As I've fully acknowledged several times, I'm a complete slut for United Airlines frequent flier miles. Obviously I take brand loyalty in this area very seriously, but it works out well for me. In the past few years for instance I've had lots of travel adventures, some of which I paid for and many of which I got for free as a result of the brand loyalty.
Now, I love traveling. And I love traveling by air. So the fact that I do so much on United isn't all that odd. And I do sometimes fly other carriers from time to time (eg, Alaska, Aer Lingus, Delta, plus others in the Star Alliance). But I like flying on United more than the others. As I've discussed before, every airline has a system for how it runs itself. These systems vary somewhat from carrier to carrier. I rather like United's, and I'm very used to it. As a result it tends to feel more "homey" and I tend to feel less like a stranger flying them than I do other carriers.
And sometimes that brand loyalty has inspired me to take trips that I might otherwise not have taken. This may sound strange: it's an airline! How can it be that important to take an airplane trip with any particular airline?
It's important because traveling is important. And if the brand loyalty helps me overcome my inertia to get out and go somewhere, that's a good thing. There are so many things I would have missed out on doing or experiencing if I hadn't taken the trips that I have.
I remember one trip in particular. It was in late 2000, and I needed 6400 miles to renew my Premier status. At my job in California I had a floating holiday, a "use it or lose it" day off that needed to be used before the end of the year. So I turned it into a three-day weekend, and then stared at a map to figure out where I could go that would earn me 6400 miles.
The answer: Florida. If I flew via Dulles I'd end up with the right number of miles, and a chance to see my grandma who lived there. So this is what I did. And I'm very glad, too, because just a few months later, before I'd had any chance to see her again, she died.
So while maybe to some it may seem foolish to go out of my way to take a trip, to me it seems foolish not to.
(All this said, however, United can still annoy me. For instance, I've NEVER been given a complimentary upgrade… What's up with THAT? C'mon United! Cough one up for me one of these days!)