simonoaks

So, after a couple of years of being a Plat, this year I am 1k. It was not easy, I did 89 domestic flights to make the PQM and PQD. I live in West Palm Beach so had to do many out-of-the-way routes to just stick with United (is all this status chasing really worth it? I ask myself? I often fly to SAC so would do routes like PBI-ERW-ORD-DEN-SAC etc, just to stick with United.

Anyway, so far this year, I have had quite a few bad surprises, in this order:

1. Not seeing any more upgrades than I did as a Plat - even on a 777 ORD - EWR flight where 28 people cleared before me !
2. I found out there is no complimentary upgrade for SFO/LAX to ERW - rip off !
3. And this is the biggest shock - I just tried to upgrade a LHR to EWR flight and found out that you have to have a certain FREAKING ticket class to use the 'free GPUs'!!!! Seriously, I did not even know that. So my K ticket is useless , but she said I can pay an extra 300 bucks to get the minimum W ticket!! So, not all my GPUs (which was what I chased 1k for in the first place ) are pretty worthless as it means paying an extra 400 bucks for a ticket just to freaking use them. WHat use is that?!!
4. Not that is exactly related to this, but still something else to be annoyed at my stupid airline loyalty, I looked at using points to visit UK in summer and they jump up from the usual 25k to 70K , each way! Again, what is the point of collecting these miles, then not even being able to use them when you actually need them ???!!

Sorry, had to vent, it had been one disappointment after another this last couple of weeks

sbm12

No.
Not going to make you feel any better, but these details are well documented on the UA site and here.

Same as when you were Platinum. Also, it has been 30k for a Y seat US-Europe for a couple years now.

BThumme

As a first time 1K here's my thoughts:

That's unfortunate. Are you flying on a prime business-time flight (Sunday nights/monday morning, thursday afternoon/evening?) There were also lots of buyups most likely (which I believe show in the upgrade list after buying). I did EWR-ORD last saturday and every single person cleared.

Yep. Even if there wasn't, these flights almost always go out full due to the nature of the service. There also isn't free CPUs on some Hawaii Routes.


This is the biggest change to me moving from AA, but this is pretty common knowledge. You do have the option of miles plus cash upgrades regardless of you fare class though, although that amount varies and I don't think it's all that great of a value. There's a lot of threads on here about playing the GPU lottery and if it's worth it to buy up to W or what not.

Again, that's popular season, and thus UA (and everyone else) can and will charge more.

Have you had any interactions with the 1K desk? That's a super valuable perk to me that is much more important. Also, make sure you get your free drinks and snacks in Y! Even if you don't want anything, it's worth getting.

Two Bee

WOW!!!

I'd definitely change airlines.

S/W via WPB-PHL-DEN SAC & back SAC-BWI-WPB would possibly be just the ticket!

sbm12

How is this worthwhile? Eating food you don't want just because it is free seems like a pretty bad way to approach life.

TomMM

Depending on how far out you book, the lowest fare might already be GPU eligible. Last night I book a trip to LHR in 3 weeks and the lowest available fare was "W" and my GPU cleared at booking.

BThumme

I didn't say you had to eat it now. The last couple flights I've been on two or three flights in Y, I've gotten the snack boxes - they make good lunches. But between things like dark chocolate pretzels, gummi bears, or those snack packs, there's usually something for everyone.

And since this is a thread about a new 1K member, it's important to remind them about their benefits, since if they didn't know about needing a W or higher fare to use a GPU, there's a chance they don't know about this.

findark

I feel like this is a common thread in a lot of these complaints. If you're going to make significant sacrifices - financial, or in time and comfort - to try to be "loyal" to an airline, you should really do your homework first on what the status means instead of expecting a bunch of free stuff. The status game isn't what it used to be, but I'm continually amazed at how lucrative the benefits are when compared to the loyalty programs of almost any other industry.

For my part, I made a nearly $3k dollar run to keep 1K -- which a lot of people here would consider crazy. But I don't really regret it because I already knew where to count my CPUs and GPUs, and I made a fun trip to Maui out of it rather than doing a same-day turn. Really, I'm already happy to look at it more like United gave me an incentive to let loose and take an impulsive vacation I never would have done otherwise. I'm still not "loyal" in any blind sense; when another carrier is less for F than UA wants for Y, with a better schedule to boot, I'll fly the other carrier.


But I think the bottom line is that "I sacrificed so I deserve things" is the wrong way to look at it. You'll get a huge number of opportunities to save money here and there (via awards and upgrades), but you won't be able to consistently pay for one thing and get another. But as always, ymmv

laxmillenial

After a couple years of being plat, you maybe should have known that LAX/SFO-EWR isn't a CPU-able route? Otherwise, what would be the point of those RPU's? Or what's the point of "PS".
So you think being able to upgrade a 600-700 economy ticket to a lie-flat business ticket for a 12-14 hour flight is worthless? Um, there are dozens here who would happily take those worthless GPU's. Not worthless IF (and a big IF) it clears. Look at the delta pricing between economy and business.

JVPhoto

I fell to Plat this year after an amazing 5 year run as a 1K. Wanna swap??

IAH-OIL-TRASH

You claim to be have been a Plat. How did you convince yourself that 1Ks magically got CPUs LAX/SFO-EWR?
Rules of GPU use are pretty well presented at united.com. You can choose to ignore everything UA provides about using GPUs, but that doesn't seem to be working for you.
$400 for an upgrade to Business from coach (vs buying a business fare) - even I think you can do the math. If it clears, it's worth it. Most people see buying the W fare and it not clearing as the problem, not actually spending the fare differential of $400 (or whatever) for the upgrade that does work.

Defining how benefits work on your own leads to disappointment.

I'd suggest becoming familiar with United's !K benefits, both at united,com and here.

mahasamatman

Strongly agree. I can't count the number of baseless complaints we see here just because people don't take the time to become familiar with the system.

pixelator30

I was 1K last year. I had a similar experience as the poster in this thread.

In my case, I knew that I need at least W to use GPUs. But still -- this seems like a ridiculous requirement. The 6 GPUs are massively advertised by United. The W requirement not so much. This is a bait and switch.

In September 2017, I even bought a W ticket and paid $200 more for it over the K price, but then my GPU still did not clear. This was on a LAX - Taiwan route. There were 10 people in the waiting list ahead on me. Go figure. Never again. UA, those $200 will cost you dearly, in my lack of future business with you.

Because of these ridiculous rules, I was not able to use all of my GPUs. They expired on Jan 31 2018. Actually, at the end of January, I attempted to upgrade a friend on a EWR-SFO route using my remaining GPUs. It failed. It was pathetic. My friend, a general member, got all excited about potentially being upgraded, since they know I have the 1K. When my GPU upgrade did not clear, I felt very bad. Seriously, I wish there was a "DELETE" button to just delete the GPUs from my account. They do more harm than good.

So, I did not bother re-qualifying for 1K. I voted, and continue to vote, with my dollars. Hope you will too.

iapetus

I'm a first-time 1K this year. And I'm pretty happy with it. I've been upgraded twice on widebody flights -- FCO-ORD (GPU); IAH-LAX(CPU) -- so far this year, and it was pretty nice. But perhaps my expectations were more commensurate with reality? And I definitely feel as though United personnel mean it a little more when they thank me for my business.

My GPU may not clear for my ORD-MUC flight next month. But I really like the idea that it might. That was something I never had until 1K.

I should cross the million-mile mark in early 2019. I'm hoping that make 1K this year 'cause I'd much rather gift mrs. iapetus 1K status than platinum status (though I think she'd appreciate either).

hirohito888

Not sure how these rules and GPU do more harm than good. I had 9 GPU expire last year because I usually fly paid business and I had no other people to give them to. In the end, these GPU are just additional benefits for one's business with the airline. Perhaps they're not favorable to your travel patterns; you can always jump to AA where you only receive 4 unrestricted SWU or DL where you can select your benefit.