It's nice to post after "lurking" around for a couple of weeks to check the reaction to the UA announcement which I got directly from MP.

As for CR1s for 1K requalifiers in 2011, nothing will change. The CR1s will be awarded according to the current rules (2/Q/10K EQM). In 2012 is when the new rule goes into effect for ALL. Everyone, including 1Ks, starts at 0 CR1 until one hits 75K EQM at which point 2 CR1s will be awarded, and then 2 for every 25K EQM after that. This means that every 1K will be guaranteed at least 4 CR1s (or 50% of current max) per year, which for my purposes is plenty as most of my trips are international.

I think that going forward the 6 SWUs will be awarded upon qualification, which could be good or bad. I usually requalify at end of Q3 or early Q4 so that it is possible to "delay" requalification to prolong expiration date. But I think that for this to be a real perk, UA would have to let 1K members choose when they with to have the SWUs deposited...just as they do now!

Anyone who gets 4 CR1s under the new rule will have to be 1K...by definition.

Correct but I see no advantage...

I do not see the impact of this on anything. Quarter flying seems to be a wash...

A small plus for high-end 1Ps (call them 1P+ or PE) and a slight negative for 1Ks who do a lot of p.s. a lot or domestic. For me, it is a net positive because I will no longer be wasting CR1s...

re 2011 - What I said

Read carefully UA1K4EVER and (again) welcome.

Lurker

I agreed with what you said except the part that does not appear to jibe with the new rule: "1Ks based on travel in 2011 are guaranteed no CR1s until they fly a FURTHER 100k miles in 2012. " This is not correct: No one has any CR1s until they travel 75K EQM in 2012, even 1Ks based on 2011 travel. The minimum requirement for ALL is 75K EQM and not 100K EQM. At 100K EQM one has already qualified for 4 CR1s under the new rule, which means that if you have 4 CR1s in 2012 you must be 1K.

Agreed - Horrible decision on the increase in EQMs. United do you realize that you are now asking the average joe to make more than two trips a week just to make 1K (including two weeks vacation). I think 50 weeks of road warrior life is plenty...I know it's a bad economy, but come on, a guy can't be on the road for 120 segments a year.

BOOOO United!!! My vote goes to United as the worst airline for 2011, and I'm a flying 1K member of United. Geez, isn't that a great customer...hmm...or shouldn't we say, what a bad company that is?

I think reddirt was being sarcastic The major take-away from this thread is that UA thinks the way reddirt stated it, whereas UA customers (i) all agree with you, and (ii) have other options (travel less; move to the dAARk side; etc.).

We've been loyal to UA, and now we feel betrayed. 1000+ posts, and no response, doesn't help us to feel the love.

Right on! ^

Good luck trying to get UA to sell you 1/10th of an SFO/ORD round trip.

That's because you have no plan for incorporating elite qualification on *A non-UA/non-CO carriers.

Both Mike and I mentioned that EQMs could be based on fare class, which would solve the issue of flying non COUA carriers that are partners, and you soundly rejected that idea, (though I mentioned that there would be protests). Hence your idea is DOA and very bad. You appear to have undisclosed issues with *A. The rest of us prefer to leverage COUA's partnerships with other carriers to get us to places COUA will never be able to. As someone who spends about $25K per year on *A flights, COUA and otherwise, I'd be happy to make 1K that way.

Untrue. I'd say by 500 posts, UA partially got the message, and added a graceful transition to the new CR-1 policy.

again, the new CR1 earning rules benefits those BUILDING UP to PE and 1K, as well as newly minted 1Ks - these people are those who otherwise would not have gotten their fresh CR1s , as the old system would have mainly only benefited those currently HOLDING 1k and flying quarterly after 1K status is attained. Again, it benefits the middle-class 1P/PE/new1K flyers, and the super flyers with 175k EQMs or more who can earn 10+ CR1s now. it also benefits those who have to fly non-UA star carriers too - which isn't as bad for UA anymore given the rise of UA-ANA and UA-LH profit sharing on many routes.

as a 1K i know I'll get less CR1s after 2012, but as a progressive liberal, i dont see a problem with a lil redistribution of CR1 wealth - esp if it encourages lower 1P/PE elites to fly more. and those flying crazy amounts over 200k a year wont feel it - they'll only stand to benefit more.

A good economic analogy is: UA's new CR1 system is like taxing the upper-middle class (standing 1Ks) a little, while creating a new "tax credit" for the middle class 1P/PEs, but also cutting capital gains tax to benefit and spur the super wealthy 175k+ flyers. in the grand scheme, its a wash.

~Epiding

He's going to bail out over the Sierras. That was the DB Cooper reference.

-David

A quick jaunt over to Wikipedia shows D. B. Cooper bailed out over southwestern Washington state.

That being said, I'd question whether you still have to be on the plane to get the .1 EQS

Of course, SMI/J probably doesn't care - UACO just wants your money

David

The fictional routing was about SFO-ORD on segments, so I took poetic license. But does it matter?

We're all just kidding around with dsquared's .1 segment anyway.

-David

Actually in 2011 CR1s will be awarded based upon BOTH the old and the new rules.


Giving less is a positive because you don't use them all? Odd position to have.

I was beginning to wonder if anyone was going to take it in the tongue-in-cheak manner intended. Thanks LIH Prem.

True. The rule is at least very clear on that: "1K members: If you are a 1K member based on 2010 activity, you will still be eligible to earn two Regional Upgrades per quarter in 2011. In addition, under the new program changes announced on Nov. 16, you will also receive two more Regional Upgrades when you reach 75,000 EQM/90 EQS and two at every 25,000 EQM/30EQS after that. However, the quarterly earning process will end on December 31, 2011. So, in 2012 you will not earn the quarterly upgrades and will begin earning the Regional Upgrades at the 75,000 EQM/90ECS level."

As I said: the effect is very personal. Every year I have received the max number of CR1s under the old rule and have had to lose a few every year because they just expired. It looks like the same thing is going to occcur to me this year. With UDU in effect, the only time CR1s become truly important is for securing a UG on p.s. except that most of the times when I take p.s. it would be part of a Trans-Pacific trip for which I would request upgrades for every segment (including p.s.) using SWUs. The net effect is that I hardly need my CR1s and hate it every time when I lose them. I just tried sponsoring a UG for a friend of mine who is also UA elite (1P) using my CR1s but he was already waitlisted for a UG under UDU so that I could not even use my CR1 for this (could have if time to travel was longer). The bottom line is that I consider it a positive to just get the number of CR1s that I need, as having to lose those that I did not use has been my one unpleasant experience with CR1s. Now I won't have to worry about it... 4 CR1s will be just about right.

This thread needed some levity.

You can't imagine flying with a companion or flying on PS without an international segment or without an available SWU? Or other cases where you might want a confirmable upgrade?

Whatever ...

-David

A portion of your travel is similar to mine. However that doesn't mean I'd forgo additional CR1s. A loss in benefits is a loss in benefits. You don't use the additional CR1s, but many others do.