I guess it's a real bummer if you're a 74,999 EQM flier.

Personally, it is what it is. I typically fly in the 100-150K range, but a substantial portion of that is international and I usually have CR-1s that go to waste. This year I have 6 unused CR-1s lying around, and I'm not sure if I'll use them with UDU taking care of me domestically.

The bottom line is that whatever the policies of the program, they're going to be better for some than others, and there will always be border regions which result in great irritation if you're on the wrong side of the border. The more you fly, the more you get. Those of us who don't have big personal or corporate budgets to spend on travel should at some level be grateful we are not in a KrisFlyer style program.

Doesn't mean it's nice when things change, but, to paraphrase Sir Alex Ferguson's wonderful take on greener grass, sometimes you look in a field and see another cow and you think it's a better cow than the one you've got in your own field, but it isn't.

At the end of the day, we can all vote with our butts, and place them in the seats of the airline (and program) that works best for us. It's really as simple as that.

Good idea. Does anyone have the name and address handy?

FT Awards: United Mileage Plus best elite-level airline program in the Americas
 

4 Nov 2010 – 16 Nov 2010
Wow, that was short lived.

Heck of a job, Jeff. :td:

Guess I'll just say it again for effect: shouldn't we save our ammo for E+?

As a 1P segment qualifier, I am very disappointed in the changes, too. :td::td:
I have come close to 1K before but now never will. I don't see how anyone can have a life (or any kind of posture) after taking 120 EQS per year, especially for those of us in CRJ markets.
I also don't like how these are being billed as improvements. One thing I used to like about UA was that it treated people as if they were intelligent and could figure things out (ie full pricing displays on website, etc). This should not be listed as an "improvement" but a simple email that says "elite benefit changes."

The tone is a lot more positive over there - they never had regionals before! For us, a loss.

If that's the case, a ton of us will have *S on UA and *G via Aegean or AC... Watch as RCCs are overrun with "foreign" Star Elites.

LOL...annual award...based on last year, good until next year...still lived (or will) a full year at least.

Not many 1p's chiming in here. I don't think it looks very good for us. I'm really not convinced of the need to have so many levels. Maybe they could just add some extra benefits at specific mileage levels but for the whole priority system, they could consolidate into either 25/50/75 or 25/50/100. No need for 25/50/75/100/120 or whatever they plan to do.

No benefit for this 1K MM. :td::td::td::td: Why can they not leave the CR-1's alone??

SWUs
 

I am disappointed that UA once again missed out on an opportunity to make SWUs valid on all published revenue fares. This was one good thing that CO offered its top tier elites and of course now CO folks transiting over will miss them. :td:

I'd also be a little worried about whether NY inventory will continue to exist - that's a pretty good perk for 1Ks now that it seems much harder to find domestic XY seats a few weeks out.

[Deleted by moderator as unduly personalized.]

That said, come on, really? We're talking about possibly missing an upgrade on two domestic round trips per year.

And as for my [conforming edit by moderator] comments, please note that UA is not TAKING anything at all away from me. Nothing. They are GIVING a little less. The ball's in my court as to whether or not I will ACCEPT less. Period. I don't see it as catastrophic as other posters on this board. Your mileage obviously differs.

Okay so they're upfaring you to what on UA is a Y/B upgrade fare, or a Q-Up / H-Up fare. For all intents and purposes, that's an F fare...it costs way more than a typical discounted Y, price is comparable to discounted F, and you get the EQM bonus and everything.

When did MileagePlus become the welfare program of the aviation industry? "Give Me! Give Me! Give Me!" It still maybe called United, but Continental is definitely calling the shots. And let's not forget that it was United that was going around, desparately looking for a merger partner. Just be thankful Doug Parker isn't calling the shots.

Be thankful that CR-1s are still remaining. It could have reverted to CO's policy of not offering them. Feel free to go over to AA where you'll get 8 SWUs at 100K; but just a sidenote, they don't have CR-1s and you're capped at 8 SWUs no matter how much flying you do above 100K. Or you can try your luck over at DL. I hear they just love paying M-fares to upgrade their international itineraries. Oh, and another thing, neither airline ofers E+. Well, there's always US. :D

Welcome to the new tomorrow. The era of generous FF programs are over. It's all about generating revenue (even from the FF programs). With consolidation comes contraction. The fewer the airlines-- the fewer the competitors. The less of a need to "out-lavish" what the others offer.