golfingboy

This is precisely the way I think the mindset should be for most of us, both have the same reason for being loyal to a specific airline, but one sees UA as the better choice ^ while the other sees HA as the better choice ^

Frequent flyer status can be obtained now or 10 years later, but time you can't go back and make up. Stick with the airline whose schedule works best for you and offers the convenience you need while getting you from point A to B with minimal inconveniences. The rest should be secondary.

robbgrn

Well now that depends.

You are flying for work aka not having fun.

My miles are all personal so I'm actually happy when I get on a plane regardless of what group I'm in.

In addition, I have the luxury of being able to buy First if I want to or don't think I'll be upgraded depending on where I'm going.

If you're leaving UA shouldn't you be in the new forum at AA or DL?

SwisherTown

So not enough higher status people leaving because of all the devaluations to make a difference?

UA-NYC

Premiers leaving isn't going to magically increase everyone's UG rates. You can't drive ancillary revenue (UA's specialty, easier than growing operating revenue) giving out CPU, but you can by selling TODs to clean up the leftovers.

bldr1k

Excluding RPUs and YBM fares, my CPU rate in 2014 was less then 25%.

tom911

Yet you're still loyal to UA? Is that number acceptable to you if it continues again in 2015?

Always Flyin

"When" you were Gold? The presumption is that Gold today is what Gold was before. Believe me, it's not.

As a 1K last year, I was at 15%, as was most of my office, and that was not hub-to-hub flying either.

Which is why I say:

United is an airline that the courts have found knowingly defrauds its customers (Lagen v. United Cont'l Holdings, Inc., No. 14-1375 (7th Cir. 2014)) and treats those customers with utter disdain. United is an airline only for those locked into fortress hubs, those with corporate contracts (which are diminishing in number), Kayakers, and those who just don't know any better.

You're locked into a fortress hub. United owns you, and they know it. They don't have to give you anything. Where are you going to go?

kyym

I fly ~200K BIS miles a year with around ~250 EQM (or EQP on AA) including CoS bonuses. Was mainly a UA/*A flyer with most flights on UA/LH for many years. Since the AA status match to EXP in 2012, I have maintained both EXP and 1K (will drop SEN this year; but should be able to keep BA Silver for AC access).

The main reason for keeping both 1K and EXP is the options on any ticket and I have assumed that I'll keep both for the foreseeable future.

But it's becoming increasingly painful to keep the UA part going and I am considering going cold turkey and completely dropping UA this year. The part that hurts me the most is how UA has systematically devalued *A to the point that I am getting less miles on airlines I'd like to fly (SQ to Asia; TK to Africa) AND it's really painful (if not impossible) to ticket these airlines on 016 stock (needed to comfortably meet the PQD requirements).

With AA/OW, I can fly CX, QR, BA, JL, etc and get the full EQM as well as 100% EXP bonuses. The addition of QR has been awesome for Africa travel (and also for India outside BOM/DEL).

Given that a lot of my travel is international to places that AA/UA don't fly to, the *A/OW benefits are quite key and the dilution of *A (especially due to the PQD and lack of elite bonuses except on LH/LX/AC) is really limiting.

I could still keep 1K this year with 2 paid J trips to SIN and DEL and a few trans-cons and 2 trips to Europe. But I am really wondering if it's worth it?

For instance, for SAN-SIN in J next month - I can take a one stop on JAL via NRT (with new J on NRT - SIN) or two-stops via LAX or SFO on United - adding 4 hours of travel time and an extra stop each way. Only reason to take UA is to keep 1K and 20K more RDM.

If you had 200K to fly/year (70% international) - would you keep EXP and 1K (recognizing that the latter requires a fair bit of 'optimizing' and sub-optimal routes over the year) for the options on flying and redemptions (and insurance against AA taking a nose-dive after the merger) or just put all the miles on AA (with enough BA to keep silver and Avios to upgrade BA itineraries)?

Overall, OW clearly works better from SAN (with BA non-stop to LHR and JAL non-stop to NRT) and AA will be my main program. The question is whether it's worth keeping half of my travel on UA to keep 1K (or even a third of travel to keep Gold or Platinum on United).

Thanks for your inputs!

SwisherTown

I said "not enough". As in "not enough" people are leaving United to make United reverse fill_in_whaterver_policy_you_want.

If it hurts, don't do it. Why fly on United if it is less than optimal? If it wasn't so painful and sub-optimal I would keep both unless with EXP you can accumulate and burn additional SWUs, etc with AA because you don't don't what the future will hold with UA or AA.

robbgrn

2014 was the first year I was Silver. All other years I've been gold.

raehl311

I'd barely decided to stick with UA for 2015. Chief advantages were service to EAU (15 minutes from my door) and the SDC policy.

Went to start booking airfare for 2015 and see that EAU service has changed from a 6 AM and 3:30 PM departure to ORD to 1:52 PM and 6:30 PM... with a 7:49 PM arrival, meaning virtually no useful connections.

Lacking a morning departure, I'm going to have to drive to MSP for most of my flights, and now AA is on the table.


Funny that with all the changes, it's a flight schedule change at an EAS airport that breaks the camel's back.

JBord

Why not DL if MSP is now your airport? Afraid you'll miss connecting at ORD too much?

raehl311

Once I drive to MSP, I'm game for any airline that serves the airport.

AA has (at least for now) a much better FF program, so once I'm committed to getting to MSP on the ground...

aisleorwindow

Interesting scenario...
Sounds like you are flying paid J for your international flights. Do you use/need you UA SWUs?
If not, you could maintain EXP and just make Gold or Plat on UA so you still have *A lounge access.
Or look at crediting to a different *A program, like Miles & More, TK M&S, etc.

This of course depends on what you want to redeem your miles for too.

sfosyd

How far away are you from million miler status? United has by far the the best lifetime program out of the major US airlines, and star alliance gold is valuable. My hunch is this will change so it's worth locking in as soon as possible, IMO.