PanHam

Hey, if I hope to make 1K by being a cheap-..., manipulating fares, mileage running, and complaining for vouchers, I say let UA reward the top spenders - the ones who spend for real.

alotoftravel

I agree all 100%.

#10

Other unique benefits are the ability to check in at the 1st Class line at international airports regardless of booking class and access to arrivals lounges. The former may be less valuable now that OLCI works for most international flights (at least I think that is the case based on my reading, here).

I probably fly 50% more UA international than I would without the GS carrot. If I lose it next year, it is not something that I fret over and may be liberating.

Markie

You say that, which I accept. However, you should remember that many of the things that seem not so important to GS members used to be available to 1Ks. We used to be sure that we got first meal preference; now GS members do. We used to be the first to upgrade; now GS members do.

My point was not really that GS is wonderful, but that it had the effect of making 1Ks less important and serviced less well by UA. There is tendency in people to recognise that the highest level of an organisation is the most important, President, vice-President etc. GS is now at the top of this tree and so get the best treatment. That used to be for 1Ks.

So, as bad as you think you have it as a GS, please remember us little people who used to matter to the airline and who are now in the pond of non-GS.

sfskier

I don't really think about GS except when I have to take a step to the left to the 1K line instead of the GS line at DEN. I agree it seems to be a good way to keep the top revenue people flying UA, whatever keeps the planes in the air works for me. I focus on keeping my 1K status going and hope that one day I too will be blessed by the GS fairy dust.

CommittedLurker

Well said. GS doesn't really extend any new benefits. It merely maintains the benefits 1K's had about 8-10 years ago.

lihue1k

All true and I've bemoaned as much myself in earlier posts.

On the other hand the "need" for GS and a reduction in 1k benefits was clearly created by the insane decision to allow 1k status to be earned without actually flying. DEQM offers, credit card EQM's and the like are what really swelled the 1k masses and in turn created the need for a higher tier based on something other than flight miles.

Frankly, I'd have been happier to simply leave the 1k qualification alone.

Lihue1k

KathyWdrf

Good one.

I was going to comment on the rather bizarre thread title ("How do you folks feel about GS members?"), but you beat me to it.

Anyhow, who gives a rip about GS members per se? But I think the GS program makes a certain amount of sense for United. I'm just a lowly 1K who travels on cheap or cheap-ish fares. (All on my own dime, though.) I think giving recognition to those who contribute the most to the bottom line is reasonable, so I have no problem with GS.

UA-NYC

Even with 10K from Chase, 5K from Choices, some carryover miles from Choices, and a DEQM - seems like you'd still have to fly at least 40K BIS to get to 1K (and that's a lot of concentrated flying in just a small DEQM period). Can anyone really say they got 1K without flying?

ORD2World

Interesting thread.

One thing that I always keep in mind: "GS is a good deal, for sure, but this too shall end some day. Enjoy it while it lasts."

This much is certain for 100% of Global Services folks. There will come a day when they are no longer GS. Of course 1P for life if MM, but no longer at the head of the line.

And I do have a view of the back of the airplane, with about 600,000 miles in coach when I was on active duty.

MIKEM

Personally, I think everyone should own one.

melampus83

Yes certain corporate contracts allow for the assigning of some 1Ks/GS

BongoVIP

As a former 10 yr management consultant, working for the "two largest firms" in the globe, yes...they do hand out status to consultants (up to 1p level) and most of them earn above and beyond that.

However, there are a lot of GS's out there that don't work for the "big management consulting firms."

One additional "food for thought" around the requirement for GS status. With United not publishing the requirements for it, as I mentioned before they run the risk of people hitting that requirement level, then spending their travel on other airlines (i.e. SQ, NH, LH etc.) for the remainder of the year.

With this said, I think United has the GS program in part to keep business on UA for the people that fly both INTL (especially) and DOM. Think about it, if I can get 1K level flying on *A and get better service, (i.e. full fare on SQ, or NH) from others, the only motivation then to fly UA is the Elite bonus miles, CR-1's, BIS for MM level, e-500's vs attaining 1K status on flying *A across the pond.

The real question, (and this is good for another thread), is if someone who held GS level with UA and lost it to say...1K or lower, would they shift their high dollar INTL travel to *A carriers vs United?

jakuda

Assuming no mid-top status on OneWorld or other airlines and ceteris paribus, I would pick the other *A carriers or OneWorld carriers for international travel.

climmy

I started this thread because I wanted to find out if it was possible to sucessfully meld a mileage based program with a $-based one, without getting the rest of the members upset.

I wasn't specifically wondering about, you know, if you loved me or not .

I understand from a few posts about devaulation of programs over the years, but that wasn't the point of this thread. Especially considering that devaulation seems to be happening in any event, with every program.

It would always be nice to have more bennies and that's really the point of these programs. Heck, I'd like to see free RCC memby's for GS but that's not likely to happen. It just seems like a "Cash Grab" even though spending might be quite large.

In any event, it seems like the GS program is here for a while. Perhaps other carriers might follow with a $based level of their own.