98k miles in 5 months (but 2 calendar years) still Silver
Apr 19, 2015, 6:59 am
#31
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: NYC, LON
Programs: *
Posts: 2,771
However, I would not attempt to suggest NZ approach is generalizable to the US option. I will be surprised if NZ has anything close to (proportionately) as many elites as UA. If UA adopted a similar system, not only mike-Asia's assistant would be a 1K by now, but droves of others and the tiered elite system won't be workable or make sense.
Apr 19, 2015, 7:17 am
#32
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Newport Coast, CA
Posts: 498
Any paid full fare F passenger should automatically trump almost any other passenger. But United doesn't know how to treat paid F and C customers, which is why so many of us have moved our international business to other carriers.
Apr 19, 2015, 10:49 am
#33
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: CO hublette
Programs: UA AU MM,HH Diamond,Hyatt Globalist , Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,281
To sell more headphones?
Last edited by trm2; Apr 19, 2015 at 12:30 pm Reason: Adding link to ancient thread referenced
Apr 19, 2015, 11:01 am
#34
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Ewa Beach, Hawaii
Posts: 10,909
OP, it's only April. Seems like the very next flight (if 1000 PQM) they will be Gold. And if flying that much already and will keep the same pace, have your assistant ask UA for a challenge for 1K.
Apr 19, 2015, 11:47 am
#35
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: IAD, and sometimes OMNI/PR. Currently: not far from IAD, but home will always be SAN (not far from the "touch my junk and I'll have you arrested" Memorial TSA Check Point) even if I'm not there so much these days.
Programs: UA, CO, Calcifer Award for Mad Haiku Skillz
Posts: 5,076
Apr 19, 2015, 3:07 pm
#37
Suspended
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: SFO
Programs: UA 1K MM
Posts: 330
I think it's way too confusing to customers to have rolling qualifications. This forum would be filled with threads from people saying exactly the opposite, "I flew 120k PQM last year and 60k PQM so far this year and they just took away my 1K status!" Would you like to be in and out and in and out and in and out all the time, as your rolling last-12-months total goes over and under and over and under the threshold?
Apr 19, 2015, 7:06 pm
#38
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Houston
Programs: UA Plat, Marriott Gold
Posts: 12,693
I think it's way too confusing to customers to have rolling qualifications. This forum would be filled with threads from people saying exactly the opposite, "I flew 120k PQM last year and 60k PQM so far this year and they just took away my 1K status!" Would you like to be in and out and in and out and in and out all the time, as your rolling last-12-months total goes over and under and over and under the threshold?
Apr 19, 2015, 10:00 pm
#41
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: SIN
Programs: UA 1K MM, SQ PPS, CX Silver, Accor Platinum, Marriott Gold, SPG Silver
Posts: 679
To sell more headphones?
Apr 19, 2015, 10:02 pm
#42
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: SEA
Programs: NZ Elite (*G)
Posts: 657
I think it's way too confusing to customers to have rolling qualifications. This forum would be filled with threads from people saying exactly the opposite, "I flew 120k PQM last year and 60k PQM so far this year and they just took away my 1K status!" Would you like to be in and out and in and out and in and out all the time, as your rolling last-12-months total goes over and under and over and under the threshold?
I don't find it confusing at all. Air NZ's app keeps me well informed of how much I have and how much I need to retain my status before my anniversary date comes up. It tells me how many points my upcoming flights on NZ will earn and there is a calculator to figure out how many points any partner flights earn.
Now admittedly, if UA tried to do such a thing it would probably be a nightmare for all of you.
Last edited by SeaProf; Apr 19, 2015 at 10:11 pm
Apr 19, 2015, 10:23 pm
#43
Suspended
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: SFO
Programs: UA 1K MM
Posts: 330
What was requested above was a "rolling" period where your status is constantly recalculated over the previous 12 months. So your status on April 20, 2015 would depend on your total qualifying activity between April 20, 2014, and April 20, 2015. That's what is not practical.
Apr 19, 2015, 10:27 pm
#44
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: SEA
Programs: NZ Elite (*G)
Posts: 657
That's completely different from what is being suggested. If NZ and BA use an annual period of anniversary date to anniversary date that's just the same as UA using Jan 1 to Dec 31 as the qualifying period. It has the same advantages and the same problems. It makes no real difference whether the "year" starts on Jan 1 or on your anniversary date.
What was requested above was a "rolling" period where your status is constantly recalculated over the previous 12 months. So your status on April 20, 2015 would depend on your total qualifying activity between April 20, 2014, and April 20, 2015. That's what is not practical.
What was requested above was a "rolling" period where your status is constantly recalculated over the previous 12 months. So your status on April 20, 2015 would depend on your total qualifying activity between April 20, 2014, and April 20, 2015. That's what is not practical.
That's actually similar to how it works with Air New Zealand until you achieve status. It's a constant rolling period until you hit the target.
The day you achieve status becomes your anniversary date. You then have 12 months to earn enough to maintain status before your next anniversary date.
If you lose status it resorts back to the rolling 12-month period.
And, as I mentioned, it was not confusing at all thanks to their app that indicated how much I had and how much I needed before a certain date to get status.
Last edited by SeaProf; Apr 19, 2015 at 10:32 pm Reason: clarity