United like the other “airlines” is a credit card company with seats in tubes. It’s unfortunate but not surprising. They targeted a 50% increase in loyalty program revenue and ran out of carrots, so it’s time for the stick. And hey for once Delta wasn’t the first one to make a program worse!
1
Manager 1
I got the United quest card last year, but will downgrade it to the no annual fee card renewal. It’s routes are the most time saving and frequent for me and my family, so I still value their rewards program.
1
Consultant 1
Frequent flier programs are becoming garbage across the board. I now primarily go for convenience/comfort (i.e. better plane) and pay up for first class when I want it, which is usually only on long hauls with lie-flat seats. The only status that's nice to have is the equivalent of Platinum on American or Gold on United, since you can book the Main Cabin Extra ASAP instead of praying for an upgrade 24 hours out. Besides that, there's no point since they monetize upgrades, so even top-tier elites rarely get the nod.
If AA turns their rewards into Skypesos, I'll truly become a free agent. At least my AA miles get me places, but I'm sure that too will go away soon enough...
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Sanofi 1
Did something change recently?
Manager
Author
Yeah agreed it’s not worth it
Deloitte 2
Depends - I live next to IAD, fly a ton and United covers most of my routes direct. Having the card helps with status acquisition, but if you’re not traveling a lot or you don’t always use United then probably not worth it. I’m simple and only have that (Quest) and Venture X
United like the other “airlines” is a credit card company with seats in tubes. It’s unfortunate but not surprising. They targeted a 50% increase in loyalty program revenue and ran out of carrots, so it’s time for the stick. And hey for once Delta wasn’t the first one to make a program worse!
I got the United quest card last year, but will downgrade it to the no annual fee card renewal. It’s routes are the most time saving and frequent for me and my family, so I still value their rewards program.
Frequent flier programs are becoming garbage across the board. I now primarily go for convenience/comfort (i.e. better plane) and pay up for first class when I want it, which is usually only on long hauls with lie-flat seats. The only status that's nice to have is the equivalent of Platinum on American or Gold on United, since you can book the Main Cabin Extra ASAP instead of praying for an upgrade 24 hours out. Besides that, there's no point since they monetize upgrades, so even top-tier elites rarely get the nod. If AA turns their rewards into Skypesos, I'll truly become a free agent. At least my AA miles get me places, but I'm sure that too will go away soon enough...
Did something change recently?
Yeah agreed it’s not worth it
Depends - I live next to IAD, fly a ton and United covers most of my routes direct. Having the card helps with status acquisition, but if you’re not traveling a lot or you don’t always use United then probably not worth it. I’m simple and only have that (Quest) and Venture X