It comes with little surprise that the 2016 Premier requirements on United have increased by 20%, nearly matching Delta’s recent increase almost exactly. To reach the different Premier statuses on United, you will need to spend 20% more cash for each level.
While the dollar amount increases are not insignificant, I understand the business reason for doing it (at least partly). What I do not understand is why United feels the need to simply follow Delta’s every move rather than trying to be an industry innovator or at least be creative with changes to the program.
Customers are drawn to companies that innovate and offer services or a quality that cannot be found elsewhere. Just being lockstep with the competition does nothing to draw people in, regardless of how much modern, clean advertising you shove down people’s throats. You can buzzword me to death but if I see you doing the exact same thing as your competitor and the prices are cheaper with them, sorry, it was nice knowing you (especially after degrading the mileage program).
Come on United, fuel is cheap right now. This is the perfect time to try something new.