UA only recognizes one type of 1K. So, pretty much case closed, except to discussion and debate here on FT. That will go on forever.:)

Oh, and my bet is that there will be a DEQM promotion this year at the same price level as last year. Since when would we expect UA to forgo revenue to ensure that potentially more upgrades are available to BIS 1Kers? (Are there even any precedents?) Most in that category will continue to fly as much in any case and other airlines aren't offering earthshaking perks to make a loyalty switch likely. All, IMHO, of course.

7: I could make 1K without DEQM, but I really don't want to make a SIN run!

Actually, I'm holding off on booking some domestic business trips and int'l leisure trips right now because of this. I could just as easily fly these in Q1 of next year. But I'm not worried about it either way. If I make 1K, fine. If not, fine.

No offense, but being 1K these days isn't a big deal as it was during pre Global Services years. Just IMHO, the treatment offered to 1Ks is more in line with someone who flies 75,000 - not 100K (in terms of services offered and treatment by frontline employees). It certainly isn't differentiated the way 2P and 1P are.

btw - don't get me wrong, I still believe there are still many people at United that care a lot about customers, and United could make this more of a priority if they committed the resources to doing so (and that's not just telling employees these folks are important to our business).

As CO FlyerTalkers said years ago when they got the blue carpet rolled out for them, "it takes more than stanchions and carpet rugs to show results."

For example
-Access to United First lounges and negotiate with Star Alliance for *A First Class lounges to accept 1Ks for a fee to be in line with OneWorld (and add United Arrivals for a competitive edge). (yes I am aware of space limitations)
-Provide free domestic RCC membership as US does.
-Offer a higher RDM elite bonus than 1P (125%? 150%?)
-Officially allow FAs to accept 1K drink chits for BOB boxes and entrees.
-Officially allow FAs to distribute Fast Track cards to LHR-bound 1Ks seated in Economy
-Consider allowing 1Ks to use twice as many SWUs for double upgrades and award tickets (something similar to UGS)

(yes I am fully aware these things cost money)

Does any of this make sense? Sorry - don't mean to ramble.

Yes, it makes sense to me. I agree with what you are saying.

Especially not with this year's fares :( .

Amen!!! As a leisure 1K, and someone who pays for his own tickets and who's always made 1K via the Double EQM route, I'm not gonna even try this year! I usually fly 60K to 80K per year. But doubtful if I'll even make 2P this year. And the reason is the goofy fares the airlines have been charging. Only made two domestic flights this year, and will only make one intl. flight in a couple of months. I'll fly again when the airlines stop being stupid and greedy! Until then, I'll sit and enjoy my home!

Frankly, it'd be fine with me if UA simply counted BIS miles excluding DEQM's, COS, credit card and other "specials". My rather strident view of this situation comes with the strong memory of what 1k used to be, service wise. I'm enough of a realist to recognize that UA had to water down 1k benefits (as well as creating UGS) when they opened the flood gates to thousands of tin badge 1k's.

It is my great hope that the product upgrades in the new int'l C product + the reduction in the number of such seats will disincentize many from going after 1k status, to earn SWU's which they won't get a chance to use.

IMHO 2008 is likely to be the last year that 1k's will get to book H fares with the near certainty of ending up in C - and frankly I won't cry a single tear. Sure, I've booked my share of Y seats and happily been upgraded - but even after all these years I fully realize that (from the operating an airline profitably standpoint) such events shouldn't be "routine", "expected" or "a right".

^^^^
The proverbial head of the nail.
Once I hit MM which will happen in the next 6 months it's off to someone else and new problems, unless things change. Another day of travel hell for me because I cant fly JFK-LHR direct. IAD is the pits. I have one more flight booked in november to LHR (the Z fare special) and no more LHR for me thru IAD.

United has reduced customer service service across the board. AA does not have an ICC. I have even observed poor treatment of Global Service members by UA gate agents. With regards to the new C, UA will still be at least one generation behind SQ and BA. Having upgrades are an enticement for loyal UA flyers. Just observe what happened when UA tried to change the terms and conditions of SWUs a few years back to restrict them to international fares of H and higher fare eligibilty. 1K members protested en masse. Because of the blunder, United sent out extra SWUs called Sweet Spot certs that worked even for S and T fares. Then United had to rescind the SWU restrictions to the previous terms and make them eligible for W and higher fares. United's new C and F product will not be competitive with the likes of Singapore, but it can still be a very good airline, if it does not let some dumb MBAs create a marketing plan that drives away its elites.

Do you really think that if UA decided to limit 1K to only those who flew 100K BIS miles their customer service would magically improve? I won't go through the litany of customer service complaints we read about regularly on these boards, but if you honestly believe that, I want some of what your smoking.

Actually, IIRC, the SWU-extension that has been offered for the past several years has ONLY been offered to those with appropriate EQM levels (EXCEPTING EQM's gained from this DEQM promo).
In this one instance, I see a distinction b/w 1K and 1K-lite.
In any event, I am not a "class-conscious egoist". :(

Best, Dave

I think the point is that it if there were fewer 1K's, they people who actually did make 1K would be more likely to receive good service because they would actually "stand out from the crowd" a bit more. Overall service probably wouldn't get any better, but there would be fewer 1K's competing for 1K-dedicated resources (upgrades, phone reps, etc.), and 1K might actually mean something to your average GA if they didn't have 15 1K's on every flight (yes, that's just a made up number, but you get the point).

I'm sure United would reduce some of their 1K support staff if there were significantly fewer 1K's, but I'd still be willing to bet that the 1K-to-staff ratio would get better if they thinned out the ranks of the 1K's somewhat.

However, to your point, I don't the service for everyone else would improve because of this change. In fact, it would mean that all the former 1K's would probably receive significantly worse service, no longer being 1K. I think lihue1k's point, though, was that those who remained 1K would receive better service, and I do agree on that point (although I don't know that it would be a dramatic difference).

For now, at least.

I wouldn't be surprised if UA decided to restructure the elite levels to put more of an emphasis on revenue and less on mileage (a la GS), at least at the higher levels. UA definitely benefits from people who fly a lot and they don't want to alienate regular passengers, but on the other hand, a $15K/year 1K is worth a lot more to the company than a $5K spender who uses cheap MR's and DEQM to hit 1K. They probably want to recognize both as being valued customer, but the former is much more valued and I could understand them wanting to make the benefits reflect this.

But aren't most 1Ks in the $15K+ per annum vs. the 5K (or less) mileage runners? Mileage runner 1Ks and FT types are pretty rare, I thought.

To me, there's a big distinction between COS bonuses and other promos (DEQM, credit card offers, etc.): COS bonuses generally reflect a much higher revenue for UA, while the other promos generally offer a much cheaper way for not-truly-that-frequent fliers to hit a higher status level. For example, anyone who hits 1K purely on B or higher fares will pay a lot more for their 67K miles than for a purely discount-fare 100K.

That's not to say that the COS bonus is "better" than the others, but it probably represents more revenue to UA, and as such, it's not really a "devaluation" from the airline's perspective. In fact, it most likely represents customers of increased value in terms of revenue. How other 1K's may feel about it is another question entirely. ;)

Just in case anyone thinks that this argument may be out of self-interest: I have flown a total of 2 segments in my 400K or so lifetime BIS miles on fares that qualified for the COS bonus.