How much is 1K worth?
 

I'm curious what the dollar value of 1K would be over and above Premier Exec. There are 2 ways to answer the question:

1. Monetary value of the goodies you get that 1P's don't (there will be a little subjectivity here, mixed with some market value numbers.)

2. How much would you be willing to pay out of your own pocket to be a 1K, if you were only a 1P.


Any thoughts?

I heard UA values the SWU's at $600, and you get 6 of them. Don't know about the CR-1's.

UA values 1K status at $20k if you buy their prepaid card. :D

I think the value to the person depends on how much they travel. If they travel a lot, it might be worth more to someone who only flies around 50k miles and doesn't go international.

I probably wouldn't consider "buying up" unless I was pretty close, and I'd probably do an MR in that case rather than pay for EQMs.

They don't even go for that much on eBay! United probably uses that value when talking to 1Ks or reporters on the value of being a 1K, but what do they file in their 10-K? I would guess the value of the liability they quote there is under $100 (if not $0). I think something in between is somewhat realistic, as each one is equivalent to 30,000 miles (plus a bit because they apply to more fare bases).

If I was at 70k, I would spend $1,500 to get to 100k and enjoy the six SWU's as well as increased availability on domestic award tickets. I think 1K's also enjoy a higher chance of operational upgrades compared to Premier Executives. Overall, I have been very pleased with UA and will be 1K again!

The value of 1K depends on your expected travel patterns over the following year. If I didn't expect to fly anywhere next year, I wouldn't spend a penny to make 1K, and it would be worth nothing to me.

I would not be willing to pay out of my pocket to go from 1P to 1K. I was just in that kind of a situation a few years ago. Rather than book tickets on my own dime, I added segments to my remaining business trips for 2002 and made 1K on segments. I have been a UA 1K since. I am able to travel enough for business and have my company pay for my status with UA. It is still shocking to me that there are people out there that pay, out of their own pocket, for status. Not to take anything away from those that do.

The benefits that I get from UA for being a 1K are not something that I would pay for on my own, out of my own pocket.

How much would it cost to pay for 1K status?

20K for the prepaid card, I guess if your client paid you :D - you could afford it ;)

Check on Ebay :rolleyes:

The value of 1K is not measured by u/gs alone. Other 1K benefits are special saver award inventory and freedom from the fees which UA charges others (except UGS) in order to sell you its product or ticket a M+ award via a live agent. There's also a further reduction on RCC membership and, as noted, better u/g and standby clearing. Since I average 4 trips per month, these other benefits are valuable.

I think there are many intangible benefits to becoming 1K and I would not hesitate to take every step to reach the 1K level. For example, most airports have seperate check-in facilities for 1K members; 1K members receive first selection for meals in business class; 1K trumps, as far as I know, most upgrade options, from priority waitlist to operational upgrades. And there are probably more that I receive that I don't even know about. If I had to book a mileage run just to make 1K, I would do it in an instant.

The value of being a 26 year-old 1K and sitting next to a 50+ year-old Premier who thinks he's the sh*t because he's Premier and spends the whole flight wondering how the young "whipper snapper" is a 1K is absolutely priceless. :D

RE:value of 1K
 

I normally fly 5-6 SFO-CDG trips a year. For me, it's been worth it to take advantage of promotions like the Great Offer and a couple of convoluted mileage runs a year in return for three relatively inexpensive CDG trips upgraded to business with SWU. Op upgrades sometimes increase that number, and the double miles for what I do fly BIS makes additional upgrades possible. The other perks like 1K saver inventory, Visa rebates, etc, make it real easy for me to justify spending additional monies to make 1K. As I am self-employed and fly on my own dime, I can't just tack on extra segments to employer-paid flights. All the accrued miles, drink coupons, and CR1's make me very popular with the rest of my family. I can't say that the idea of a 7 hour SIN turn in November thrills me, but. . .it's probably worth it.

I'm not even 26 yet! :D:D:D

So, the only $ value I've heard so far is $1,500. Is that close in most people's minds?

I KNOW it depends upon travel habits, blah blah blah. I'm just looking for what people might think an approximation would be for someone who flies 75K miles a year for business and does a couple internationals a year for pleasure.

I didn't say that's what I thought they were worth, just what UA said they were worth. Much like a "one time use pass" to the RCC being worth $50. ;)

The blah, blah, blah is the most important part. If you do 75k a year domestically on UA, I think the value is much more than $1500. The attention during irregular ops, the upgrades on international flights, the priority almost-everything, and a long list of intangibles (gotta love FastTrack at LHR! ^ ). It really is difficult to assign a real number to the value of those things. As wimpy said, if you will be doing a lot of UA flying next year, you should go for it. Use the FT boards for hints, and it should not cost all that much.

As discussed numerous times on this board, UA does not regularly offer a "buy-up" to 1K.You can however purchase a $20,000 card that gives you $20,000 of travel for the year and 1K staus right away. If you have a good client that you plan to spend $20,000 on travel for, perhaps you can expense that?

Other than that, I don't think you can "pay for 1K status". However, given the number of full F tickets that you've told us that you buy, maybe the $20,000 card works for you?

Just a suggestion... ;)

I am in that typical situation, headed for ~65k BIS this year. I don't plan to do anything nutty (airport-hopping) , costly, or painful (long-haul Econ) to try and reach 1K for 2006. I can live with being 1P again. I only fly transpac, so for me the SWU's are just about the only attraction.

But, if there were an auction to purchase 1K, I'd bid $2,700. That's the equivalent of adding $900 to the cost of a (cheaper) RT ticket for the upgrade, resulting in C class for about $2,000.

I've been a 1K for about 4 years. I would say the main benefit (besides the SWUs) is the mere fact that you accumulate miles and that, in and of itself, has instrinsic benefits such as more 500 mile certs and CR1s every quarter.

The SWUs are obviously of great value to those who travel overseas and less so for those who basically travel domestic.

I also think that being exempt from the nickel and diming that UA does for award tkts, reservations, etc., is worth a couple of nickels and dimes. :D

Well, since nobody seems to want to directly answer the OPs question, I will try.
If I were at 50K+, and intended to fly a goodly combination of international and domestic flights in the following year, as I usually do.....

I would probably spend up to $3K or so of my own money to secure 1K status for the next year, as opposed to having 1P.

Lots of variables here, but this is a benchmark.

Being 1K is priceless to me when I was able to clear a standby flight, LAS-LAX. When I first asked to be put on the standby list, was told there is no way I'll be able to clear because the flight is completely full. A few seconds later, the agent said, "Mr. Motion122, I didn't realize you are 1K. I've got a seat for you!" That was before TED and 1K giveaways! :D Can't put a dollar value on that one!

I flew enough to make 1K or beyond each year, so it's tough to say how much I am willing to pay to bump myself from 1P to 1K. $3000! :D

If you are a domestic-only flyer and you consider CR1's of value, you cannot, by definition, consider an SWU of any LESS value than a CR1. They must be of equal value since they have the same capabilities to the domestic flyer.

I was once at the gate and I heard a 1K use a SWU to upgrade a ORD-LGA non meal flight. :eek:

$750 for me. Last year, my flying put me as a high mileage 1P, and I decided to spend an extra $750 for a mileage run to push me over the threshold to 1K.

I've used 4 SWU's so far this year, For NRT-JFK-LHR (me + my wife) and FRA-ORD-NRT (me + my wife). I'd say that getting 10,000+ miles of upgrades each way per system wide was easily worth that money spent (plus I still have 2 SWU left)

Thanks braslvr for finally answering the OP's question. ^

I have not made 1K yet but from what I've read on FT, I would gladly pay $2-$3,000 to go from 1P to 1K. The 6 SWUs alone are worth that much to me as it makes travelling overseas a more pleasant and affordable experience than traveling in Y and burning up my miles to upgrade to C ^ (I pay for 100% of my travel, unlike my very lucky corporate FT brethen :( ). The CR-1s are just the cherry on top.

I won't need to do this in 2005 as I have enough travel already paid-for on UA and *A by the end of November (including MRs to the West Coast and Europe) to get me over the top. :)

That may have been me. I am a 1k that does over 100 domestic per year. Living in MLI, every flight I take must go through ORD or DEN. I usually get three segments each way without much efort. CR-1 are nice, but until Mesa started flying the CRJ-7 in, they were kind of a waste, when essentially a CR-1, SWU and often times a 500-mile all carried the same weight.

Though I would not pay a dime out of my own pocket to be a 1k, I do find it to be priceless. 1k always me to fly as close to a non-rev as possible. I love to fly but it is something that I can live without.

Yes, thanks for answering! BTW, dcgators, what Europe MRs are you doing? I'm probably going to need 1-2 of these myself, and I'd love to hear what's working for you, since I can get out of IAD pretty easily.

I'd bid as high as $5,000 if that amount included the redeemable miles (~200k), EQMs toward Million Mile status, and upgrades I earn in the course of making 1K. To me, the value of 1K consists of more than the extra recognition and conveniences. The miles earned enable me to get Mr. Lori_Q and assorted family members into the premium cabins.

Not coincidentally, $5k what I expect to spend this year to keep my 1K status.

I am still waiting for the fares to come back but I will be doing the IAD-PRG or IAD-VIE or wherever I can get cheap weekend fares on Austrian this winter. They usually have a $399 airfare and hotel weekend special in the winter from IAD.

I have also been lucky with IAD-TLS on UA/LH for around $400 airfare only (my folks have a place in the south of France so lodging is not an issue there).

Otherwise, I'll just keep my eyes peeled for something out of JFK.

Nearly agree on all points, although with several mileage bonus promotions I expect ~ 240,000 RDM's, 102,000 EQM/MM miles, eight CR1's, forty-500 milers (aka 20,000 miles for me), six SWU's, having spent closer to $4,500 (exclusive of voucher use).

I consider "worth" and "cost" two distinctly different things. 1K "worth" for me is huge and I am unable to fix a dollar price, 1K "cost" is $4,592.55.

I would say that the 6 SWUs are worth about $2000.

The CR1s are worth something too, but you have to fly to get them.

The value of being able to clear upgrade lists easier or have increased economy award availability or different check-in lines can range from "no real value" to "priceless", depending on their travel habits and use of these benefits

Might I suggest Salzburg, if you have not been there yet. My wife and I went there for our honeymoon. The Hotel Altstadt runs ridiculously cheap rates during the winter. Located in the heart of old Slazburg, the rooms are huge, though the beds are the european king and the included breakfast is wonderful.

Oh and good luck on 17 September. Since 2001, UT is 2-0 in Gainesville. Ron Zook was the best thing to happen to UT, well all of the SEC, in a long, long time. Sorry to see him go. Now, I live in Illinois and Zook has followed me here. Losing continue...

My condoleances. :D

Thanks for the tip on Saltzburg. We wanted to go there last year and ended up in Prague instead so we may take Austrian up on a cheapo weekend of they make it available again this year. :)

Oh and if you like France (I do), AF has WOW (Wild Online Wednesdays) which can be pretty interesting in Winter, especially if UA matches on IAD-CDG. I have tons of friends in Paris so again lodging would not be an issue there. I can pretty much go anytime I want as soon as the efares are published. :p

I am afraid that UT may be 3-0 after 09/18... :( :td: :td: :(

I really would like to see it otherwise (especially since I have season tickets and am flying back to all the home games again this year) but I am being realistic. :rolleyes:

Thanks for the ideas. Seems like those trips will end up in the ballpark of $.05 per EQM, so not pure MR territory, but pretty darn good considering there's a vacation thrown in there. Maybe I'll see you on the French Riviera!

You are very right on not being pure MR but it's just enough to top off my M+ account and put me over the top to 1K-land ... :) The vacation bit is just an excuse for me to sell the trip to my partner (we always travel in pair) but sssshhhhhh !!!! :D

Tha's an idea.... Lemme tell my folks that I am having a FT convention at their house ... :D

[QUOTE=BenjaminNYC]If you are a domestic-only flyer and you consider CR1's of value, you cannot, by definition, consider an SWU of any LESS value than a CR1. They must be of equal value since they have the same capabilities to the domestic flyer.QUOTE]

You're right. I misspoke. My SWUs are worth exactly the same as CR1s. My intended meaning was that SWUs potentially have greater value than CR1s and, hence, are "wasted" on domestic flights. But, it is true that the value is whatever it is used for.

Sort of like if you have a 20% off coupon and you can purchase $10 or $10,000 worth of stuff. The value varies but in the end, you still got something.