I decided to simplify things a little by removing myself from most of those promotional email lists I've been on. I elected to be on these, but I just don't have time to read anything and they stack up in my inbox.

In this process, I discovered that some companies make it very easy to remove yourself, while others make it difficult. For example:

• Delta Air Lines was very easy. I clicked on the link and was taken directly to the page to configure my email preferences.

• Drugstore.com was also pretty easy, with a similar mechanism for unsubscribing.

• American Airlines was the easiest. I just had to reply to the most recent email with "unsubscribe" in the subject line. (Why can't they all be this easy?)

• Ceramica was also nice. I clicked on the link and was taken to a page telling me that my address had been removed. (It knew my address thanks to a unique URL, which makes it very easy for the customer.)

• Then there's United Airlines. Before doing anything, I was warned that my email address would take 10 days to remove. I clicked on the unsubscribe link and was told I needed to log in to my MileagePlus account.

The problem here was that I don't remember this number. I can recite my Delta SkyMiles and American AAdvantage numbers off the top of my head because I am always flying one of those airlines. I think the last time I flew United was in 1995, except once in 2001 coming back from Denver when passengers from another airline were put on a United flight due to mechanical failure. My paltry 3,000 recent United miles are actually not from United; they are instead from Air Canada, which is in the same frequent flier miles network and generally had the lowest fares to Montreal.

On United's Web site, you could request a password reminder, but I couldn't find any way to request your MileagePlus number. No contact information was evident. After a couple of minutes, I simply typed a letter I am sending by postal mail to the MileagePlus service center. The letter says I don't have time to look up my MileagePlus number; here's my postal and email address; you figure it out and remove me.

We'll see what happens. In the meantime, it looks like my loyalty is with the right airlines.