Is there such a thing as a Global Services Challenge? A colleague of mine was GS last year and was not invited to be GS this year (as of yet). He has been flying all over the world for the past month and told me that he was "challenged" by UA to fly X number of flights to regain his GS status. I have heard about this when you are wanting UA to match your status from another airline, but not to regain GS status. 1) has anyone else heard of this? 2) if so, how many flights (or $$) do you think need to be taken and in how long? Just curious how long he will be out of the office (spending my travel budget) so I can park in his parking space!
I haven't heard it it that I remember, but I do not find it surprising. It's probably X flights in something like full Y or higher on UA metal. I think there are explicitly stated requirements for retaining GS. Your colleague probably was close but didn't quite meet the standard.
he wouldnt tell me exactly how many flights were needed just that he needed to ramp up his travel to get the status back.
Yes, tell them you know what air fare, car fare, and train fare is, but ask what a "WHY" fare is and why they can only be purchased at the last minute.
If he's a colleague and not a boss or subordinate, I don't understand how he can take the OP's travel budget.
I'm guessing if there is such a challenge it’s probably based on revenue generated, not miles. This is how I thought the program is run. I remember when you could purchase pre-paid elite cards. 1K was $20,000 which was credit for one year of travel. I would think any GS challenge would incorporate those kind of numbers, in a relatively short time frame. ($15k - $20k spend within 90 days?) Just some speculation.
