It sucks.
Not the perks... it's the amount of time I spent away from home to earn them this year.
Yeah the time away from home sucks but for me it has balanced out. I usually have about 3 months off a year but I travel a lot. The first year was the most difficult but it has really normalized. The perks for me are about making the traveling as comfortable as possible. Also it is nice to have no arguments when a flight is delayed or canceled and always to be certain of a hotel a paid dinner when sometime goes wrong. Bypassing the line is also priceless.
United 1k is the best I’ve discovered. I almost always get what I want. Also I don’t have to pay any pesky baggage fees, get all kinds of free upgrades and free adult beverages. Also the miles rack up. I was able to take my family of four to California for the price of one ticket which is something I wouldn’t be able to do otherwise.
I don’t know about you but I’ve found that treating those who wait on you with respect and dropping a few lines to commend those who do a good job for you is a good way to win some perks that you wouldn’t usually get. Especially when you have a long term contract.