United Owns you guys & made every US traveler their bitches. They know it and know they’ll get away with it.
What do I think? F-EM. I earned my Premier 1k the old fashioned way, through miles. And they gave me lifetime status. Living abroad, I don't have access to any UA affiliated cc. So accruing miles will not yield any value. I only used it to get into LH Senator Lounges or their partner lounges.
It took me less than one year to earn LH Senator status. Early next year wife and I will fly to HKG. We bought biz class tickets and used our vouchers to upgrade to FC.
Funny thing is that my Senator status lasts for two years. So by qualifying next year will give us status for three years. Being retired, I have no ambitions to go for Hon Circle.
And besides, @1990, I will keep having my roast goose dinner each year flying to Helsinki! And I am covered with EU 261. AND, since last April there have been no strikes at LH
Life remains exceptionally beautiful.
Let's not forget that the United Club card earn 1 status point for every $15 of spend whereas the Delta Reserve card earns 1 point for every $10. As usual, United gives you less. For me, once I've attained Gold status I move all my spend to the Sapphire Preferred. I know I'm not going to reach Platinum at that crappy earn rate so why put another penny on the card.
There are very few reasons for me to keep a United credit card anymore.
The Club Card only pays if you travel a tremendous amount domestically (and there are lounges in the cities you travel to or from. (Note that except for Honolulu, there are no United Clubs in Hawaii!)
Thus, I downgraded to the simplest fee-based United card when I was no longer travelling for business. What it provides for me is (1) Some advantage in terms of travel awards pricing/availability and (2) primary coverage for car rental damage when paying for car rental with the card. My wife and I use the two United Club one-time passes for breakfast once a year when departing SFO.
For everything else, I typically use the credit card that provides the greatest immediate statement credit for my everyday purchases, such as groceries, fuel/auto expenses, etc. And I keep as few cards as really necessary.
I know that doesn't help Ben with his income (from referrals to credit cards), but for me, in this stage of life, simplicity works! C'est la vie!
Hopefully further changes do not try to “undo” the lifetime status that many of us “earned” by many years of flying on United – Gold for 1 million BIS (butt-in-seat) United miles, Platinum for 2 million BIS United miles, and 1K for 3 million BIS United miles.
As others have noted, totally forget about “free” upgrades, even for Global Services members. They are rarer than hen’s teeth.
To me, the only remaining benefits of status, in my case Platinum, are (1) “free” access to Economy Plus seating when making reservations, (2) free luggage (3 pieces up to 70lbs each which I never have used – I check 1 piece of about 50lbs for longer vacation trips), (3) Boarding Group 1 (to be able to access space in overhead bins – and I wouldn't count on overhead bin access remaining “free” in the long term), and (4) Star Alliance Gold status that lets me access lounges on Star Alliance flights overseas.
Quite frankly, I would not be surprised if at some point, United suddenly decides to reset the “lifetime” status awards and/or reset the whole system. Read the fine print; none of the airline loyalty programs promise anything for the long term and even the points/miles/whatever and/or permanent status you think you have can be erased by a simple airline management decision.