Kacee

On the subject of shifting to other programs, this evening I booked JL SFO-HND in F for 70k AS miles. Flight's less than five weeks out. I have a waitlisted GPU on UA same route, same day. Looks like I'll be cancelling that ticket

Dublin_rfk

I for one am TRAPPED! I have joined (and left) just about every program and here I am having flown more than 4mm more than 2mm on UA. A few years ago I gave up chasing status (1K) with last minute mileage runs and started playing the field and going with the best value, comfort, and schedule. In 2021 (using this years stats) I'll be flying UA as a 1K .

PGFlyer85

UA is my second elite status after BA. I will probably fly UA/star more as a result of these changes as I will earn status much faster on UA than before.

Aussienarelle

Really wish we could have two polls - the one you outlined above.

A second one on which *Alliance carrier do you plan to use for flights to help you get status on United. Some great suggestions made to me due to my international travel on my own dime.

AC/TK/OS/LX seem to receive 👍

NZ 👎

LH depends.

Fare class of course is key. Been looking at the fare class tables (wish there was one summary grid but am guessing there will be an IT genius that will make it work).

I think mine will be a combination of UA and *Alliance flights to make 1K as I want to use the PlusPoints as the upgrades are the key for 1K for me. Yes I like IRROPs, yes ibloke the ability to change award flights close in but it is about the upgrades for me. The MP Chase CC will be ditched.

SightseeMC

It's no secret that OZ is easy for *G if you fly international economy a lot. However, it's not known for generosity with benefits.

There's no PE cabin ("Economy Smartium" is more like E+ that you pay a premium for).

Upgrades aren't really much of a thing. Current DPs are "Diamond Plus/top status gets you an occasional OP-UP on completely full flights" and "lifetime gets you upgrades but maybe only if you buy full fare Y".

Buy-ups aren't particularly cheap ($600 each way Korea-N.A.), are only available for full fare Y, and aren't even necessarily available for that.

The Incheon business class lounge isn't anything great (I literally eat at the Priority Pass lounges and then chill in OZ J).

And OZ is stingy with awarding miles for partner flights, even F.

Don't get me wrong: I am all-in on OZ and will pursue lifetime Diamond Plus, since I am based in Seoul. But join OZ for the *G benefits, and not OZ's.

Rajuking

Hii,
I am flying 12 flights each about 1300usd then how do I retain my 1k?? Its impossible on UA I guess if you have any other idea please share

rowenb

I’m at 0.95MM on United, and for a couple years now I’ve been saying to myself, even though I am now based mainly out of MSP let’s stay loyal to UA until I make LT Gold in 2020, and then re-evaluate whether switching to DL would make sense.

My early reaction to all the changes is, I actually think they make it more likely I will stay with UA:

(1) I fly a lot of short-notice domestic economy, with maybe 1 TATL trip in business a year. The $18K spend requirement for 1K is attainable given my travel patterns. But today, making sure I get to 120 PQS has been a chore. Under the new system, late in the year (after the spend target is assured and after I already have 54 PQF) I won’t feel as obligated to take a connecting flight on UA to get 2 more segments towards 120 when I could instead take a direct flight on DL.

(2) If I’m traveling on a domestic/transborder flight with my spouse and our soon-to-be-2-year-old, under the PP system I’ll be able to use the equivalent of 1 GPU to upgrade them both, which is more efficient than today.

PsiFighter37

After doing some analysis last night, it still makes sense to stick with UA for at least the next few years for me. Honestly, without the Presidential Plus CC, it wouldn't even be a question - much easier to pull the ripcord and move on.

narvik

Signed up for Hainan Airline's Fortune Wings Club today.
Will likely fly them for the rest of this year to try them out, as I already have United 1K for 2020.
Should get to their GOLD status by Jan 2020, and will decide then whether to practically abandon UA & stick with Hainan, or continue to be a UA slave.

lotemblizej

Same here. I also have had a yearly 1K qualification spreadsheet that I can say goodbye to because although I could meet the new threshold, I find the benefits no longer outweigh the benefits. During 20+ tears with UA I have moved up the value chain from buying cheapest economy to Y fares that I try to upgrade and to buying C/F fares and ditching the need to upgrade. My spend has increased considerably on UA, but now I like the idea of moving business to other airlines I enjoy more: LH, NH, NZ, OS, SQ.

mh3265a

I'm dumping the remaining flights I have with UA for the year and will get Platinum for 2020. I got a status match to Platinum with AA and will build on that in 2020 for the 2021 program year. I think I can get to Platinum Executive with AA. UA's product and services are nowhere near good enough to justify this amount of spend!!!!

Done with United. I've been a loyal flier with them for nearly 15 years (most of my professional life) and have been a 1K for over a decade now. I simply can't justify spending $18,000 to remain a 1K - to what purpose? No real benefit enhancement at all. Doubt upgrades will get easier since they continue to overly monetize upgrades. GPUs - useless now. And the major devaluation of MileagePlus is also a major detractor.

I know things aren't perfect at AA BUT since they are in a tough spot I think things can only get better. Hopefully they won't jump on the UA bandwagon. I suspect they and Delta will wait to see if they gain some UA fliers disaffected by these changes.

Repooc17

AA is only giving you Plat? That maps to Gold in the equivalent DL and UA tiers.

Kacee

Yeah a 1K should match to Plat Pro minimum (and they used to match to EXP, not sure if they will still do that).

exerda

Identical situation for me. During my 20+ years with them, I went from an economy-buying pax who would stretch to meet Gold, then to an economy-buying one who would stretch for 1k, to one who buys mostly front cabin fares, even on hour-long United Express flights where it costs 30-50cpm. And one who has stretched to make all of the additional requirements UA hot me with over recent years.

Now, there's no reason to. I'll buy whatever the deepest discount F is on whichever carrier. Those shorter Express flights? E+ on the cheapest fare they sell; it's only an hour or two, after all.

I figure UA is going to lose up to $10k or so in incremental revenue from me, not to mention the change fees, etc., I had paid them.

Well, that's the course they want.

mh3265a

Yeah it was part of a broader targeted promotional status offer that AA sent out twice this year (I was part of second tranche). I don't know how they chose me for Platinum vice Platinum Pro but I took advantage of it because it was easy to achieve and I got 20 500-mile upgrades. Now with these series of United devaluations I'll just build off of it to Platinum Pro or Platinum Exec.