raehl311

Short answer to the subject: No, and may even lead to UA improvements.

PQD exemption for people outside the US affects a very small number of travelers. I doubt UA would adopt this unless they thought this would really drive more ticket sales on UA, and I don't see them reaching that conclusion.

Credit Card Waiver for Elite Status: UA pretty much canned this already. You can't get it on any card currently offered, leaving it only for existing Pres Plus card holders, and even they can't use it to get to 1K. Getting rid of the waiver would basically be the same as getting rid of the Pres Plus card, as once it went, your CC PQD basically become worthless and you'd be dumb to not switch to the Club card.

Upgrade Priority based on 12-month PQD: I could see United adopting this, but it isn't a devaluation of the program - some people will move up and some will move down in priority, but the same number of seats will be available to flyers at each frequent flyer level.


Comp Upgrades only for higher level elites: Doesn't sound like you understand how upgrades at American work.

American has comp upgrades for all elites. What they don't have is UNLIMITED comp upgrades for anyone other than their 1K level (2018, also their 75k level). Everyone below that has to use instruments.

Still not really a downgrade from UA as it, again, mostly just changes the priority order without changing the number of seats.


American DOES allow more PQD accrual on alliance flights than UA does, so maybe UA will step up to match.

jsloan

Considering that they're advertising the Explorer card not only all over this website (at least for me), but also on United.com and inside the app -- I'm pretty sure it's still offered. And it definitely has the PQD waiver.

nevansm

I really don't see any big changes in MP for 2 reasons.

1. UA operationally, they're in a much better place than AA/US. Their OTP is good and rising, their crews are happy, planes are clean and soft product are good and getting better.

2. MP is in a better state than SM or AAdvantage (with the upcoming changes, though one could argue it's better at this point). Redemptions, while higher than 3 years ago, still aren't bad, especially on UA metal.

In reality, UA is in a unique position. They've started to claw back customers trust, have a new mission, CEO, and Polaris could end up being very important in 2017. They have just a few merger issues to resolve (and those are really high priorities for Oscar). Once those are done and workforces are fully integrated I think we'll see even better efficiency and operational effectiveness.

It's been proven (just in Oscar's short term) that a change in the guard can produce great results, and I think those things will continue to increase. The short-sightedness of other Airlines as it relates to loyalty programs may not come into play with UA. They have to differentiate themselves, and I think that's a way.

TennisNoob

I feel Oscar is going to announce last, follow whatever they need to follow but will end up ahead of AA and DL to "look like" UA is the most loyal to it's elites.

SS255

+1. I had a difficult "tough love" conversation with my parents last night. Both are EXP's. Both were lamenting the changes. I showed them about as much sympathy as they showed me 2 years ago, when UA announced PQD's.

I then turned the conversation in a more productive direction, and suggested that they do an audit on their 2016 spend. They buy quite a bit of discounted domestic F, and some international J. The vast majority of my travel is personal, so I can make whatever purchasing decisions I wish. I told them that when I switched to buying discounted premium fares on UA, I ended up exceeding the magic number without any additional effort.

They were still pouting when we hung up, and shocked that I could be so "callous" about their feelings.

raehl311

Ah, I was not aware that all cards waived the PQD requirement at $25k spend.

The Presidential Plus card waives the PQD requirement as long as you're paying the annual fee.

edcho

It is definitely a devaluation for MM (assuming those MMers aren't flying much anymore).

WineCountryUA

but if on award travel, essentially no change (and maybe an improvement).

IAH-OIL-TRASH

Yeah - If UA copied AA prioritization based on past $ spent, someone on an award ticket (and presumably a Chase card holder) could be at top of waitlist heap w/i status group if she/he had highest PQD total in last 12 months.

edcho

Ha ha. Gotta love the "new loyalty"

xliioper

Delta will be using the $25K DL AMEX spend for MQD waiver as a factor in upgrades (but not MQD spend itself) --

http://pointsmilesandmartinis.boardi...or-medallions/

This has long been the case at AA (Gold's and Plat's have to use 500 mile upgrades on flights over 500 miles). And yet DL and UA have never bothered to copy it.

emcampbe

Sorry, this is not correct. All US-based UA affiliated credit cards - current and legacy - have the $25,000 spend waiver (only up to platinum, of course). I know - I have the select card and qualified once I hit the spend on my card in October, and never hit PQD.

Presidential Plus cardholders do get some unique perks within the UA CC family - perhaps you are thinking about the PP-only waiver of needing 4 segments on UA/UAX metla during the year to earn status, or perhaps you are thinking of the unique to PP flex miles program?

luckypierre

My take is with this announcement, the Big 3 have reached a devalued equilibrium and whatever further steps any take will be modest. Further, I sense (without any real evidence other than changes in tone) that Mr Munoz has questioned the lockstep mimicry of Delta program changes that characterized Mr Smisek's reign, so the era of Delta announcing a devaluation of their program followed within 30 days by a virtually identical announcement from UA has ended.

briank1973

The PDQ requirement on non-US-based elites will definitely lose AA some flyers. The "equilibrium" theory is a good one, and maybe UA/DL will follow suit on this.

I was thinking of going AA after I reached 1MM status next year, even if they had a program like UA's. I just thought it would be good to have my RDMs more balanced between two programs. The new announcement means I won't be flying that new SYD-LAX route on AA metal.

For years, I'd tell my colleagues and friends here in Australia that Qantas' FF program was pathetic compared to AA and UA, and it truly was. Now, if you're buying cheaper tickets, I think QF might actually be better.

cur

this would be "devastating" for people like me who are foreigners and plats who only do 20% flying with ua but nonetheless put their earnings into ua. i can't earn pqd between jnb and gbe or wdh and mpm i mean i get e+ but now i'm more driven to other programs, although all the programs in africa suck