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 |
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 |
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"
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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 |
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. |
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?"
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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 |
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 ** Assuming it's on a narrow body aircraft |
maybe I am just getting tired of the snack boxes......
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Originally Posted by mfirst
(Post 33910084)
maybe I am just getting tired of the snack boxes......
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One of the lessons the pandemic taught me is there are more important things in life..
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Originally Posted by TomMM
(Post 33910562)
One of the lessons the pandemic taught me is there are more important things in life..
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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 !
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. |
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.
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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 !
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