LordHamster

It isn't a thing. But as a one time deal [this year only], it would be a great way to try Poach UA's top flyers... at least the ones in non-hub cities.

UA_Flyer

Being a MM flyer does not one is a top flyer. MM is an accumulation of flight activities over a period of time.

I respect the self-interest nature of the suggestion, although it seems far fetched. I guess one can always dream about it.....

drklain

Giving lifetime status in a case like this (with no or little prior lifetime flying with the poaching airline) doesn't make much sense. Prior mileage is not a predictor of future mileage/revenue and doing this would surely piss existing LT mileage people at the airline off as an unearned award. Far more likely (and less costly in the long run because there is no tail) would be to do a match from GS to their elite top-level status (just like 1K matches work) because you (a) acquire the high-level flyer) and (b) only have a benefits tail of one year to give out. If he/she doesn't fly enough in 2021 to re-qualify, then you are out of it and don't owe anything.... If you take LordHamster approach (giving lifetime credit) you run the risk of giving high level status/benefits for life to a person who has retired, no longer flys much at all and will not bring you in that high value revenue you are trying to poach but instead becomes a lifetime drain on the company. I can't see anyone doing this...

DMSFCA

If Delta or another airline that flys the routes I need offered a challenge to existing GS people, I'd consider jumping ship. Like spend $10k before year-end and you get the GS equivalent on their airline for 2021. I'd still have 1K through 2021 so if I had a few United flights left I could sunset those with at least 1k. They would definiately nab a few big spenders.

drklain

That's a different issue. As I (and others) have said, offering a status match to the elite invitation, only level makes sense and could be an effective way to capture people from another airline. What does not make sense is the idea that they will offer to match your existing lifetime mileage number on the other airline so that you transfer over with your lifetime miles....

LordHamster

I agree that being MM doesn't mean top-spender. But we are on a thread about GS qualification, comparing to similar programs of AA and Delta. By definition these invite only programs are for top spenders or high-value-flyers depending on what your definition is of each.

A simple status match alone may not be enough to lure a 2,3,4 million miler away from United, as they'd lose other benefits. Hence my dream. But I think you are right... that is just a dream.

SFO_UGS

My last flight was late in March. By then, I had re-qualified for 1K by the former dollar amount ($24000). Will I retain GS status? Who knows? Do I care? Sure, but I'm not going to worry or obsess about it. If it happens, great. If not, oh well.

It's GREAT being at home - absolutely! :-) Not rushing to the airport for that next flight to reach that "important" meeting we could have easily accomplished with a video/teleconference; jostling with F passengers for overhead bin space when they never seem to utilize the space under the seat in front of them; staying at a hotel where I'll likely have to change rooms because of the lack of natural light; not dealing with sour Uber/Lyft drivers who, despite GPS, can't seem to locate the building for that "important" meeting; or rental car companies who can't seem to locate an available Camry when several are clearly on the lot; a return to the airport from that "important" meeting which was planned for all-day, but finished 4 hrs earlier, which entails a rushed call to GS to see if I can get on an earlier flight to 1) either return home or 2) off to another "important" meeting destination; or working into the evening/night to prepare for that next "important" meeting/telecon on top of doing ordinary day-to-day business; maybe a cursory walk through the "important" meeting city if there's time and I haven't visited the place before or dinner at some "destination" restaurant with "really great food" a colleague or hotel recommended; and finally, additional chaos (rental car drop-off or Uber/Lyft) to return to the airport and jostle, again, with F passengers to return to home base.

Thanks, but I miss none of that. I like to travel, but I don't miss any "business" travel. I was supposed to fly East to visit family for the Memorial Day weekend. I was fine staying at home. :-) It's great to breathe and relax without worrying about that next flight.

Oh. The one thing I really don't miss: Men who do not wash their hands before exiting the airport bathroom or any public restroom. By late March, when the pandemic was ranging, men still exited the airport bathrooms without washing their hands. MEN: WASH YOUR HANDS!!! :-)

limey1K

Nice webinar hosted by UA today, answering many questions from customers.

There was a Q&A section at the end of the presentation and a question was asked about GS status extension. The answer was very honest. Paraphrasing:

• GS requires a lot of people behind the scenes
• As they don't know what the airline will look like moving forward regarding staffing, they are currently unable to extend GS
• They will be watching the situation closely and notifying GS member if/when they feel they can support the program moving forward

cerealmarketer

My interpretation listening was they were figuring out what size of program they could support - I suppose size of zero is one possibility - though the staffing color is not a genuine answer with regard to the upgrade / award benefits GS provides. They don't need staff to 'watch' that.

limey1K

I suppose one version could be a dramatically reduced GS population but my read was more "go/no go".

HawaiiSailor

Perhaps they “suspend” the program for a year or two, but still provide some of the upgrade benefits to fy2020 GS’s in the meantime but without the parts of the program that incur actual tangible cost.

maxinkuckee04

I thought the reply on the webinar to that question was incredibly weak, evasive and off point. Perhaps the intended response. The airline has to make a decision and clearly it has chosen not too. The operations of GS is so small compared to many other things operations wise. They continue to be short sighted. I am sure they know GS folks like me want answers and today we got another miss from the senior management. How sad.

On another note, i thought the pricing question was an excellent one with another very weak answer. I see sky high fares where planes that are only way less than 50% full 7 days out. And the flight departed with 30 people on a 737-900. In his reference to economics 101, there is clearly very low demand and a relative higher supply. So to get people buying, prices need to change and be dynamic to adjust for both demand and supply changes. The fact he said nothing much has changed in terms of the broad strokes, pricing and how they compete, it worries me that these people are clearly not a capable bunch. Perhaps why follow on questions were not allowed else i could see that they would be roasted.

There were many questions about the international network and just to share some insight, a large part of that is really down to countries opening up, allowing business/leisure visitors and the need for self quarantine upon arrival. So i dont think UA has much control over that. Most of the Asia where i frequent still have travel arrival restrictions in place. Plus on a business side, factories wont allow vendors or external parties at least until Q4.

Other than that, if you were interested to know more about how they are cleaning planes, the network outlook and operations in the airport and what travelers expect when they fly now, those pieces of information was great, although much was repetition to material already out there.

I personally did not learn anything new from this webinar nor did i get any clarification on matters that i had questions on. I did post 3 questions and 1 was answered with information out there (GS), 1 was answered that it would be looked on a case by case basis and last one was not answered. I thought it was a waste of time.

Dyce

As a 1.2MM I used to think I'd definitely make 2MM, and possibly 3MM, booking almost exclusively on United. I've since realized that Lifetime Platinum is fractionally better than Gold, and when I was 1K upgrades were a crapshoot. So I've decided that anything above 1MM isn't worth it... I'm a free agent, and this fall when I expect to be spending $50K+ I'll be booking flights based on service & schedule. Just as a reminder - it's June and there's been NO communication from United to GS... None.
90% of my travel is international business class, so 'status' gets me very little above the services already provided on a $10K+ ticket.

dkc715

At least you got some of your questions answered. They completely skipped mine, which was: "Some actions stand out among your network airline peers, on such things as refund policies, a 6 hour schedule change refund rule, putting the onus on the customer to have a blocked middle seat, major last minute schedule changes, and on board service cuts blamed on covid. Do you think these moves are an added deterrent to small business customers looking to book new UA tickets and how soon might you consider reversing course, especially on the schedule change rule? As is obvious, 99% of all travel (business and leisure) is discretionary. "

Oh well. Had to try. But probably too harsh for a sales pitch.

small ring

I get the point that the airline will be different going forward. I also agree that *future* GS invited members will likely be smaller. However, they have a responsibility to the members that qualified for 2020 and reaped zero benefits. Extending one year, while re-tooling GS is not going to be the straw that breaks United's back ... however, not empathizing with their customer and living up to their expectations will outlast the airlines recovery time.

Just my €0.02.
-sr