walexanuark

Good morning everyone -- I have a broad question and am really interested in understanding some of the nuances of the similarities and differences between Delta Diamond and United 1K. I had been Diamond since 2014 but starting in late 2018 I stopped flying Delta because I'm based at a small non-hub airport (LIT) and my travel shifted West (we only have DTW and ATL flights out of LIT so getting to SFO, LAX, IAH, AUS, BUR, SLC, DEN, etc just was not feasible).

In 2019 I experimented with AA, UA, and SWA and decided to commit to UA in 2020. I just hit 1K a couple of weeks ago and am still trying to figure out the best tips/tricks for maximizing my status.

I did receive the 320 Plus points. This concept seems to be better than Delta's GUC/RUC options as a Diamond.

As a Diamond, I am used to receiving an invitation to select "gifts" such as GUCs, Club membership, Award miles bonuses, gift cards, etc. I'm not seeing anything like that with 1K. Am I missing something?

I have always used my American Express Platinum Card to book flights through the Amex Portal (and have continued to do so with United). Is there any reason that I should stop doing this and book directly with United (i.e. are there additional benefits for doing so with 1K status that I'm not seeing?). I do have a United Club card, but I don't really use it. I only got it for United Club membership so I may cancel it now that I have hit 1K.

Any other tricks/tips to maximizing 1K status or significant advantages or disadvantages compared to Diamond would be greatly appreciated. I am debating whether to try to fly Delta the remainder of the year (when possible) since I may be able to hit Diamond and 1K, but I'm trying to weigh that against the benefits of earning multipliers and more Plus Points with United.

Thanks again!

TomMM

No

bmw303

No gifts with United except when you hit 2MM/3MM/4MM. No reason to book directly with united vs. amex portal in terms of receiving UA benefits. 1K is a very powerful status on United and gets you a lot. See https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly...its-chart.html

1K customer service is also generally exceptional including the occasional bending of rules if you dont abuse that. Remains to be seen if that gets devalued.

1K doesn't provide any club level benefits beyond Gold, so not sure why you'd cancel a UC membership because you've achieved 1K (versus having achieved Gold or Platinum). 1K provides lounge access including United Clubs and Star Gold lounges on UA/Star Alliance international itineraries only for you and 1 guest (the same lounge access as Gold or Platinum). 1Ks have access to Polaris check-in but not Polaris lounges (unless flying in Polaris, and of course, a UC membership does not give access to Polaris).

If you're a DL diamond already, I would try to keep both Diamond and 1K to the extent you think you will use the benefits of both fully (including RUCs, GUCs and Plus points) and be able to requalify for both. Otherwise, I'd stick with one. United's economy plus benefit is better, extended to you +8 companions at the time of ticketing and you get a free snackbox or snack (including the $10 items like Tapas) when traveling in Economy/Economy Plus.


EDIT: In the near term though, I would prefer DL. DL is blocking middle seats, and ensuring fewer people are on the plane. Therefore all else being equal, would choose Delta if you can.

MSPeconomist

The rules for DL and especially MQM rollover seem to be more oriented toward those who fly a reasonable number of longhaul flights. OTOH doing this in coach is unlikely to get enough MQDs for the corresponding status (with $25,000 spend on DL AmEx credit cards leading to a MQD waiver for FO/GM/PM while DM requires $250,000).

Going forward if we mostly do domestic travel due to COVID-19, I suspect that more people will be qualifying based on segments rather than status miles. The OP being based in LIT also tends to favor segments since most trips would require at least two segments in each direction. OP also lists domestic destinations but doesn't say whether much international travel is included (but DL GUCs are mentioned).

walexanuark

My international travel is pretty much all leisure. Over the years, I have tried to pay main cabin prices for D1/Business by using GUCs or a combination of miles and dollars. I travel to SE Asia on occasion (less than once a year) and a combination of Europe/MX/Caribbean 2-3 x per year. I typically fly coach to the Caribbean or MX -- I don't find value in spending money, miles, points, or certs on flights under 4 hours.

Interestingly, because I often book a week out, I have always hit MQMs before MQSs with Delta. The only reason that I qualified for 1K in August was because of the lowered thresholds for COVID. I flew a lot in Q1 and very little since then (although I am ramping back up).

As of today I have 47 PQF and 9,352 PQP though so I am definitely ahead on segments. I'm not sure why I seem to be earning PQP at a lower rate than I had been earning MQMs.

travelinmanS

I think the AMEX platinum access to Delta lounges is a great perk that is one of the best things DL has going for it for a primary domestic traveler (which I am not ). I always try to fly DL when I'm in the US for just that reason. That and the fact that DL is generally just a much better airline than UA would make it hard for me to go back to flying UA even though my main routing to the States is PVG-SFO (if this ever opens up again).

Hipplewm

Diamond can only earn a limited number of GUC
1K can earn unlimited plus points

walexanuark

So far, to me, this seems like the biggest single advantage of 1K v Diamond.

garykung

It really depends on how you see it. UA seems to be more generous than DL. However, UA is not as good as you imagine.

The major difference is while DL's long-haul GUC upgrade is subject to availability only, UA's long-haul upgrade is subject to fare class as well (W or above). But you can use more PP to overcome this. Also - DL's RUC regions are way smaller than UA's former RPU regions (i.e. 20 PP required), such as most-Hawaiian routes.

Also, DL consider Comfort+ as an upgrade. Hence, you can use GUC/RUC to "upgrade". But with UA's E+, it is yours to grab, as soon a seat is available. And it is not considered as an upgrade.

However, the biggest problem with UA is too many 1Ks. That will significantly impact your upgrade chance.

UA "practically" treat every elite the same. So everyone gets the same benefit.

Also, FWIW - you don't really need a club membership as many 1Ks fly international.

No, you can earn extra MRs from AMEX Travel.

Don't expect anything much. It sounds kind of sad. But in reality, many 1Ks actually travel in Y.

dkc192

You probably know this, but just in case you didn't...PQPs measure the amount you've spent on UA. It corresponds to MQDs at DL, not MQMs.

JNelson113

I suspect that covid will take care of that, at least for the next few years.

garykung

Most (95%+) 1Ks now are qualified under PQD system (including waiver). So the real effect of PQP won't kick in at least until 2022.

JNelson113

I suspect that many of those people are road warriors whose travel has been severely cut and won't be back flying and competing for upgrades.

As a 2MM platinum I'm currently getting upgrades I never would have dreamed up before covid. I have far less competition from 1Ks lately.

Hipplewm

Lots of people are going to say they are "Worthless" but I think most say the same about GUC's. That said with a bity of flexibility I have used every RPU/GPU I have ever had plus some. I also used all my plus points from last year and looking forward to using all of mine from this year already.

Hipplewm

If you want that perk - fly american - Centurion lounges in every American hub