers who have reported to this thread is that of the (92/200) 46% who reported dropping in status,
(53/92) 58% were 1K in 2014. Of that 58%, 50% dropped to Gold or Below.
Here is the 2015 status breakdown of the 200 persons so far reporting included in the survey statistics : GS 3%, 1K 35%, Platinum 19.5%, Gold 18%, Silver 12%, GM 12.5%.
No GS dropped below 1K. 6 GS dropped, replaced by 3 new ones.
16 Platinums dropped, replaced by 9 new ones. So there was a slight decrease in Platinums...combined with the number of 1Ks who dropped below Platinum, shows a trend of a smaller group that MIGHT eventually show up in the sizes of Boarding Group 1...(if the data from this survey would be interpreted to somehow signal a drop of MP members across the system...We can only speculate on this, as FT is a small percentage of the entire MP population, and not everyone on FT will respond to this thread. OF COURSE THERE ARE OTHER FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE SIZE OF BOARDING GROUP 1 AT TIMES... SUCH AS IRRROPS, SDCs, DEPARTURE CITY, ELITE HEAVY ROUTES, DESTINATION CITY, DAY OF WEEK, TIME OF DAY, etc.)
But it is interesting to see such a drop of 1Ks to be below Platinum who have reported so far in this thread.
************************************************** **************************************
REPEAT: There is a separate thread for 2015 in which a brief, 3 question survey is being taken in regards to persons' plans for 2015 for earning 2016 Premier status in light of the new PQD requirements for 2016 and new policies regarding earning Reward Mileage, or your other unique reasons. Kindly expound on your 2015 plans for 2016 status in that thread. Thanks.)
HERE IS THE LINK TO THAT THREAD:
[2015] Version: What plans do you have in 2015 for earning 2016 Premier status?
Many posters are providing excellent reasons why their status dropped, stayed the same, or increased from 2014 to 2015.
However, many posters are not providing any reasons.
IT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL TO US ALL if future posters would expound in more detail for their reasons for their status as of the changeover date on Feb. 1, 2015...see examples in Post #1.
Please read Post #1 before posting in this thread. Thank you.
For those who have already posted their status, it will be very helpful to us all for you to go back to edit your posts to expound more clearly to give us all some better insights for your reasons for your status. In particular, for the 46% who dropped status from 2014 to 2015.... It would be very helpful to us all for you to expound on your reasons. This may help to see if any trends are being established (at least among those MP members who choose to post in this Forum... a small sample of all MP members). No significant trends for reasons have yet emerged in the early life of this survey.
It is possible that number is somewhat indicative of all MP members across the UA system, but it is unknown. UA certainly will not share their statistics with us. How representative are those who post in this FT Forum of the entire MP membership?....unknown...we can only speculate.
The more persons who take time to report in this thread, the greater number of data points we will have.
[IS UA's STRATEGY TO THIN THE RANKS OF PREMIERS AND HOPE MORE PERSONS WILL "BUY-UP" their upgrades rather than using CPUs, RPUs, and GPUs ? Or is UA thinking that more persons will now buy higher fares? Hard to know...there has been a lot of speculation in the past in the MileagePlus Forum about these possibilities.]
If these numbers are somewhat indicative of MP members across the UA system, then we ought to begin seeing some indications of this in the size of Boarding Group 1 in the coming weeks and months. If Boarding Group 1 seems to be shrinking, this may indicate a larger drop in 1Ks to Gold or below, and a drop from the ranks of Platinums. (OF COURSE SOME CITIES ARE VERY HEAVY 1Ks and Plats...but be observing...see if you notice any overall shrinking of sizes of Boarding Group 1,)
Most posters so far have been Premier members.
Some posters are providing excellent reasons why their status dropped, stayed the same, or increased.
However, many posters are not providing any reasons.
AGAIN...IT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL TO US ALL if future posters would expound in more detail for the reasons for their status...see examples in Post #1. This will help to identify if any trends for reasons are emerging.
Thanks. I will update WIKI at some appropriate point when more data becomes available in the future.
[Survey]: From 2014-15 Did your MP Status Increase, Decrease, or remain the same?
Feb 4, 2015 | 4:00 pm
#166
Original Poster
Suspended
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Just outside Big D, or many other places in big metal tubes
Programs: WN Rpd.Rwrds, AA, was longtime CO very top Elite tier, Overentitled UA Lifetime 1K (since 2012)
Posts: 1,334
Feb 4, 2015 | 4:17 pm
#167
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: ORD/MDW
Programs: BA/AA/AS/B6/WN/ UA/HH/MR and more like 'em but most felicitously & importantly MUCCI
Posts: 19,809
2012 Plat
2013 Plat
2014 Silver
2015 Dirt
Couldn't take it any more.
Edited to expand on original post at mkr's request:
Three factors drive my disengagement from United Airlines.
1. Shattered faith in the airline to fly its timetable, keep its promises, or compensate for its mistakes. I and my family had a parade of cancellations, screwups, and other meltdowns in 2012-13 during which UA's apparent reflexive instinct was to deny responsibility, defend its own interests against mine, and fight me (at least until, on one occasion, I got the DOT involved). My service recovery experiences on AA, US, DL, and AS have been far better -- responsive and empathetic. Now I find the mere prospect of a UA flight stressful. I was forced to fly UA SFO-YVR this month because there was no post-dinnertime AC service and worried the whole week in advance, because I absolutely had to be in Vancouver by noon the next day. I looked up all the alternates and next-morning flights and SFO layover hotels in case UA cancelled. I don't have that level of tension flying Alaska or American and I do not need it, or United, in my travel life.
2. Quantitative inputs show United focuses on VFF HVFs, price-driven bargain hunters with no loyalty, but no customers in between -- where I fall. The MP modifications, TODs, all-but-extinct CPUs, unredeemable GPUs, and dilution of sub-GS elite tiers add up to what I call a "doughnut hole" problem for UA. A small free-spending top tier seems happy despite the operational / reliability mess; a large bottom cohort is happy because they got a cheap ticket and possibly a cheap upgrade offer; I am nowhere in this picture. For a flyer with my profile (75-100k BIS miles per annum, 70% business trips, mixed fare classes) the value proposition at AS and AA is flatly, inarguably superior. UA has become like a car dealership that sells Mercedes-Benzes and Kias, but sort of mocks the broad middle of moderately upscale buyers looking for Buicks, Acuras, Volvos, etc. I do not think this is sustainable in the long run but United will do what it will do.
3. A demonstrably dishonest, weasel-minded, adversarial corporate culture that I want nothing to do with. It goes all the way back to "changes I think you'll like" and continues to "flyer-friendly" and blaming weather for mechanicals and crew scheduling snafus so they don't have to kick out a food voucher. I believe the company at its core regards its customers as nuisances who need subjugating, and to be taught a thing or two. When Smisek said the new sheriff in town was going to run UAL "like a business," that was code for saying he owes customers nothing for their money -- not even basic honesty. (How should you regard a company that confirms F award seats, but downgrades you to Y at the gate because, apparently, there was a chance to sell your seat at the eleventh hour to a walk-up offering real money? Such stories, told repeatedly on FT, tell me this airline warrants no trust. None.) This is the only quantitative / subjective factor of my three, but it's how United has made me feel since 2012: angry, exhausted, repelled. So sue me.
2013 Plat
2014 Silver
2015 Dirt
Couldn't take it any more.
Edited to expand on original post at mkr's request:
Three factors drive my disengagement from United Airlines.
1. Shattered faith in the airline to fly its timetable, keep its promises, or compensate for its mistakes. I and my family had a parade of cancellations, screwups, and other meltdowns in 2012-13 during which UA's apparent reflexive instinct was to deny responsibility, defend its own interests against mine, and fight me (at least until, on one occasion, I got the DOT involved). My service recovery experiences on AA, US, DL, and AS have been far better -- responsive and empathetic. Now I find the mere prospect of a UA flight stressful. I was forced to fly UA SFO-YVR this month because there was no post-dinnertime AC service and worried the whole week in advance, because I absolutely had to be in Vancouver by noon the next day. I looked up all the alternates and next-morning flights and SFO layover hotels in case UA cancelled. I don't have that level of tension flying Alaska or American and I do not need it, or United, in my travel life.
2. Quantitative inputs show United focuses on VFF HVFs, price-driven bargain hunters with no loyalty, but no customers in between -- where I fall. The MP modifications, TODs, all-but-extinct CPUs, unredeemable GPUs, and dilution of sub-GS elite tiers add up to what I call a "doughnut hole" problem for UA. A small free-spending top tier seems happy despite the operational / reliability mess; a large bottom cohort is happy because they got a cheap ticket and possibly a cheap upgrade offer; I am nowhere in this picture. For a flyer with my profile (75-100k BIS miles per annum, 70% business trips, mixed fare classes) the value proposition at AS and AA is flatly, inarguably superior. UA has become like a car dealership that sells Mercedes-Benzes and Kias, but sort of mocks the broad middle of moderately upscale buyers looking for Buicks, Acuras, Volvos, etc. I do not think this is sustainable in the long run but United will do what it will do.
3. A demonstrably dishonest, weasel-minded, adversarial corporate culture that I want nothing to do with. It goes all the way back to "changes I think you'll like" and continues to "flyer-friendly" and blaming weather for mechanicals and crew scheduling snafus so they don't have to kick out a food voucher. I believe the company at its core regards its customers as nuisances who need subjugating, and to be taught a thing or two. When Smisek said the new sheriff in town was going to run UAL "like a business," that was code for saying he owes customers nothing for their money -- not even basic honesty. (How should you regard a company that confirms F award seats, but downgrades you to Y at the gate because, apparently, there was a chance to sell your seat at the eleventh hour to a walk-up offering real money? Such stories, told repeatedly on FT, tell me this airline warrants no trust. None.) This is the only quantitative / subjective factor of my three, but it's how United has made me feel since 2012: angry, exhausted, repelled. So sue me.
Last edited by BearX220; Feb 24, 2015 at 7:46 am
Feb 4, 2015 | 5:42 pm
#169
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 5,825
Feb 4, 2015 | 7:52 pm
#171
Join Date: Sep 2008
Programs: A3 *G, AA exePlat, AS MVP 75k Gold, JL sapphire, UA silver
Posts: 4,794
still 1k since CO merged with UA.... anticipate to be 1k in 2016 but it will be my last year with status on UA unless something unexpected happens as I spend my own money.
Feb 4, 2015 | 9:07 pm
#174
Original Poster
Suspended
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Just outside Big D, or many other places in big metal tubes
Programs: WN Rpd.Rwrds, AA, was longtime CO very top Elite tier, Overentitled UA Lifetime 1K (since 2012)
Posts: 1,334
I think we need to let this thread go on for a few months to gather more data to see if any trends establish. We have several persons who have posted who have not made any posts on FT in quite a while. Most who post on FT likely do not look at it daily. This is the type of thread that many people can post in because they know their own situations/needs as a flyer. Those who choose to post on FT are a small sample of the many MP members who do not read FT, much less post in the threads.
On the other hand, some persons who follow FT like a religion and post every day on various topics have yet to enter their data this thread.
So we will just wait a few months to see if any trends emerge, IMO. I started an initial WIKI with bare minimum info. Asking people to go back and edit their posts to enter reasons for their 2015 status.
If you are waiting "breathlessly", I hope you will take a breath.
Last edited by mkr; Feb 5, 2015 at 8:41 am Reason: spelling, clarity
Feb 5, 2015 | 7:58 am
#176
Join Date: May 2004
Location: US
Programs: UA Lifetime Gold, IHG Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,041
Easily retained Gold, could have attained Plat, but I chose to use my miles to buy an international ticket on a complex itinerary. Achieved PQD also, but have Chase card for CC waiver as backup.
Expect to retain Gold again as *Gold is great for international travel and no fees for standby. May have to use CC waiver as I may not meet PQD.
Expect to retain Gold again as *Gold is great for international travel and no fees for standby. May have to use CC waiver as I may not meet PQD.
Feb 5, 2015 | 8:32 am
#177
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: BOS
Programs: AS MVPG75k
Posts: 353
2013 Gold
2014 Gold
2015 Silver
2016 expecting Dirt since I have moved to other airlines where possible
Reasons:
- Moved most of my 2014 flying to AA and AS to maintain status there, since I plan to fly them instead of UA in 2015. This decision was made purely because of anticipated steep drop in mileage earning with UA as I almost exclusively fly cheap fares.
- Fell short of PQD threshold for 2015 Silver but was exempt thru credit card spend.
- Starting March 1 2015 I will avoid UA except occasionally if price/convenience is much better than alternatives.
2014 Gold
2015 Silver
2016 expecting Dirt since I have moved to other airlines where possible
Reasons:
- Moved most of my 2014 flying to AA and AS to maintain status there, since I plan to fly them instead of UA in 2015. This decision was made purely because of anticipated steep drop in mileage earning with UA as I almost exclusively fly cheap fares.
- Fell short of PQD threshold for 2015 Silver but was exempt thru credit card spend.
- Starting March 1 2015 I will avoid UA except occasionally if price/convenience is much better than alternatives.
Last edited by braffy; Feb 5, 2015 at 8:39 am
Feb 5, 2015 | 9:16 am
#178
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: District of Columbia
Programs: UA: 1K, AA: Gold, Hilton: Diamond, Marriott: Plat Premier, Hertz: Pres Circle
Posts: 122
United:
2010: Silver
2011: Platinum
2012: 1K
2013: 1K
2014: 1K
2015: Platinum (with $25K Chase Waiver)
2016: Silver / Gold (Hopefully)
American:
2014: None
2015: ExpPlat (Status Match from United)
2016: TBD
Was a loyal United flyer for many years growing up in Cleveland. Made the switch this year due to PQD. Was really disappointed to hear they were awarding 1K for 2015 for people who reached the mileage requirement but fell short of the PQD.
I have 700K Mileage Plus miles... so hoping to take my parents and brothers somewhere nice to burn thru them.
Here's to the next great adventure with American. Locked in that $500 RT YYZ-HKG Mileage run to hit my 25K mileage requirement for the match.
2010: Silver
2011: Platinum
2012: 1K
2013: 1K
2014: 1K
2015: Platinum (with $25K Chase Waiver)
2016: Silver / Gold (Hopefully)
American:
2014: None
2015: ExpPlat (Status Match from United)
2016: TBD
Was a loyal United flyer for many years growing up in Cleveland. Made the switch this year due to PQD. Was really disappointed to hear they were awarding 1K for 2015 for people who reached the mileage requirement but fell short of the PQD.
I have 700K Mileage Plus miles... so hoping to take my parents and brothers somewhere nice to burn thru them.
Here's to the next great adventure with American. Locked in that $500 RT YYZ-HKG Mileage run to hit my 25K mileage requirement for the match.
Feb 5, 2015 | 9:20 am
#179
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: District of Columbia
Programs: UA: 1K, AA: Gold, Hilton: Diamond, Marriott: Plat Premier, Hertz: Pres Circle
Posts: 122
I had 2 GPUs extended as a courtesy through March 31, 2015 without requalifying a 1K next year after talking to a nice agent. Might be worth a call and a shot even if you only use them domestically.
