blueman2

I am in a similar position. I am lifetime Premier Platinum on UA due to my 2MM status. My travel is personal, mostly paid F (P fare) but the chances of me getting to 1K is very low due to the $12K bar. So from that point, no reason to fly UA. I am PP not matter what and that won't change.

But I do tend to fly UA unless an really good alternative presents itself. Why:

• In irregular operations, United treats me pretty well. Not like a 1K, but better than non-status which I would be on another airline.
• I like keeping my pile of RDMs as large as possible as my wife and I use them for intl trips on a regular basis. And UA's redemption is pretty good.
• SDC! This really should be at the top of my list, as it is probably my number 1 driver towards UA. Yes, WN has even better terms, but no first class on WN and I tend to fly F.

UA gets about 60% of my business based on these reasons. I tend towards B6 for SFO-JFK because I love their Mint product and the prices are usually lower than UA. I am also flying VX increasingly since they compete pretty well in SFO to destinations I fly. And due to regular travel to ATL, DL also takes some share since their F product beats UAs in most regards.

TLDR; stick with UA for most travel, but ALWAYS keep an eye on other options and when they are better, take them!!

findark

What destinations? I'm always surprised by this because at least on my head-to-head routes (SFO-NYC/WAS) the pricing for VX F has been a complete joke.

blueman2

Agreed for transcon to NYC. Their prices are higher and their non-lay-flat seats are arguably worse. But I fly SFO-DEN quite a bit, and their F seat is often less than UA. And their product is FAR superior to UA's product on that route. And sometimes their SFO-FLL flights in F are competitive in price, and again, far superior to the 737 based F that UA provides. But more to the point for FLL, United's nonstop service is seasonal and often inconvenient timing, but Virgin's schedule fits my needs much better.

ani90

You are certainly not in a similar position!

bldr1k

The difference between airlines is smaller than it use to be. I would stay on United and use the benefits of 1K. I had the same decision for many years as I was flying 250-300K PQM a year and could have easily gotten to 1K and Delta Diamond every year. However, by flying United I got to use the benefits of 1K. Upgrades are slim but 1K has other benefits on award tickets that are worth it.

Often1

OP - It's back in your court. Why do you care about status?

You will get a million opinions here from people telling you what they care about, but they don't matter. The question is what do you care about and what is it you want from an FFP and what is it that you would want GS for (if you could get it)?