Agree.

If you have to rely on DEQM just to get status, you're really not generating a lot of volume to begin with.

In less pleasant terms, "freeloading."

Yep, legitimately paying $500+ as well as for all the flights is definitely freeloading.;)

goodtoast lists himself as "premier executive," which is 1P, isn't it. In any event, I fail to see how his current status or status goal makes whatever he has to say here any more/less valid.

I suspect ryan182 was looking at his profile (which says Premier), not his sig (which says "Premier Exec").

I don't think this analogy really makes sense. Are you implying that United does things randomly? OK, maybe that would explain a lot of things...

Um well, what he/she had to say was: WHAAAA WHHAAA United wont give me status for not flying so I'm taking my money to AA, boo freaking hoo. and it is relevant as it adds to the "who cares" factor. If you dont fly enough to get 1P/1K then you're not really taking too much money away and as I stated the planes are full without self important entitlement junkies.


Exactly.

Yours was #742 in this thread devoted to speculation as whether UA will or will not repeat a DEQM offer. I have read only a few of the posts, but I expect that not many are very consequential and that goodtoast's is not particularly exceptional in any way.

Last year, wasn't UA getting something like $499 to double EQM for flights during a 6-7 week window of time? Does that amount to "giving" status away? I'll leave it to UA to decide for itself whether that's a deal that works for them or not, and let others, be they GMs or 1K/GSs, say whether whatever UA choses to do in this regard makes them happy or unhappy.

Whatever someone's motivations to use or not use any theoretical DEQM program may be, there is no reason to berate anyone or suggest that they are crybabies or freeloaders. Let's keep it civil here on FT.

I agree. Lets not forget that the point of the forums is really about getting the most benefit from frequent flyer programs.

Just a friendly reminder that the topic of the thread is whether there'll be a DEQM promotion this year and not whether a few members can argue among themselves as to who is being civil or not. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, United forum.

What IS FlyerTalk, if not the land of "freeloading?" :D

Of course, paying $499 just to register, and also paying to fly to get status is "freeloading." :rolleyes:

How about business travelers who earn status entirely through flying that is reimbursed by employers and/or clients? Isn't that the true "freeloading?" And yeah, I've done my time as a business traveler, 20+ years of (moderate) reimbursed business travel, earning miles/points/status. These days I travel on my own nickel.

So, who's the "freeloader?" Apparently, if one uses a promo oneself, one is "smart," but if someone else does it, they're a "freeloader." :p

BTW, as I mentioned earlier in this thread, I earned 1K for 2007 through BIS miles -- NOT the $499 DEQM offer. However, I don't deride as a "freeloader" anyone who used last year's pricey DEQM offer. They are just smart FlyerTalkers!

Yes, "each way," but one must purchase it both ways, that is RT, in order to get the quoted before-taxes/fees fare. (Is this the way other carriers advertize? I rarely look at their ads, so I don't know.) I find it a big turn-off to have my attention grabbed this way by UA, only to learn/realize quickly enough that the "real" fare, that is what we must pay in order to fly, is well over twice the number UA puts out there in its advertising, if one can find availability for those cheap fares. (OT as far as DEQM goes, but can't resist the oportunity for a mini-rant about this. Not the way most quality brands do business.)

I disagree. Almost all retailers do business exactly that way. For example, many clothing retailers will have a sale where the sale price requires buying more than one of the item... they will almost always advertise the price as "Only $XX.XX! (when you buy Y or more)" and then put the regular, single-item price in small print at the bottom. This is entirely analogous to United's "each way based on round-trip purchase" advertising. Is it somewhat misleading to those who don't read carefully? Yes... but so is most advertising.

So you think "quality brands" are just as likely to advertise this way as less upscale brands? Can you offer some examples to make the point? I'm sure they must be out there, but I can't think of any offhand. (And local sales tax on clothes isn't likely to come as a great surprise to anyone, whereas the taxes and fees on airline tickets that can equal in amount the base price catch a great many by surprise, I think.)

Anyway, if you were the UA exec who called the shots, the "each way" before taxes and fees approach is the one you would have the company adopt?

not me. without a deqm promo, i'm not gonna be able to re-up as a 1k and it's gonna be a stretch to make 1p this year due to my not working (with all my travel on my own dime) so even if i drop to a lowly 2p, i'm still gonna keep flying ua :D