This morning Japan time, Nov 9, United decided to send me an e-mail announcing : "Your Premier benefits are getting an upgrade". Finally I learn about PlusPoints. Great communications!

I had two separate emails along those lines last night.

Why do we ( living outside the U.S. ) members receive all these important notices weeks or months after everybody else? In this case the announcement has been made over two months ago. If I wouldn't be on FT I would never have known before. Thanks FT.

So if I have two GPU's being used for two travelers (ORD-EWR-LHR (in PP) on 12/6, does the new PointsPlus kick in before my upgrades, or will the GPU but the GPU and, hopefully, go thru on 12/1-12/6?

No reason to be concerned. Your upgrade request will stay in place. If it is just for PP, and clears 20 PlusPoints will be returned (before or after 4 Dec). If nothing clears, 40 PlusPoints will be returned.

I'm booked in PP EWR-LHR and have a (2) GPU for the entire ORD-EWR-LHR so would that take 60 Points if it goes thru or, since it was requested prior to 12/4, would it go back to the 2 GPU's (one for each of us?)

Booked on EWR -LHR in 4 December. Have some GPUs which expire 2021 but also several worthless RPUs expiring 2020. Want to upgrade from Y to Polaris. Problem is I would rather use those otherwise worthless RPUs but cant till they are converted to PP. And presumably if I use a GPU now I won't be able to 'trade' the points for two useless RPUs on December 4th. Is my best bet to wait till the 4th post-conversion to use expiring RPU points (and hope there is availability)?

This is my last year as a 1K (post recent enhancements) so i would like to conserve the last 6 GPUs I will ever have!

Is your flight on 4 December exactly?

If so, it seems a bit of a tightrope. I can't think of a great strategy, except for calling on the day of and seeing if they can swap some of your 2020-exp +P for the (hopefully!) consumed 2021-exp ones.

Maybe someone else has a brighter idea.

Yes!

Good luck!, is all I have to say, then.

I am UK based 2 million mile flier with United, and would like to say how damaging the new requirements are for EU based 1K travellers and how United will lose out. Many colleagues who I know and contract for will change they travelling preferences based upon these new status requirements. To not only now require a minimum spend of $18,000, and 54 flights will be near impossible for most UK based travellers. The requirement equates to over one flight a week of the year, and with no direct flights from London to key European countries on Star Alliance partners like:

Holland
Italy
France
Russia
Middle East

to name but a few how do you think this will be achieved?
This really has not been thought thru, the difference in USA is that your network is massive and if a flight connection is needed it is quickly achieved without customs and going to a different country, where as if I want to go to Paris or say Madrid I would have to fly to Germany connect and then fly to Paris or Madrid. This is totally impractical and both the traveller and company would not allow. Even if the trip was two days a day would be spent travelling for such small distances. This is an example of flying out 21 Nov back 22 Nov

[img]blob:https://www.flyertalk.com/9964755b-c046-4976-9b4a-0c547206ea39[/img]

[img]blob:https://www.flyertalk.com/e70474c7-266c-4551-8a5e-61e580eeeeee[/img]



I have used first flight out and last flight back, and as you can see not only is the difference in time nearly three hours on the way out and over three and a half on the way back look at the difference in price, British Airways is not a low cost carrier and like LH also from Heathrow not a secondary airport . No corporate is going to allow you to book the Lufthansa flights not only due to the time lost but also the costs. I have tried other similar flights to other key capitals and it is exactly the same.

I really wish United sometimes took input from members in other countries, I fully understand that their major market is the USA, and that programs need to be adjusted, but as I have stated you have no Star Alliance London based partners to key European capitals or the Middle East.

So like many others have said, my last year of being a 1K is next year and they will definitely be losing revenue from UK based travellers

Foreign based travelers doing a lot of travel to foreign points definitely isn't the target group for UA's program.

So what is the benefit of you being a 1K on United if they don’t fly where you want to go (your list) via a non-stop??? What is your value to UA as a 1K? Many see the overseas waiver as non-sensible to begin with, providing high status to a flyer that doesn’t really return much value. From the UK to the US, just 4 J (non-deep discount) round-trips can get a lot of flyers to 1K without the segment requirement. Is there another FFP and network that works better for a UK-based flyer? If so, the answer is simple.

I wish it were that simple...

Have to pop over to Tokyo first week of December and will be flying PP.
If I apply a GPU now, will I get refunded "10 points" for the PP>Polaris upgrade if it clears now or anytime before Dec 4?