United announced on Friday afternoon that they would increase the spending requirement for their 1K (100,000-mile elite) members from $12,000 per year to $15,000. This is an effort to thin the herd as they have too many top-tier elite flyers. If United wants fewer 1K customers, I will be the first to start them off.
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Delta Did It, United Follows
In 2014 Delta moved their elite requires for top-tier elites (Delta Diamond) from $12,000/year and 100,000 elite-qualifying miles to $15,000 and 125,000 miles flown. American and United didn’t feel obliged to follow though American did add a revenue requirement as the only carrier without one to that point. Playing copycat to Delta is nothing new as United and American continue to outsource their management decisions to Delta.
Is Any US Carrier Going to Differentiate?
Before the merger mania that swept the US Airline industry, programs differed widely. During a short period of time (relative to the history of the carriers), Delta and Northwest, United and Continental, and American US Airways, Southwest and Airtran and most recently, Alaska Airlines and Virgin America consolidated in the airline industry. Prior to this round, in the early 2000s US Airways and America West merged as did American and TWA which created the world’s largest carrier at the time.
The fear of those who challenged the mergers was that too few carriers would reduce competition and increase prices for consumers. That fear has yet to be realized as airfare is the cheapest it has ever been right now. However, for frequent flyers, an unintended consequence of the merger madness has been the general amalgamation of the loyalty programs.
As a business person, I want to differentiate my product as often as possible. If my competition sells Coca-Cola, I am… bad example, no one should ever choose Pepsi. If the competition releases 6% of their seats for awards, I’d release 7%. If Delta decides to reduce the number of upgrades they give their elites, why follow?
If one of the major carriers decided to enrich their program rather than “enhance” and deteriorate, I would imagine it would actually drive the marginal business everyone is chasing and bring in new business from those that are disenfranchised at the other carriers.
It’s an Unreasonable Amount
It’s important to note that if you spend exactly $15,000 on your tickets and fly at least 100,000 miles you will not qualify for 1K status. How so? Taxes and fees, my friend. Unfortunately, taxes and fees count when they hit your credit card, but not toward your Premier-qualifying dollars. If you fly internationally you’re hit the hardest. Premium fare fees and taxes in and out of the UK can be nearly a thousand dollars for example (Air Passenger Duty) but even flights back and forth to Mexico can see more than $100 of your ticket cost ineligible for elite qualification.
If a 1K flies purely domestic flights, they’d likely spend at least $16,000 out-of-pocket. If they fly internationally, however, flight costs would probably exceed $18,000 and maybe more depending on what those flights were. In my case, personally, I have spent more than $11,000 on business and personal flights so far in 2018 but have just $9,645 PQDs. By the time the year has ended my $12,000 in PQDs will likely mean more than $14,000 spent on tickets, taxes, and fees with United.
There are some power users in between 1K status and Global Services that will cheer United’s decision on clearing more upgrades for them over barely 1K fliers like me. But that group is really, really small and this change isn’t going to get them into a club they weren’t already in.
Where To?
More than anything else, my experience as a 1K hasn’t really been that great. Every carrier has service issues including weird ones like this, but the biggest issues are experience and ease of use. The Polaris lounges are great, but the opportunity to use them remains fairly rare. United is still flying a 2-4-2 business class configuration as long as 14-hour flights and they charge more to use Systemwide Upgrades with a minimum (expensive economy) fare class.
On the other side, American lets you use SWUs in theory on any fare, but in reality they rarely open space in advance. They have a better hard product, but an inferior soft product. I clear upgrades on both carriers domestically at a near identical rate. I also prefer American’s elite earning on partners (based on class of service and distance) rather than simply ineligible.
Delta is out (same MQD requirement, higher mileage requirement) based both on the ability to earn/retain status with the carrier and my complete distrust for the brand. Early in 2019, I will credit long-haul Korean business class flights to Alaska which will help me achieve Mileage Plan status.
I suspect I will go back to American with my tail between my legs. Then again, this is, after all, my year of hypocrisy.
What do you think? Has United gone too far with their “$15,000 PQD” requirement? Am I just sour grapes because I know I probably can’t make it next year? Am I naive to think that American and Doug Parker won’t follow right behind and do the same?
I too have been considering making the switch to AA. My biggest hangup has been the weaker saver award availability on AA and the fact that my closest major airport is a UA hub.
Biggest issue that made me as a 20 years 1K was EQDs not counting when partner issued tickets and…. also me following company economy only stance for long haul but paying for my own at check in paid upgrade offers BUT not getting any of those upgrade fees counting towards EQDs. Greedy gits entirely. AA isn’t perfect but at least partner issued tickets have a way to calculate Elite Spend towards my status. Now on year 3 or EXP and generally happy with AA
@NPS-CA, I pay for a lot of my tickets out of my own pocket as well and think that taxes excluded from the mix could make sense, but fees (meaning airline fees) should count. That’s where it feels greedy as you’ve stated.
The connection (when you’re in a hub city) is terribly inconvenient, I will agree. But maybe consider a switch to a foreign Star Alliance carrier.
Why you hating on Pepsi though? 🙂
Ivan, someone who loves you should give you a Coke – it will make the difference obvious. Thanks for the comment, we welcome Pepsi and Coke drinkers alike… though you couldn’t me to drink one.
The real question is would you be better off abondoning loyalty all together? By which I mean buying tickets on the carrier that best suites your need with out respect to which airline it is? I get the sense non of the programs are good enough (except maybe Alaska) to drive marginal spend.
Agree. Go for the cheapest fare combined with the most convenient route. Credit the miles to your favorite airline within that alliance. If you stay loyal, you will be giving up the flexibility to choose the lowest fare. That may be costing you thousands.
I think cheapest fares costing you money is a FAR over simplification of the issue, especially when we are talking about someone who flies 100k+ miles and spenks 12k+ dollars a year.
Case in point. I fly American. ALWAYS. am I missing out on cheaper fares? Sure. But consider the fact that I fly to London 6+ times a year for personal reasons. I try to always fly business on that route. My spend makes one of those flights essentially free by using an award. At least two, maybe three flights a year I’m flying business at the cost of an elcheapo main cabin flight thanks to SWUs. And yes, some times I pay to sit up front. But the end result? These trips cost me on average for the year only a few hundred dollars more than what I consider to be a good price (on American) for a main cabin flight. That is a huge value and far outweighs any savings I could have shopping for liwer fares
@121 – Reader, Meanmeosh, mentions I should go free agent every time and he’s an accountant and a frequent flyer so I am sure he has done the math. It may be time, but I am not sure if I could do it.
I will chime in on this (and maybe this wouldn’t apply to someone flying so much as they could hit status on multiple airlines). I have been either United silver or gold for the past few years (way under 1k I know). But as an economy class flyer the ability to get free economy plus seating on essentially every flight is huge. And when I was gold, access to lounges internationally and free same day flight changes were great too. I go out of my way to fly United because of this.
It’s sad that we are conditioned to look at reasonable leg room as a perk but that’s the state of the airline industry. Long flights to Brazil would be brutal in regular economy and the plus seating can get into the hundreds. Something like that alone is worth it. And then there was the time I missed an avianca flight in Rio. Giant language barrier and obviously a million people on standby for the next flight. When they called my name for the next flight I saw the long list of printed names and my name at handwritten at the top, because I had star alliance status.
Tl;Dr in my opinion even giving a little loyalty to an airline is worth it for the creature comforts. And the amount extra I spend flying strictly united pays for itself with free bags, upgrades etc.
As part of this, United is lowering discount first class and discount business class (P Class) from 200 percent PQM to 150 percent. This is the final straw for me. I am tall, and I hate coach seats, so for the last six years I have paid out of pocket to go first class domestically and business class internationally, usually in P Class. This has gotten me silver or gold each year, but with the new system I probably won’t even make silver. For some time I have felt that it would be better to fly anyone that offered a better trip for me, especially when I fly from my home in Orlando to Hong Kong. I have been loyal to United, but this means I have to fly a narrow body plane to Newark, Chicago, or San Francisco, and then a United wide body to Hong Kong. Instead, I could fly Emirates directly out of Orlando with a wide body to Dubai and another wide body to Hong Kong. I have foregone this to fly United, but no more. It is strange, but my distinct impression with United for some time has been that a person who pays for a first class or a business class ticket isn’t as important to the company as someone who has enough status to get a free upgrade to first class or business class. That’s the company’s business decision, and my passenger decision is to no longer give any kind of preference to United. If my flying will no longer get me status, why should I be dedicated to the airline? United sure makes some strange decisions.
Dan, that’s a pretty big devaluation too. I have purchased a couple of P fares over the last two years and I’d be even further frustrated if I was staying with United.
You are 100% right . . . about Pepsi.
I’m an AA flyer. I would bet that AA now moves to 15k too. Consider that before tucking your tail between your legs and reliving the joys of the Barclays credit card announcement.
True, but at least the one advantage is that cheap premium non-codeshare alliance flights earn based on class and distance. That has helped me in the past.
Too many people getting status from credit cards
With the exception of 1K status, this might be true, but there’s no way to earn 1K with credit cards and this is the only status level targeted for change.
That’s a good point about the real spend. They’re approaching GS territory!
@Sexy_kitten7 – it’s a long way away from GS territory if you live in a hub city like SFO, where the spend requirement is closer to $75K.
I wouldn’t be so troubled by this if I actually thought that upgrade availability for 1K’s would actually improve. I highly doubt that.
As you state, in San Francisco it is higher, in an outstation like Pittsburgh the generally agreed number is around $40k. Still though, $18k is an awful lot even for a business traveler in a year unless they are only traveling globally in premium cabins.
GS territory takes at least $50K per annum.
I was a 1K for years but have been Platinum now for a few. The benefit to 1K (or any status IMHO) when you pay out of pocket for the front seat as I do becomes pointless.
I agree with you; I pay for front seats out of pocket, and status really means nothing. The only regular benefit is slightly more award miles, but I have always hoped that the airline would care more for a status holder when things went wrong. In the few adverse situations I have had with United, though, I have come to the conclusion that they give no outward indication that they know or care what my status is. I’ve decided to quit giving my preference to United, and instead just take whichever airline is most convenient for my purpose. Right now that’s taking Emirates out of Orlando for Hong Kong, rather than messing with going to United hubs for the service.
Daniel – what kind of bad experiences have you had? Maybe it’s because I live in the Midwest (where everyone is “nice”) but any time I have problems, the solution has been pain free. Maybe it’s because a lot of times these problems are at ohare where I see a million people in line at customer service. Going to the front of the line is clutch. And in the times I’ve volunteered my seat for a voucher, there are many times they put me on another carrier (where I can double dip points) and I actually get there sooner
I have been 1K on United for a long time, maybe 10 years, and have flown over 2M miles on United. That means I am Platinum for life, which is one step down from 1K. Since I reached 2M miles, my motivation to fly United has been reduced as the additional benefits of 1K aren’t much better (except for the Global upgrades, but try to find an international upgrade these days..).
With the new change, I am certain that I will just take the airline that has the best combination of service, connections, and price going forward. They have reduced my incentive to fly United.
I am in the exact same boat as you. I was 1K for 12+ years, earned LTP at 2M. I gave up 1k when even domestic upgrades were impossible to get, combined with introduction of the minimum spend and the bump down in boarding groups. The 1K benefits really were not there and still are not there IMHO. For the extra $$$ the to minimum spend, the service is much better on others. Uber loyalty programs are dead. You are now a GS or 1K because you have to be, not because you want to be.
Considering that you status challenged to UA and have never met their PQD requirements, I don’t think UA will miss you.
It’s only a matter of time before AA matches $15k. And that airline is going the opposite direction from UA (which is, incidentally, in the process of upgrading all long-haul aircraft to the Polaris seat).
Kacee – I am glad you read the blog and remember that I status matched last year to 1K, however, this year I needed to earn it on my own and I will. I am at $9,675 in PQD and have about $2k more planned so I am certain I will get there. United might not miss my barely $12,000/year but that’s ok – someone will think that’s worth me being a customer.
In regards to United’s planned Polaris upgrades, it’s great that the interiors are being refreshed, but unfortunately, there will still be lots of 767s in the fleet that are prone to mechanical trouble. At least UA pax in business will have a nice seat to wait out their mechanical delay.
Thanks for the update/correction.
If you switch to AA, I do think you’ll get one year max before they up to $15k. The legacies have been moving lockstep on this stuff.
It gets harder and harder to even get the PQM every year. Too many partner flights give me 0 miles internally. Regard the PQD I just keep me address outside the US and don’t have to fill that requirement
I seldom clear upgrades even with the voucher in the last few years. I am surprised every time I do on long flights. Stopped caring at some point and stuck with United due to their international reach that’s fits me well
Airline status is meaningless to me. I fly international F/J 5+ times a year on points, and use points or numerous airline credits for domestic. With int’l J/F, Centurion, PP, or Skyclub access from Amex Plat when flying Delta, I am rarely without lounge access.
I get much more value out of hotel status, with benefits like free breakfast and upgrades that actually happen. Chasing airline status is a complete waste of time and money.
We do live in a very interesting time. UA, AA, seem to think we are a captive audience. I used to fly UA all the time, primarily in economy, but over the last few years I’ve modified my flying to do less of it but with a willingness to pay up for premium fares so that I can achieve a minimum qualification level. But what that qualification has brought me has deterioted with every year. Airlines have unbundled most of their services so that having status doesn’t really matter. Just get every airlines credit card and you have priority boarding and a suitcase. Need early boarding because you don’t have status then pay a fee.
I’ve just qualified for 1K status but much of that travel was on other Star carriers. And I’ve flow several other premium offerings from other airlines including Delta, Iceland Air, and also a few LCC including Easyjet and Spirit.
Speaking of Spirit. If I have to get somewhere by a certain time I’ve discovered that Spirit is far more likely to get me there than American within a reasonable time frame. And with their most recent announcement that they won’t endorse to another carrier in case of irops other than for their most elite flyers that has only been cemented.
I’m frankly amazed at the lack of a customer centric focus at the UA, AA, Delta, and think that they will be in a world of hurt when a recession hits because we will all have been trained by them not to care about their frequent flyer programs. The message is clear. Loyalty and trust is for suckers. Buy the cheapest (in my case premium) fare you can find. If it earns you some EQM/PQM and you qualify for something great. Otherwise why would you care? Elite status like 1K is not all that great anyway (for the price of the economy fare that is usable with a GPU I can usually find a business class ticket on another airline or with very little extra cost).
I do love Spirit when I am flying for leisure on cheap tickets and can upgrade to a Big Front Seat for $50 each way.
1k is actually worse than Gold. I wrote a detailed article about why, but never found a place to publish, likely because most travel blogs wouldn’t want to offend a potential sponsor. The basic reason is that not confirming regional/global upgrades at booking means I have to roll the dice and may get stuck in a worse seat on a flight like a long haul red eye that is going to make my arrival miserable. I’m going to end up paying to have the seat I want then spend my free time applying the useless upgrades to tickets of friends and family so they don’t go to waste. Unfortunately in the Denver market I don’t have a carrier choice with the destination I travel to, the only upside is getting to choose Lufthansa when I go to Europe.
Your comment is spot-on…as a former 1K, it was nearly impossible to use the global upgrades as you were always waitlisted….waiting at the gate to see if you are upgraded. UA clearly shows disdain for anyone that is 1K and below. I miss my Continental!
People, the solution is simple. Join a foreign airline program that doesn’t place a requirement for minimum qualifying spend, or reduces, or being a member from outside the home country. Yes, you won’t get your upgrades domestically as often, but you won’t have to be a hypocrite to derive value either. You’ll still get recognition on domestic airlines, depending on which alliance you chose, and you won’t have to deal with this bs.
I may be doing this. I was considering Turkish but I am open to suggestions from readers for a good foreign Star Alliance carrier.
Like many of you, I have also been 1k for many years. Increasing the pqd from 10k to 12k hurt, but I still managed to hang in there. Now, with the increase to 15k, I am effectively closed out…there is no possible way I’ll make it again, so, since I am platinum for life on United, I may still use them sometimes, but I feel I need to find another airline. Any suggestions for a frequent traveller from Los Angeles or San Francisco to Hong Kong or Guangzhou? This is my primary route… January 1, sorry, but goodbye United.
For LAX/SFO-HKG, simply fly in PE on CX and credit to AA. You’ll be AA Plat or better in no time. Do a status match/challenge first, though.
Where are you heading AC? Who will get your business?
It’s a combination of two things that have allowed the Big 3 to get away with their constant “enhancements”, and which will continue to allow them to do so for the forseeable future:
1) They have largely captive audiences due to fortress hubs. Even in Dallas, where Southwest and Spirit offer robust service by their standards, the number and frequency of nonstops is a fraction of what AA provides. And if someone decides they want to switch to United, are they really going to accept a connection via Denver or Chicago to get to, say, Seattle vs. the 4 daily nonstops on American? Nope, and AA knows it.
2) In the same way you use suite upgrades and free breakfast to justify your excess spending at Hyatt, many super elites cling to something – upgrades, lounge access, etc. – to justify putting up with their preferred carrier despite the cuts. I should know. I was guilty of the same thing to justify sticking with AA and oneworld (though I’d say AA really did offer meaningful benefits to a Platinum in the pre-Parker era).
Number 2 is becoming less compelling as airlines erode benefits, but Number 1 is THE one thing that’s going to make it hard for many to break the loyalty addiction. Unless you see a concerted effort by someone to attack the fortress hub model, you might see some leakage on the margins (like me), but most are going to stick with the hub carrier. And guess what? The airlines know it, and so they know they can get away with the constant “enhancements”.
But isn’t there a capitalistic case for differentiating?
Sure – but in the current state of the market, why would you? If you have a choice between differentiating, which costs money and probably won’t gain you much market share, or “enhancing” to save cash and not lose material market share, the “enhancements” will win every time. It goes back to my captive market argument. The vast majority of FFs in DFW, ATL, IAH, etc. are going to grumble but stick with the hub leader no matter how much they “enhance”, because of the nonstop frequency issue.
I suppose you could try the differentiation route to try and snag flyers in smaller markets where there is no single dominant carrier, but would that be worth the incremental costs? Maybe, though I’m not sure.
These are unfortunate changes, but the high level view of all this to me is the fact that the economy is good, airlines are making money. Therefore, they no longer need to offer incentives to keep you loyal because they are going to fill the seat anyway. So for the most part at this point in time loyalty is not something they should invest in and it may be costing them with money left on the table. Oligopoly in action as you may say you are not going to fly UA/AA/DL again, but they know you have few options for the most part and will be back.
Same thing with rewards. It is interesting to watch the airlines balance the significant revenue they obtain from selling miles vs. the squeeze on award seats. They don’t have any incentive to give away a seat, but they must keep the bitching down to a reasonable level to keep the credit card companies from pushing back that their programs are not beneficial. So far that seems to be working. I am frankly impressed with their marketing and revenue teams. Very smart people.
From where I live I don’t have much choice and given I spend way more on UA than their proposed annual minimum (mostly overseas travel) I’m staying as 1k.
The problem is all US carriers suck.
Yes, 15k is too much. What a joke. Normally I am right around the 12k but I need to make special circumstances just to make it.
At the same time, even as 1k EVERY YEAR, upgrades are NOT EASY TO COME even with an Hour or U ticket. So I’m someways, if I continue to be 1k, I’ll be happier. If not, then naturally I won’t be 🙂
Your observations are clearly spot-on….UA doesn’t care about customers from 1K and down. They focus on Global Services but show disdain towards the elite classes. I gave up on UA several years ago….i am lifetime gold and was closing in on lifetime platinum when i met a fellow traveler who is lifetime 1K…he said the lifetime status is meaningless and if had known, he would have built lifetime status on another airline. I am satisfied with lifetime gold on UA and building status on AA.
What UA doesn’t remember is that many of us kept the industry alive post 9/11….i flew over 150k miles during that time when planes were empty. Continental recognized customers who went out of their way to fly their airline and rewarded FFs. UA tossed this approach out the window and on numerous occassions, criticized their FFs claiming we were ‘entitled’….so if you don’t reward loyalty, we will look to other airline options. Damn shame.
I’ve made the jump to Southwest.. albeit all coach. The amount of direct flights, combined with the companion pass makes it the logical option for my needs
Delta Til the day I die ! Been Diamond for the last 10 years and already qualified for diamond status until 2020 …. you get what you paid for . Service on delta Diamond is non-comparable ….
FYI, DL Diamond has required 125,000 MQMs since day 1 that status existed. It was never 100,000.
Continental then forced into UA’s program since I’m out of Houston. Former 1K status doing 150K miles/yr. Other than some Global Upgrades , it isn’t worth it any more. I pay for front vzbin (P class) and this year I’ll barely make Silver. Again.
I pay because if I’m traveling it’s critical I get there and seemingly the last bastian to manage who gets a seat on next available flight after a cancellation, is having that front cabin ticket. And after paying $12K +4 global upgrades into 1st to dear United from ORD to FRA .in a pod that had no power..and was offered nothing for the inability to do work..last straw. Status not worth it. I just plan a bit better, and pay the fare. I have zero loyalty to UA any longer.
I’ve been Global Services on United for several years now. I fly over 200K/year, mostly international business class and spend over $70K PQD’s/year on flights. In the past few years, there seems to be way too many 1K flyers now – just look at the Boarding Group 1 line. It seems like there’s so many Platinum members and above in the long lines for this boarding group. I’m not trying to sound like a snob, but I fly almost every week, so I think that the higher business flyers buying more expensive tickets should be getting a little bit more status differentiation.
I just hit platinum for the year as a government traveler (lots of miles, low fares) I do about 160 days on the road a year. I got 1K only once, and that was with back to back trips to S’pore. Got upgraded only once on international trip from Narita to HNL, but was a 747 (a few years ago) and was a fantastic trip. I’m obligated to use the government carrier out of SFO for the GSA citie pairs program, but it’s mostly United. Always feel like the less competition is not good for the fliers/customers. This latest erosion is not unexpected.
I was agreeing with everything you wrote, until you suggested going back to AA. Why? I’ve walked away from both UA and AA (and left behind nearly a quarter million miles), and I have no intention of going back. Award availability and upgrades (and good service!) are ridiculously hard to find on both airlines.
The old saying proves true: if you want to sit in the front of the plane, then pay to sit in the front of the plane. Once you accept that, then you realize loyalty to one of these airlines is worthless.
BTW, let me state the obvious: this has happened because the govt has allowed the airlines to create fortress hubs.
If status is really important to you, then stick to 1 airline, aka loyalty. Those of us that play the game all know the rules for PQD and your ticket needs to start with 016…
And don’t act surprised when the big 3 match each others programs – they do it on purpose, cause where else will you go? If you only care about milage and redemptions, get one of those credit cards.
What’s the point of being loyal to a business who continually tells you it’s not good enough?
I will hit 1k this year but have had to book a couple first class tickets to get the last few hundred PQD. At this new threshold I know I wont make it next year (I’ll hit the mileage but not the PQD). This means I can stop being loyal to Inited and fly a better, cheaper Jet Blue flight for the return leg of my weekly trip. Long way of saying that this change will cost United about $7,000 of my $14,000 annual spend. Not sure 1k gets me that much anyway
They are free to do this, of course. I’ve been 1K for a couple of years and will be through 2019, but doubt I will hit the dollar threshold for 2020. Will it affect my behavior much to not get the GPUs? Probably not. I’ll still just buy the cheapest international business class on whatever airline, and buy domestic F if I want it. It will still be on UA if that is the cheapest. They certainly can’t compete on quality. (I’ve flown dozens of international routes and yet to sit in a Polaris seat or see a Polaris lounge.)
I’m an AA EXP and the benefits for me are 3 free checked bags. @ 70 pounds, and access to the EXP desk for rebook ing when flights are cancelled or late. That desk can do things that the Admiral’s Club agents caanot.
To address your mileage qualification issue, when you buy a biz class ticket with AA as an EXP, your EQD’s are multiplied more than the dollar amount as are the EQM’s.
Happy to share my ticket purchases to date and my EQD and EQM.
Flying biz class internationally is the best way to requalify.
I will drive, take a train, take a bus, take a boat, walk or even swim before I would ever fly United again. Forget just the fares, their customer service is absoluu8utely horrible. But I will throw a big party when they go bankrupt. My advice, forget flying. See the U.S. and Canada by train or car. You may have to forget Mexico if you can’t safely drive there.
I’ve been a 1K for several years and have considered just using points consolidators for international flights as every year my loyalty seems to become worth less and less to United.
I personally don’t know what they big deal is on the monetary amount to make 1k being increased. I spend more than double that every year easily so I never really have a problem with that. I pay for all my tickets out of my pocket and don’t have any company or job that funds it. I find every airline has there problems. I haven’t liked other carriers like American or delta as I have been even less impressed with them. One of the reasons I like United is with the star alliance and plenty of frequent flyer seat availability. I didn’t see that for example with American. But I have lived in Markets where United hubs are. Only once have I loved in a market that was mostly American. I have been a frequent flyer with United for 17 years. The mileage Program and availability has gotten better not worse over the years. As a 1 K I get lots of extra miles with leads to more free tickets. For example I am flying business class to Korea and back from China to Newark/NY. I will get a total of nearly 50000 miles . That’s enough for an international frequent flyer ticket. So overall I think things are ok with the increase in dollar amount. I have more issue with them reducing the miles for business class. Previous I would getting 200% of Miles as PQM. However that will reduce to 150% which will affect me more as I will have to fly more now to get the 1 k miles. If I only bought economy tickets it would have an effect. But because I buy mostly business class to get to 1 k it will cause me to have to flight more. I would say that’s more of a problem than anything else for me. Will see how 2019 th n goes for me
UA does have pretty good saver award availability (though, frankly, AA and BA do, too, though not AF or LH, in my experience, and awards on DL are ridiculous), but the upgrade “R” space has been shrinking. I don’t remember the last time I saw it on a US to EU overnight flight.
“If my competition sells Coca-Cola, I am… bad example, no one should ever choose Pepsi.”
You, sir, have earned a new fan!!!!
I almost missed 1k last year because my code share leg to Frankfurt didn’t count . . . On a United ticket. The Lufthansa leg gave me zero. The Lufthansa ticket on to Helsinki did, but not Frankfurt to Newark. This on a United ticket. I am at 1.8 million miles, and when I hit 2 mil, I am done with United loyalty
Why do you not trust Delta as a brand?
I’m not speaking for Kyle, but I don’t trust Delta because they make up their own rules and change them without notice. Just look at the fluctuating partner redemption prices for SkyMiles.
I swapped to AA and like the benefit of economy plus for my whole family. Also found a way to finally use points (Middle East and Asia essentially). I also love the award holds.
However as i don’t travel much for work anymore I don’t think I’ll hit status for 2018. My main way of travel perks now comes via the purchase of Alaska miles and lifemiles. Easiest and cheapest way to fly business class! Just did Ord – Nrt return, there in business, back in first. 130k Alaska Miles and about $50 in fees.
One big benefit previously to status was getting the priority check in line. With the ability to check in online now, and the amount of kiosks and bag drop lines this isn’t as important to me. At worst I’ll use the curbside checkin with my fam.
Be careful with AA as well. I have been extremely loyal with AA . For over thirty years I have been executive platinum, accumulating over 150,000 miles on average.. I have been granted platinum status for life big deal. Now that they have introduced another tier it is worthless. FYI you can earn it platinum for life I believe if you achieve just 2 million. I will never get more than plat even though I am over 4 M. For the last previous 6 years I was given th status of concierge key. Do not know what you have to do . But before the beginning of this year I received a form letter stating that “ I hope you enjoyed the perks of the key but unfortunately you did not quiet do enough”. I was assigned $ 38,000 plus 180,000 miles hmm not quite enough. This year I have so far spent actual dollars of 41,000 plus 170,000 miles I achieved executive plat in June. Wonder what I will get. No loyalty from any of the airlines. FlY for convenience and fares is my belief
By reducing the number of 1Ks, UA can also reduce the number of experienced and well paid customer service agents.
There you have it. Bingo!
After reading the comments in this blog, this will likely also be my last year as a 1K. And they are right, why be loyal when the program benefits, like business class can be purchased on another carrier for the price of a united coach ticket. I stayed with United and was lucky to get use my upgrades. But I had to wait till the last moment to know that! The only thing to keep paying to play are the monopoly “fortress” hubs for direct flights but I’d be willing take more connections if the competitors fares are cheaper for a better seat. Flying in comfort will be far better than having to suffer as a road warrior.
I fully support United’s decision. Fortunately I spend a little over $20k per year so I’m safe even for the next bump. A perk is not a perk if everyone has it.
Now with the pre-boarding (which is really just another boarding group) you have 20-30 1ks on a domestic flight. It sort of defeats the purpose. Why do I care about pre-boarding? Because I check my baggage and just bring a normal carry on. Everyone and their damn roller suitcases clog up the overhead compartments in no time, so the pre-boarding helps significantly.
I’m 6’5″+ and a muscular 270-280. I’ve completed over 40 international trips to Asia (Vietnam, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc). Then add in trips to Europe. I’ve never flown economy once. Only global first or business. I’d never try an upgrade internationally and risk sitting in economy. Never. domestically, anything over 2 hours and I pay for first. That is unless I have my family with me (kids etc). Then we’ll book economy plus.
Where I’m going with this is the benefits to 1K aren’t great enough because the program is saturated. With Continental I was platinum. They treated me like a King. On a trip to Vegas I was in economy (in my 20s). A friend of a friend saw me at the airport and was also headed to Vegas. I walked up to the counter with him, told them I was a platinum and asked for an upgrade. Not only did they upgrade me, they bumped a gold flyer off the list and put my companion in first with me. Now that is service! Do I expect this to return with a carrier as large as United these days? No. But things could be a hell of a lot better if there weren’t so many 1Ks.
I’ve been calling for increased spending requirements for years. $15k not enough? Raise it to $20k. The best part? I’m not a hypocrite. If I don’t earn it, then I’ll gladly take my platinum. The goal should never be to rip the system down, that’s for simple folk. The goal is to find a way to be part of the system. IT’s like toll roads. IMO there should never be traffic on a toll road. Getting too congested? Keep raising the price until the traffic thins. It’s called supply and demand.
The bottom line is I’m always going to pay for business or first for work. But in my personal life I’d like 1k to be valuable enough that if I’m flying to a not-so-popular destination at an odd time, I’d like to get my wife and kids upgraded to first with me.
We’ll see if the $15k thins the herd enough. If not, let’s get it bumped to $20k until 1ks are great again.