Since the challenge will be to spend enough money to meet your premier level will we now see dollar runs?

I predict the unit of measure will not be miles per cents but dollars per minute (DPM) since you want to just spend the money quickly.

I further predict, Bakersfield, CA, will be very popular and no one will Bakersfield will know why ...

 

Ummm...no.

People who want to spend the $10K will simply do it naturally. Most others who want to skip the PQDs will use a Chase co-branded CC and get around the rules.

 

Only for the foolish

 

Ummm, yes.

Maybe not many, and maybe not every year.

I plan to make 1K again next year. I will fly my same pattern of flights, always looking for the cheapest, best flights I can find on United.

Come the end of the year, if I have made the PQS requirement, but am a little short on PQD, I can definitely see spending a little more money to reach my goal.

 

One would be much better off up-faring throughout the rest of the year and enjoying higher upgrade priorities, easier SDC, etc.

 

This is true, but if you can't plan the full year then you might end up a little short towards the end. If you travel for work it might not be possible to buy higher fares once you realize that you are going to be short. I think this would apply to a very small minority, but probably some.

 

I do figure a few of my flights next year should be easier upgrades as I will likely buy a B or M fare or two to insulate myself from any of the incredibly competent UA IT team's glitches in displaying/crediting PQD... Sigh.

 

Indeed. If sufficient numbers are qualifying for GOLD or higher then expect to see the spend requirement climb each year until the number of elites is pruned.

There will be no way to MR the dollar spend in the final analysis.

 

I wonder if $misek's contract includes bonuses based on quarterly earnings. If so, I wouldn't be surprised to see "Double PQD" promotions if it looks like he'll be falling a bit short of those earnings targets. And that would in turn drive Dollar Runs. (though far less than MRs in response to DEQM in the past).

 

What could glitch on a B or M fare on PQD ??

 

With UA's IT, anything is possible.

My point is more that pax who are close to the thresholds should not trust the PQD trackers provided by UA (as historically, PMCO's similar tracking functionality was very glitchy, and PQM tracking today suffers a lot of problems), and further might want to insulate themselves a bit more with a buffer in case UA has a glitch where they incorrectly claw back PQD for whatever IT snafu reason (again, we've seen all sorts of posting problems for PQMs since the merger, so one can only expect PQD will be similar...).

 

Yes, status is not worth chasing as much anymore.

 

That is obviously a blanket statement.

A key benefit, CPUs, are not equally distributed. As a resident of a leisure destination who can pretty much plan travel to maximize chances of upgrades, mostly on routes that have a lot of upgrades available, status is valuable to me. I also like the RPUs/GPUs.

If I didn't have flexibility and travelled out of a home airport (or via one) with a lot of Premiers, your statement would fit me better.

The spend requirement for a 1K is actually minimal for most who actually fly that many miles, IMHO. Mileage runs probably won't be necessary for most (again IMHO)...

 

i recently considered this possible phenomenon myself, and find it unlikely that it will materialize. for instance DL already has this requirement and you dont see postings in the MR deals forum advertising the PQD earning figures for DL fares.

my guess is that MRs will decrease dramatically but there will still be a small and vocal contingent that needs them to top off status after upfaring their business travel throughout the year to meet spend requirements but nowhere near meeting mileage requirements for their desired status.

i also expect that if UA and others continue to offer the ability to purchase premier accelerator and similar products at the same price as they are offered today, and that spend counts for PQD, most would go that route to get what they need.

people do crazy things for status though. i am not immune to being crazy as i will soon fly from CA to ANC by way of NYC for PQMs.

 

DL's doesn't start until next year, just like UA's.