1. Are you trying to punish UA or do you truly believe they will cease flying in a couple years? How about too big to fail?

2. How did you get DL to reinstate DM for you after a couple years?

3. You should learn about cabotage rules. If you go with AC, you'll still normally be flying UA on domestic trips, although you should be able to stick to AC metal for transborder. For international longhaul, you can connect through Canada and use AC, but the extra immigration/customs combined with going to the transborder terminal/area will be a pain. OTOH, there seem to be lots of really good business class TATL and TPAC fares from Canada (which would mean two separate tickets in general, with the resulting risks and disadvantages). IIRC Canada will extend its Evisa or whatever it's called requirements to USA citizens, which could start to become an inconvenient (and possibly expensive) hassle if you must do this step twice for every trip.

I agree that it doesn't make sense for a current Gold flying 50,000 PQM/6,000 PQD to spend more to obtain the new Gold at 8,000 PQP, there are better alternatives. But comparatively, the benefit has shifted to the current Silvers who fly once a month but rack up less than 50,000 miles, they will make up the new Gold. Their other alternatives are really DL Silver or AA Gold or WN A-list.

If UA is the only airline with nonstops to your destinations, I think you would be crazy to fly someone else.

Exactly. I've been following all the hue and cry about the changes over the last few days...I'm not quite getting it.

1) if you are a regular TPAC flyer, you have already been blowing through the PQD requirement all along...nothing changes in that regard. Its not that hard to hit $24K if you are traveling to SE Asia. Not hard at all..
2) there is going to be a redistribution of 1K flyers for sure...there will be more domestic flight qualification 1K's and less international flight qualification 1K's...
3) but in that redistribution, you are not going to see those who earn 1K domestically all of a sudden flip over to international flying...so there are going to be two separate groups never the twain shall meet
4) I like the $$$$ qualification simplification, the most valuable customer is the one that pays the most, and therefore should get the perks that go with that.

Probably stay with UA for these reasons only: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/31626110-post1193.html

Blowing through the PQD requirement? Not a chance. Maybe for some, but I reckon for MANY, MANY current 1Ks, the $24K is way out of realistic reach.
I do maybe 12 to 14 TPAC RT/year, and have only ever been at >$24K spend once in the last 10 years. Normally hovers around $15K to $18K.

1) It depends. There are some very competitive TPAC fares (including in business class and premium economy) from SEA and LAX or to mainland China now. Fares also are cheaper if one originates in Asia. If the ticket cost is $3000 RT, after taxes are taken off, this would mean more than eight RTs. On cheap coach tickets, RT fares around $500 to China aren't unusual, which would mean an enormous amount of flying to hit $24,000 and 1K. In that case, it would seem better to force a few domestic connecting flights to get enough segments for the lower spend requirement even if one is primarily a TPAC flyer.

2) Very true, and I'm still puzzled why UA wants this. Domestic flyers don't get lounge access from status (in general) and don't use foreign partner lounges (which are expensive for UA), but they use a lot more customer service (IROPs) and it's generally more expensive per mile for someone to fly short hops, even though the short flights don't have meal service, etc.

3) If a domestic road warrior suddenly has global upgrades available, they could decide to explore the world since now they can get a flat bed for cheap.....or they could just use those upgrade points to try to make some of their longer domestic trips a bit more pleasant. A lot of the international travelers and those who do a lot of long domestic nonstops now won't be 1K and maybe will be much more likely to fly other carriers. Some will look for partner *A international flights that generate lots of spend credit, while others will just abandon UA and *A.

4) Spending a lot is different from profitability.

I didn't mean that they would go BK (again), I meant more figurative. UA seems more inclined to reduce benefits and devalue. I can see a time where someone who flies like I do not being valued at all by UA. I fly perhaps 15-20k a year and fly 100-200k BIS miles. That went from not too laughably far away from GS to barely clearing 1k in two years. That doesn't sound like they want my business too very much.

I used the restore my status feature to get diamond back. We just had a baby girl - that was the reason for switching away from DL. I applied and sent the BC in as proof. They re approved the status for the next 3 months conditional on me flying a certain number of miles and spending a certain amount of money. Since UA made me nervous, I am switching all of my remaining flights to DL. I will easily make the requirements and I will start next year as platinum in UA and Diamond with DL.

Thanks for the tips on the Canadian flights. I am just about there with my Canadian residency (Green card equivalent) which might make this easier or harder. CA has much lower qualifications for the top tier - (100k miles and 10k canadian spend). The fares are exceptional as well to over water trips.

I just don't know between DL and CA which is better. DL is very comfortable to fly (I have MM status there) but the hubs are inconvenient. CA would be functionally UA but I think I would suffer as I would not be 1K anymore. No more upgrades domestically and a few other issues.

TBH, it seems like only a matter of time until these programs cease to exist. All the domestic airlines seem to think that they can make more money regardless of loyalty and that they seem hell bent on cutting status perks. It almost seems easier to be a free agent and buy what I want airline be damned.

I suspect the answers to these questions will vary by each person's travel patterns and values. For me, I fly mostly domestically, I am based in DC (DCA or IAD), and I'm in it for the same day changes, the "free" E+ seats, and the possibility (remote as it is) for upgrades. I have been Gold for many years. I will not qualify for Gold under the new program; the spending requirements are too steep (not all "business" travel is for businesses with large travel budgets!). I suspect there are many like me, who have continued to fly UA primarily for those benefits and the need to re-qualify each year. UA is basically telling me that they do not value the business at my level to the extent they once did, and they they are OK with me taking my business elsewhere. I will certainly do that. The purpose of loyalty programs, from the carrier's point of view, is to create incentives to fly them as much as possible. These changes eliminate those incentives for me, and for many. So, I"m not even sure whether to do mileage runs to get to Gold for next year--is there really a point if i'm going to switch carriers anyway?

I am undecided about what to do and will be reading these pages for others' perspectives. Switching to AA is the knee jerk response; they have a hub at DCA, I can do their 90 day status match (or whatever they call it) and get the equivalent status. I"m not really a fan of AA, but when you come down to it, they're really no worse than any of the legacies. My question is: will AA (and others) follow UA? Is this really the end of FF programs as we know them, as some have said? Or will they wait and see what happens with UA and try to snap up passengers who are abandoning UA?

Southwest is another possibility; they fly to a lot of places from DCA, and their BWI hub isn't far. I don't like the comfort of their planes and am reluctant to fly them on flights longer than a couple hours; they don't have much in the way of international routes. But they do have other advantages--including the partner pass, which i've had in the past and comes in handy.

the only airlines with directs from DEN are F9 and UA. Yikes, whats the difference? :eek:

I'm the person they want to weed out of 1K
 

I'm Houston based, and have been Continental Plat and UA 1K for as long as I can remember (aside from the one glorious Global Services year right before my kids were born).

I'm a consultant flying on clients' dimes, and most of my travel is domestic economy, with oddly good CPU percentages. I do one trip to Hawaii and a couple trans-ocean flights a year on top of the domestic stuff, and that gets me to 100,000 miles. I hit the PQD totals because flights from Houston to Richmond and Baton Rouge are shockingly expensive.

Hitting 1k at $15k this year will be a stretch, and there is no chance of $18k (or $24k) unless my work changes considerably (which I don't really want).

I'm 300,000 miles short of 2 million, I live in Houston, and I like non-stop flights. I feel like I'm kind of stuck with UA.

• Flying alliance carriers won't get me the lifetime miles to get to 2 million.
• I use miles for family vacations (although this will now be harder with dynamic award pricing), so starting over from zero on another carrier would hurt.
• My tall body is somewhat allergic to Southwest's lack of E+ and there would be a connection on most flights

UA sets my value as a gold/plat, not a 1k, and for at least the next two or three years, I may just have to be OK with that.

I'm likely going to stay with UA until I hit 1MM (about 250k to go, should take 2x years). I think I should have a shot at hitting the 18k PQP in 2020. I've maintained Gold or Elite Status with NZ over the past years flying to Australia. Will still fly NZ, but now will use MP number.

I love the *A and my annual trip in J with the family to some exotic locale (Jordan and Morocco are next on TK). After I hit the 1MM and get lifetime *G, maybe switch to DL based on any more deterioration of 1K benefits/qualification needs. With a base in AUS now and DL's increased presence, it might make sense to switch.

I would gladly take a stop at NRT or HND on the way to/from China so that I could get NH service and food. Only reason I was flying UA direct was for the lifetime miles. Only reason flying UA was semi tolerable was because of my Gold status.

No, it's not, but UA offers an inferior product to SE Asia, at a higher price.

This all goes to the point that "1K is not worth $24k." If you're getting GS level benefits that kind of spend (and higher) is justified, but not for 1K.

I've said it before, but it bears repeating . . . UA is a 6 that thinks it's a 10.

I plan on switching to OZ as I fly to Korea a lot, and getting *G through them. That's really the only benefit anymore to sticking with a program.