username

Earning lifetime status is part of my retirement plan.

My company's preferred carrier was AA so I think I am 400K+ LT there. Then we switched UA and UA merged with CO. So, suddenly it was achievable.

I definitely had to put up with some travel inefficiencies and suffering on UA instead of DL (southeast, MI). Luckily since UA was our preferred carrier, it was justifiable and I was able to get there.

daloosh

825 is far enough away that depending on your preferences and patterns of using other airlines, it might not be worth chasing. But if you can do it organically, the benefits are worth more on UA than other airlines. Good luck!

ani90

what does this mean exactly?

paperwastage

organically = not buying outright mileage-runs/extra trips, but picking United flights if they fit your travel plan
(eg willing to pay a small amount extra, take an inferior flight time, do 1-stop versus nonstop on another airline, fly into wrong airport etc)

that's the original idea of a frequent flyer - you stay loyal to an airline as much as possible for the benefits, even if someone else is offering a better flight (price, schedule, # stops etc)

https://www.urbandictionary.com/defi...rm=organically
Naturally, not forced. Nothing added....
Let it happen organically.

jsloan

I think that this is the only sensible approach to million miler status. Keep in mind that UA has guaranteed “Gold status” for life, but has not defined what Gold status means. The million miler lawsuit at the time of the merger established their ability to take away any specific benefit as long as they still provide “Gold status.”

As a 1MM myself, the change that I expect is to lose lounge access on international itineraries; either they’ll decide you have to be Plat to make *G, or *P will be introduced and they’ll remove that benefit from *G.

If UA is convenient, fly them. If they’re not, or if you’re spending a lot of extra money or time just for lifetime status, don’t.

iapetus

When I was young padawan in grad school, an advisor strongly urged me to take this approach to my travel. That advice is the only reason I've hit 1MM by now and have maintained 1K these past couple of years. Like you, I think it's sound advice ... while recognizing that it doesn't work for everyone.

Ah ... but this is where, I think, it gets a little tricky. I do not think that I typically pay a premium to fly on UA metal, but it certainly can be argued that I incur time penalties. Getting to FCO from the West Coast on UA (which I do a few times per year) involves at least one stop, and typically two. But there are two principal reasons I put up with this: 1) the potential for PP upgrades on the TATL legs (which, yes, is because of my 1K status, not my 1MM status) and 2) the MP earnings, which allow me to take my family to Europe with me in the summer. In the end, am I just rationalizing what I want to do for irrational reasons? I dunno, maybe. But my point is that I can see how it can come down to more than just money or time for some of us.

If I could fly in paid J or F for work travel, obviously, my approach would be pretty different.

daloosh

That's not rationalizing, when you take a stop on a trip you would normally take anyways, that's making a concession to chasing status. And it helps your leisure travel, which is a great benefit. Now a mileage run thru Asia in three days, that's not organic!

Lamour

So true.

jsloan

But I’d wager you’re doing that for 1K status, not 1MM status. That’s a bit of a horse of a different color. I, too, am willing to invest extra time to fly *A in many cases, including adding an additional stop on itineraries that wouldn’t otherwise require it. But I’m generally also saving money vs. what I would pay on another carrier, and I enjoy travel enough to find it worthwhile.

However, I’m doing it for 1K, not 2MM. I wouldn’t think twice about flying LH or NH or whatever vs. UA just due to the next million miler tier. In general, my advice is that if the next MM tier is more than two years’ away, at your usual flying patterns, it’s best to ignore MM entirely. If you’re within 2 years of a tier, it may make sense to strive for it (in the sense of flying UA when it’s slightly less convenient or slightly more expensive). That comes from my own personal feeling that the further out you’re projecting, the more likely there are to be changes to the program that affect how valuable it is.

bearkatt

I have been retired 8 years now and it's great. I would never fly enough now to get status. so, if your boss is paying for your tickets now, get the MM status for when you retire. personally I think since they tie miles to cost rather than length of trips, you will see fewer million milers going forward. I say that as one who earned mine on domestic flights and not flying up front on intl. flights.

8MiHi

I reached MM on CO before the merger. Since all of my travel is out of EWR, taking other airlines is not really on the table. I find that this is an important consideration since almost all of the most convenient flights are on UA and there isn't much in the way of price competition. I went for annual status with many fun MRs on the way so I sort of made it organically.
As suggested above MM status is worth pursuing rationally as it is of value, the companion benefit has been the most rewarding benefit so far.
My cousin is a retired MM and now flies out of CHS a few times a year, using UA when the schedule meets his needs. Each UA trip so far has seen at least one leg upgraded and E+ has been useful. In listening to him it is clear that his MM status in retirement has been a good thing but not an essential thing. He is happy he pursued it, but I think he would have been a little less aggressive about it if he had to do it over again.

halls120

This. I know several people who have given up aggressively pursuing MM status, especially long-haul fliers who used to get 1K easily at relatively lower cost.

SS255

When UA implemented the spend requirement with no waivers for 1K, I considered bailing. I was about 350K BIS away from 1MM at the time, so I definitely considered whether or not it was worth chasing a carrot that was so far into the future. But I tend to project out far into the future when making strategic decisions, and my gut told me to keep plugging along because a few years down the line I would not regret my decision. I stuck it out, and am very glad that I went with my gut. 1MM now gives me options.

Would I make the same decision today if I were 350K BIS away? When UA announced its latest status qualification challenges, I would have said "no." But with the uncertainty of a global pandemic, I'm starting to think that the airlines won't make radical changes to their programs until travel stabilizes. I think that the Million Miler program is probably safe for another 2 years or so -- and not because Scott Kirby doesn't want to tinker with it. I think that some rational people on Wacker Drive are pulling him back from the ledge on this.

My advice to the OP would be concentrate travel on UA. Take connections if need be, but do not spend a lot of extra money if flying UA makes no rational sense on any given itinerary.

Kacee

I might do it if I were very close, but not if the plan required more than a year of commitment to UA.

With blinders off, UA is so unappealing to me right now in virtually every facet of its operations and program (including particularly much higher fares ex-SFO) that personally I don't see much value at all in MM status. The lounge access on international *A itineraries is the best benefit, but UA's already limiting that, and I typically fly J anyway.

lhrsfo

On past run rates, I would be a little less than 4 years from 2MM status, giving a level of insurance against 1MM devaluation. And last year, I was going all out for this. But as I will drop to Gold next year and never naturally rise above that level, I really can't face doing it on UA in the new ultra-cramped E+. To me, +4" legroom is more than negated by -1.5" shoulder and wriggle room. The width is a necessity whereas the legroom is merely (very) nice to have.

I'm working out my current year with full complement of PlusPoints and similar opportunities, which will leave me with a little less than 3 years to 2MM. Next year, I shall pay much closer attention to the J sales, cut down on the number of trips and only take UA if it's significantly cheaper, as I find the other airlines' J to be overall more enjoyable than UA's.

The net result for UA is that, because I'm principally an offpeak traveller, they will fill fewer seats that they couldn't otherwise fill. Whilst I've always felt that I got a very good deal out of UA for the past 12 years, I also felt that, at the margin, I was quite a good customer - certainly I was expensive as they gave me lounge access on deep discount economy tickets and they gave me upgrades, but the latter were on seats that they didn't expect to sell, so the real cost was only the catering.

Who knows, maybe I will reach 2MM? Maybe the slowdown this year or next year will be so dramatic that it all changes again. But I think not. UA used to have one of the most generous FF programs for economy flyers and BA (its principal competitor for me) only favored premium flyers. Now, the market's changed in that J is cheaper making BA's program much more affordable, I've changed in that I want to travel less and in more comfort, and UA has moved to the opposite end of the spectrum, making its program only attractive to flyers in front cabins from major corporates. They've made their bed and I find it very uncomfortable.