One nice thing about Marriott Titanium membership is the complimentary United Silver upgrade. It provides free checked bag and access to preferred seating. I don't fly United that often due to its limited flights out of CVG, but it is now my second choice after Delta because I'm lifetime Gold. Southwest was great when we flew out of MCI, but the number of 'handicapped' and family boarders kept increasing, so the early boarding cost wasn't worth it. It is interesting that most of those 'handicapped' boarders were able to disembark on their own with no assistance.