milepig

Yes. Very very complex. And yet, the message when you open the link in the email begins with a graphic that shows sort a spaghetti bowl, with a line that goes something like "we know it was complex and you hated it, so we simplified it". Huh? Maybe if you only take UA flights domestically and take a lot of them. Otherwise I can't even put together a chart to show earning when you go down into things like when you're flying a non-preferred partner in J on a 016 or non-016 tickets. Then you need to keep track of things like "Is Swiss preferred or non-preferred) what about SAS? LOT? No one can retain all of that. Maybe there will be a UA chart that will help, but given the issues already with keeping it 100% up to date I'm skeptical.

I sure hope they get the earnings correct on the display when you're doing bookings.

My thing about all of this is that there is a distinct benefit for people who fly only a few high priced routes. Right now, they want something like $10K for ORD-FRA in J. Not that I'd pay that much, but even when you factor in the taxes, you'd be gold with just a couple of those.

dulcamara

Me too.

dulcamara

They could start to see the impact pretty soon. I'm moving some of my domestic travel (pretty much everything but EWR) to DL right now.

Internationally, UA has the best routes for me but LH and CX will get a very close look as I book travel for 2020.

FlyerTalker324193

Couple of mistakes in there. The second itinerary would be JFK-FRA-SIN-FRA-JFK, I assume.

And you'd earn 4913 PQP from those two tickets.

What's the problem with that?

4913 PQP is only 60% of the way to gold. If you credited to SAS EuroBonus, you'd achieved 85% of EuroBonus Gold (also a *G).

If you credited to either TK or Asiana, you'd be closer to gold than with UA MP as well. And they give you the status for two (!) years as opposed to one for MP.

kilo

Having read through the thread and looked on UA’s website and I’m still uncertain how a non 016 ticket with both UA and partner operated flights will be handled for purposes of earning PQPs.

Will the UA portions be allocated PQPs based on the split value of those segments and the non- UA portion on distance (as per the calculations)? Or will UA know the value of the whole ticket and apply it as s whole? Or is this not known?

jsloan

For a non-016 ticket, this is how it will be calculated, exactly the way it is today. The only difference is that they’re now giving PQP, based upon a formula calculated from the redeemable miles, to tickets that wouldn’t earn PQD under the current system.

TDGooldy

For non-016 tickets, will those segments count toward the PQF quota?

cfischer

Wow, you don't even know the ticket I have and you are calling my math a mistake? Amazing. Not worth it to explain this further for you, but rest assured, my math is correct. How could one ever get to 4913

You are also mistaken that I need these to qualify ... it something I booked anyway and now I get PQP where I wouldn't have before ... so that is more PlusPoints at the end of the year.

cfischer

of course

deek

Well, I'm pretty happy as a 3MM UA flyer with lifetime 1K - whatever that means. Those sitting at 2.5+ MM now might want to push on regardless in 2020 to clear 3MM

brg

What happens to Flex PQMs going forward?
I understand they get converted to FPQP at 5:1
As of now, 5k spend = 1k Flex PQM x 5 FPQM: 1FPQP = 25k spend = 1k FPQP
The other cards - 12k spend = 500 PQP x2 = 24k spend = 1k PQP

At one point it says that up to 10k FPQP can be used for 1k
At another it says you can get and use Flex PQP up to Platinum
At another it implies you can only get 10k FPQP a year from card spend

What do the changes mean or do to old Pres Plus card holders?

Kacee

Perhaps. This will impact my 2020 bookings immediately. UA will get award redemptions and upgraded flights (burn those upgrade points) and little else. I'm pissed.

tallasadoor

4 years ago I did match to AA EXP and have maintained both to create a form of free agency for myself. It has been great. With this change I will need to make a choice. All things being equal I would have chosen 1k (spouse benefits for MM, 6 GPU instead of 4, transparency and predictability of upgrades). but things are not equal

$35k /yr combined spend, I dont pay $1000 for intl RT, more like avg of $2500-$3k.

Now curious what AA does. AA more friendly/seamless with partner earnings but MM status is nowhere near as good. AA partner lounge privilege is better. AA Hard product marginally better in front (UA 77W polaris not great for tall people) , AA on board service hit and miss. UA easier to claim award travel. BA gives upgrade to J for free if PE is full sometimes. Lots of other differences.

I always pay PE fare level, and sometimes J one way Y other way (with GPU) to sit in front. I pay out of pocket when I violate company travel policy. More intl than segments, so this will impact me. I am 6'8' so J is much appreciated for me. E+, MCE on intl is a joke.

Some reflections and questions

• I understand change to spend. But those who can afford to pay J arguably get most of 1k benefit on each flight. There is incremental benefit, but it is smaller
• For those domestic segment runners, they will get benefit of upgrades if they pay for Y, but take advantage of GPU equivalent less often
• If profit is the motive, then why is UA allowing the perceived loophole of claiming lots of points for little $ on partners? Just tinker with the spend requirement on UA
• MM just got harder for those using partner flights, so less graduating into MM tiers?
• Will the partner accrual charts stay the same? Lots of assumptions on FT to game the new setup, but that assumes partner accrual is the same.
• Will pricing in some markets change to entice people to pay for J? I go to UK alot and sometimes 10+ GPUs clear on departure on both AA and UA. Maybe more friendly pricing? Crazy, I know
• For airlines claiming to be "green" then why award take off and landings? no need to answer.....
• I would love to post my travel patterns to a site and have the airlines bid to capture my business instead of chasing the constantly moving goalpost. Naïve, but would be fun as I would gladly give ALL of my business to 1 carrier for the long term.

zombietooth

I am at 2.8 MM and am pretty worried that the lifetime status GPUs are going away. It makes no sense for UA to keep giving them to lifetime members from a financial perspective because it costs them a lot of revenue, and everything about these current changes is designed to reward only one thing-revenue. Why allow pax who might only fly 3 times a year to get J seats just because of their legacy with UA? This makes no sense at all in a purely revenue-driven model.

I fly on my own dime and, even before these changes, I had already booked 3 domestic flights for next year in paid F on other carriers because UA was more expensive and had worse routings. So, I was already in the agnostic, saving money as my primary concern, mode. I still planned to give most of my international business to UA next year but now, I will likely only book enough UA flights to use my GPUs (hopefully because I am not sure that UA won't release less upgrade space next year, thereby making my GPUs less valuable), and then book based only on price and convenience (i.e. minimum transit time with the least connections).

I am also quite skeptical that the favorable partner ratios of 1:5 and 1:6 will last longer than a year. Mark my words, that is going away because it's just too good a deal for international flyers.

The above being said, I still would make the new requirements easily if I repeated my 2019 flight patterns (I am at 20K spend, 200K miles and 48 segments right now). So I may fall back into 1K in 2021, but only if UA has the cheapest flights and most convenient routings for my flight schedule.

i like flying

Long time reader. First time posting.

Definitely impacted by these changes, will do approximately 120k PQM, 17k PQD, and 40 PQS by year end based on current bookings and what I know I have left for balance of year. There is no way I see myself hitting 54 segments next year as 2019 is the most trips I have ever done in a year. Interesting to see how integrated the CCs are for Delta when it comes helping you hit the flight metrics. People in my office that fly DL max out those CCs and put all of their spend on it to help them hit status. Would like to see that brought to UA for people like me in the new program. Don't have a UA CC right now, but would maybe pick one up if it could help me maintain my 1K status by allowing segments and points to be earned.