FlyerTalk Forums

FlyerTalk Forums (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/index.php)
-   United Airlines | MileagePlus (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/united-airlines-mileageplus-681/)
-   -   1k preparing for a hard rough landing...... (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/united-airlines-mileageplus/2065701-1k-preparing-hard-rough-landing.html)

mfirst Jan 17, 2022 6:57 am

1k preparing for a hard rough landing......
 
I have been a Premier member for several decades, 1k for the past 6 (20k PQP in 2021) ....about 800k BIS and up until COVID was on track for 1m in a few years......but it seems so much has changed that it is unclear if I will ever get back to my previous traveling habits.....

most of my major traveling - international - was a combination of my money and OPM for meetings/conferences/lectures - trips sometimes not much more than zipping in for a long weekend (36 hours in Bangalore, India from my home in Ohio)... and a lot of domestic longer flights- again for similar reasons.... toss in a few vacations (although some of these meetings have some personal down time)... even some of the more important work-related travel is becoming less and less

fast forward now......

INT traveling appears to be such a hit and miss - and especially if not entirely needed for key work activities (my global hosts are less excited about the risks of bring in people and many of the activities that were done in person - i.e. lectures - are being done virtually) - dealing with visa's, COVID testing, vaccinations (which I am x3), etc - not to mention the costs and growing unpredictability of canceling flights for all sorts of reasons and the difficulty in predictable scheduling (even short domestic hub flights)..... planning for trips is becoming more of a problem, risk of getting stuck somewhere (COVID or other reason) is not easy.....

and yes, I miss the traveling, the challenges of figuring out the equations of flights, connections, upgrades, lounge access.... the perks of *G and UA BF travel.....

my points - and interested in other's comments....... will be lucky to make silver this year....... so far, nothing is planned for the year..... maybe just not worth the headaches anymore?

-michael

halls120 Jan 17, 2022 7:57 am


Originally Posted by mfirst (Post 33909241)
I have been a Premier member for several decades, 1k for the past 6 (20k PQP in 2021) ....about 800k BIS and up until COVID was on track for 1m in a few years......but it seems so much has changed that it is unclear if I will ever get back to my previous traveling habits.....

most of my major traveling - international - was a combination of my money and OPM for meetings/conferences/lectures - trips sometimes not much more than zipping in for a long weekend (36 hours in Bangalore, India from my home in Ohio)... and a lot of domestic longer flights- again for similar reasons.... toss in a few vacations (although some of these meetings have some personal down time)... even some of the more important work-related travel is becoming less and less

fast forward now......

INT traveling appears to be such a hit and miss - and especially if not entirely needed for key work activities (my global hosts are less excited about the risks of bring in people and many of the activities that were done in person - i.e. lectures - are being done virtually) - dealing with visa's, COVID testing, vaccinations (which I am x3), etc - not to mention the costs and growing unpredictability of canceling flights for all sorts of reasons and the difficulty in predictable scheduling (even short domestic hub flights)..... planning for trips is becoming more of a problem, risk of getting stuck somewhere (COVID or other reason) is not easy.....

and yes, I miss the traveling, the challenges of figuring out the equations of flights, connections, upgrades, lounge access.... the perks of *G and UA BF travel.....

my points - and interested in other's comments....... will be lucky to make silver this year....... so far, nothing is planned for the year..... maybe just not worth the headaches anymore?

-michael

I was 1K for seven years, coming down to Plat in 2017 and Gold in 2018. My departure was due to changing travel patterns dictated by a new job, and then, of course, COVID. Started traveling TATL again last summer, and was able to buy up to Polaris for a reasonable amount of miles and $$ for all 6 flights last year. Other than the 1K phone line, I don't miss it at all. I have lifetime *G, and that has worked fine for us so far, and I look forward to some excellent leisure travel later this year after I assume retired status.

mfirst Jan 17, 2022 9:11 am

of course, if you are not traveling - then you are not traveling and probably dont need the 'perks' (objective) that come with status..... but that is the point, traveling, especially international, either for work, leisure, or hybrid appears to be such a headache... and more so if you dont have "status"

prestonh Jan 17, 2022 9:37 am


Originally Posted by mfirst (Post 33909241)
I have been a Premier member for several decades, 1k for the past 6 (20k PQP in 2021) ....about 800k BIS and up until COVID was on track for 1m in a few years......but it seems so much has changed that it is unclear if I will ever get back to my previous traveling habits.....

most of my major traveling - international - was a combination of my money and OPM for meetings/conferences/lectures - trips sometimes not much more than zipping in for a long weekend (36 hours in Bangalore, India from my home in Ohio)... and a lot of domestic longer flights- again for similar reasons.... toss in a few vacations (although some of these meetings have some personal down time)... even some of the more important work-related travel is becoming less and less

fast forward now......

INT traveling appears to be such a hit and miss - and especially if not entirely needed for key work activities (my global hosts are less excited about the risks of bring in people and many of the activities that were done in person - i.e. lectures - are being done virtually) - dealing with visa's, COVID testing, vaccinations (which I am x3), etc - not to mention the costs and growing unpredictability of canceling flights for all sorts of reasons and the difficulty in predictable scheduling (even short domestic hub flights)..... planning for trips is becoming more of a problem, risk of getting stuck somewhere (COVID or other reason) is not easy.....

and yes, I miss the traveling, the challenges of figuring out the equations of flights, connections, upgrades, lounge access.... the perks of *G and UA BF travel.....

my points - and interested in other's comments....... will be lucky to make silver this year....... so far, nothing is planned for the year..... maybe just not worth the headaches anymore?

-michael

i was a 1k for 10 years and now have nearly1.5mm BIS. i have not really returned to that level travel for almost 5 years due to job changes/covid and don't miss it one bit as most of my miles were domestic. Getting on planes that get more and more cramped and seats that have less padding nearly every week gets old after awhile . my current job if it ever gets back to travel has much less. VFR with lifetime gold benefits (and spouse uses these) is great, particularly E+ and free bags for us. If I travel enough to get to 2mm then great, if not then nbd. I am happy with this as i spend less time in a plane needing the benefits i used to use on a weekly basis. I've also traveled OAL internationally since and know that UA is not that great, it can be but usually not. Enough to know that i would spend my own money OAL internationally and not UA. YMMV.

zombietooth Jan 17, 2022 10:36 am

Your Life Will Be Less Stressful
 
If you don't have to worry about achieving status, you will only take the trips you really want, when you want. That's a lot of pressure removed from your life.
I am only flying domestic, and it really sucks right now. I always fly in paid F (because I was never getting UG'd) and the service is terrible on average. However, the prices are mostly cheap, especially if you have no loyalty to any carrier. I'm only flying so much on UA because their F is the cheapest most of the time, but I also get a lot of miles on AA and DL.

I could fly internationally because I have strong business demand right now, and I'd also like to do a leisure trip or two but, until the testing and potential quarantine rules are lifted, there is no way that I am willing to gamble on being trapped overseas, even though I am triple-vaccinated and even got another experimental vaccine. Everyone around me is getting sick with Omicron (I assume), so the odds of testing positive with no symptoms is extremely high right now. When I saw my doctor last week, he told me to not even bother getting tested if I become symptomatic, and just assume that I have it and isolate, because there is really nothing he could do for me, treatment-wise.

artvandalay Jan 17, 2022 11:04 am

If you normally fly coach and are a slave to upgrades, then you'll miss 1K a lot more than you would if you just paid for first. FT has lots of HVFs whose trajectories mirror halls120 above (and me): former long time 1K, drawing down to *G for life...and don't miss playing the MP game one bit. Besides, the US "big 3" airline cabal has done a good job of making air travel something to endure, so why bother with "status?"

mfirst Jan 17, 2022 11:18 am

I think that is part of my point - but it was some of the 1k perks which I am not sure are the same as flying F...
but also, it is 'worth' paying for F... sure if you want it and Polaris is always better than Econ on a long flight..... but is there really a difference between 1A and 11A on a 2 hour ORD-DEN flight....sure the upgrades are nice, but maybe my point is that all of this has taken the fun out of flying, getting away, and playing 'the game'

-m

GBadger Jan 17, 2022 11:32 am


Originally Posted by mfirst (Post 33910025)
I think that is part of my point - but it was some of the 1k perks which I am not sure are the same as flying F...
but also, it is 'worth' paying for F... sure if you want it and Polaris is always better than Econ on a long flight..... but is there really a difference between 1A and 11A on a 2 hour ORD-DEN flight....sure the upgrades are nice, but maybe my point is that all of this has taken the fun out of flying, getting away, and playing 'the game'

-m

I'll take 7A over 1A on a ORD-DEN flight any day :) ** .

** Assuming it's on a narrow body aircraft

mfirst Jan 17, 2022 11:35 am

maybe I am just getting tired of the snack boxes......

Aussienarelle Jan 17, 2022 1:16 pm


Originally Posted by mfirst (Post 33910084)
maybe I am just getting tired of the snack boxes......

I am tired of the little plastic bag of water, pretzel and stroopwaffle. A bag of mixed nuts and dried fruit would be a very welcome substitute, and healthier.

TomMM Jan 17, 2022 2:14 pm

One of the lessons the pandemic taught me is there are more important things in life..

unitedbusiness Jan 17, 2022 3:44 pm


Originally Posted by TomMM (Post 33910562)
One of the lessons the pandemic taught me is there are more important things in life..

maybe, but being Premier 1K is an incredible self-confidence boost and comes with a suite of great perks you never realize you adore, until they are gone !

Repooc17 Jan 17, 2022 4:50 pm


Originally Posted by unitedbusiness (Post 33910843)
maybe, but being Premier 1K is an incredible self-confidence boost and comes with a suite of great perks you never realize you adore, until they are gone !

"suite of great perks" - I wouldn't miss any of them.

1) extra RDM - incremental miles < dynamic award flight requirements
2) special support phone line and email - have never used
3) pre-board - usually board last due to personal preferences; it's been fun watching the chaotic boarding process, especially the DYKWIA crowd, GS, 1K or otherwise.
4) upgrade - hit and miss, but mostly a miss for me, as I usually fly between NYC and LA/SF. I have to buy the lowest available fare bucket (G or K), and always find myself at the bottom of the UG list with people at the same level as me.
5) meals prioritization - mostly miss as well.
6) IRROPS protection - I took 122 flights in 2021 across multiple airlines, and never had IRROPS. - this a credit to United and airlines in general.
7) Agent check-in at airport - have never used

What other "suite of great perks" am I missing? As a free agent heavy traveler, I would imagine I am less attached to United (or any other airlines for that matter) than most here. As presented above, I don't even use most of the published benefits anyway, so losing them would not have an effect on me.

deskover54 Jan 17, 2022 4:55 pm

I was doing about 300k/yr for 5 yrs, then COVID hit. I love travel and had a travel itch for a few weeks, then suddenly it was like wow, i have all this extra time to do whatever i want. i've flown close to 0 the last 2 years and love it. i'm at 2.5m and thought i'd get to 4 before retirment, but now i'm not even sure i'll make 3...but life is so much better. you'll be fine with less travel.

TomMM Jan 17, 2022 5:43 pm


Originally Posted by unitedbusiness (Post 33910843)
maybe, but being Premier 1K is an incredible self-confidence boost and comes with a suite of great perks you never realize you adore, until they are gone !

maybe, but being a freelance traveler is an incredible self-confidence boost and comes with a suite of great perks you never realize you adore, until they are gone !


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 8:23 pm.


This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.