United Wants $12,670 To “Upgrade” You To 1K Status — And Calls It A Discount [Roundup]

News and notes from around the interweb:

• United wants $12,670 to upgrade to 1K status – and calls it a ‘discount’

  Comment
  byu/VegetableRealistic60 from discussion
  inunitedairlines

• How on earth can the default option be an 18% tip at self-service checkout from an airport concessionaire? And how can they also charge a credit card processing surcharge, when they do not accept other forms of payment here?

  If it’s an optional service I can understand the logic, but if it’s a required part of the transaction then there’s really just one ‘price’ to make the purchase. You’re just lying about the price. Hey, Austin, demand better of your concessionaires.

  

  

• American Airlines has spent handsomely to win back managed corporate travel, in staff and incentives and commissions. CEO Robert Isom says they’ve recouped the $1.5 billion hole they dug for themselves. Costs are up, so why hasn’t their revenue gone up too?

• American Airlines has to order widebodies. They retired their Airbus A330s and Boeing 767s and they just don’t have a pipeline of planes coming in. But they aren’t making money which puts them in a tough spot.

  Love this chart for clarity https://t.co/Sexo29Hr3U

  — JonNYC (@xJonNYC) January 28, 2026

• You people are disgusting.

  Since when did “Economy Class” become code for “I’ve forgotten how to be a human”? ✈️

  Personally, I make it a point to hand my trash to the crew during the actual collection or take it with me. It takes 2 seconds and shows a shred of respect for the cleaners who are working on… pic.twitter.com/xKWxRrBFp8

  — Fahad Naim (@Fahadnaimb) January 27, 2026

• But how do you ‘laugh it off’ and not say something?

  Scenes from Delta One (JFK > LAX)
  byu/DragonDeez indelta

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