It’s that time of year again. We’re in the final stretch of 2016, and that means one thing: the deadline for airline elite status qualification is quickly approaching. With just a couple weeks left to qualify or requalify, it’s time to check your balances and take a few simple steps if you’re coming up short.
Over the past few days, we’ve covered the elite status programs of five major carriers: Alaska, American, Delta, Southwest and now United. In addition to discussing the qualification requirements and the benefits of each tier, you’ll find some last-minute earning ideas, and even some routes for a mileage run or two if you need a few final flights to finish out your year.
Today, we’ll look at United’s Premier program and what you need to know to bring that status home for another year.
Useful Posts
Before we get going, be sure to check out some of these posts for helpful hints and reminders about what you should be doing around this time of year.
What is United Premier Elite Status Worth?
Is Elite Status Worth Being Loyal to a Single Airline?
Strategies for Meeting Your Elite Status Goals in 2016
Is it Easier to Earn Airline Elite Status With Miles or Segments?
When Does Elite Status Reset and How Long Does it Last?
7 Points and Miles Tasks to Complete by the End of 2016
Is the Mileage Run Dead?
Earning Elite and Award Miles on American, Delta and United
United Airlines MileagePlus Premier Status
Like Delta, back in 2014, United instituted a spending element to its qualification requirements called Premier Qualifying Dollars, which you need to hit for each of its four tiers. And then it raised them in 2015, also like Delta.
The airline has also devalued (er, overhauled) its award charts and award-routing rules. Still, UA is making some positive changes like the introduction of its new Polaris business class and ground amenities including a network of new lounges. So sticking with the MileagePlus program and going for Premier elite status might still be worth it for some.
PREMIER QUALIFICATION AND BENEFITS
Although you earn United award miles based on your airfare, elite status and whether or not you use a United co-branded credit card, when it comes to Premier Qualifying Miles (PQMs), flyers still earn them based on the fare code of their ticket and the distance of a flight.
For full details on the Premier program, check this page. Meanwhile, here is a basic breakdown of the benefits by tier. I’ve just noted additional benefits for each tier.
Silver: Earn 25,000 PQMs or fly 30 Premier Qualifying Segments (PQSs), and spend $3,000 on airfare. You can waive that spending requirement by making $25,000 in purchases on a United co-branded credit card.
Benefits:
Earn 7 miles per dollar spent (a 40% bonus)
Complimentary access to Economy Plus for self and 1 companion at check-in
Complimentary Premier upgrades and companion upgrades on day of departure
Instant upgrades on Y- or B-class full-fare economy tickets
500 PQM minimum accrual
Priority check-in, security screening, boarding privileges and baggage handling
Single complimentary checked baggage allowance (50 lbs) for domestic economy tickets
Premier priority desk phone line
Access to most sold-out flights
Priority award waitlisting
Standby for international awards
Better availability for United Saver Awards in economy
Unrestricted access to United Standard Awards on United and United Express
Reduced close-in award booking fee, award redeposit fee and award change fees ($25 off)
Star Alliance Silver status benefits
RewardsPlus benefits. Silver Premier members get some basic benefits from the RewardsPlus partnership between Marriott and United, like a 20% discount when converting Marriott Rewards points to United MileagePlus miles, and 10% more United miles when redeeming Marriott points for flight and hotel travel packages.
Gold: Earn 50,000 PQMs or fly 60 PQSs, and spend $6,000 on airfare. The same spending waivers apply as for Silver status.
Additional benefits:
Earn 8 miles per dollar spent (60% bonus)
Complimentary access to Economy Plus for self and 1 companion at booking
Complimentary Premier upgrades and companion upgrades as early as 48 hours in advance
Two complimentary checked bags (70 lbs each) for domestic economy tickets
Lounge access when traveling internationally
Waived same-day flight changes
Reduced close-in award booking fee, award redeposit fee and award change fees ($50 off)
Star Alliance Gold status benefits including lounge access when traveling internationally
Marriott Gold status benefits. These include benefits like complimentary continental breakfast, room upgrades, late check-out, and a 25% bonus on points earned for every stay.
Platinum: Earn 75,000 PQMs or fly 90 PQSs, and spending $9,000 on airfare, with the same credit-card spending waiver.
Additional benefits:
Earn 9 miles per dollar spent (80% bonus)
Complimentary Premier upgrades and companion upgrades as early as 72 hours in advance
Up to 8 Economy Plus companions
Three complimentary checked bags (70 lbs each) for domestic economy tickets
Two Regional Premier Upgrades
Waived close-in award booking fee, award redeposit fee and award change fees
Waived phone service charge
10% discount on in-flight Duty Free purchases
Better availability for United Saver Awards in select premium cabins
Discounted United Club membership rates ($50 off)
1K: 100,000 PQMs or fly 120 MQSs, and spending $12,000 on airfare. No credit card waiver applies.
Additional benefits:
Earn 11 miles per dollar spent (120% bonus)
Complimentary Premier upgrades and companion upgrades as early as 96 hours in advance
Instant upgrades on M-class economy tickets
Six Global Premier Upgrades
Premier priority desk phone line with dedicated 1K line
Discounted United Club membership rates ($100 off)
LAST-MINUTE EARNING IDEAS
Though time is short, if you find that you’re not quite going to make the earning threshold of your elite status tier, there are still some great options out there to put you over the top.
Same-Day Flight Changes to Maximize Routing
It takes more time and more flights — and thus, more can go wrong — but maximizing your routing by adding more segments and more miles instead of flying nonstops can help you rack up additional miles quickly.
For example, instead of just flying from Chicago to Houston and earning 925 PQMs each way, you can fly from Chicago to Denver to Houston instead and earn 1,750 PQMs. 825 miles might not seem like much, but it could be the difference between one tier and another.
Now for the monetary consideration: United’s same-day change fees. With United, any traveler can take advantage of a same-day change provided that the original fare class is available and the new flight is within 24 hours of the originally scheduled departure. However, if only higher fare classes are available, you can/must pay the fare difference to “upgrade” your ticket to the lowest available fare class and then make the change. There is also a $75 same-day change fee, but it is waived for Premier Gold, Platinum, 1K and Global Services members.
There are some more things to note about this policy, though. First, you’re allowed to change your routing as long as origin/destination are the same and the new routing is permitted by the fare rules of your original ticket. You can also make the change after checking in, even with checked baggage, though you need to be confirmed on your new flight at least 60 minutes before its departure time in order to get your bags on it. Finally, United does not restrict your flight to the same calendar day, it just has to be within 24 hours of your original flight.
Buy PQMs With the Premier Accelerator
United is unique in that it offers the opportunity to buy PQMs outright. Its Premier Accelerator is a program where you can earn extra elite-qualifying miles when you purchase a flight and opt to purchase extra award (non-elite) miles as well.
Unfortunately, the prices for PQMs are very high. Like, outrageously high. In general, PQMs work out to anywhere from 10-30 cents per Premier-qualifying mile. TPG had an experience where each elite-qualifying mile cost around 22 cents, and some FlyerTalkers have clocked them at up to 35 cents per mile, though the standard rate seems to be somewhere between 10-12 cents per mile.
If you want to use the Premier Accelerator, you will have to purchase a flight and then login to your MileagePlus account. From there, you should see an option to purchase accelerator miles.
One nice feature is that these miles post within 2-3 days regardless of when your flight is scheduled to depart, so your accelerator miles for flights in 2017 should count for 2016 elite-status qualification.
Status-Matching or Challenging
A status match or challenge can be a great shortcut to bypass the normal requirements if you know you’re not going to make it by flying the normal amounts. Although United typically doesn’t offer outright matches, it does offer a consistent opportunity to challenge, and has information published that’s good through the end of the year.
To request a challenge, you must complete this online form after signing in to your MileagePlus account and provide documentation of your current status. You’ll then receive 90 days of Premier status that begins on a date of your choosing, which must be within 14 days of the request.
To retain that status, you must earn a certain number of PQMs or PQSs (premier-qualifying segments) on flights operated by United or United Express within 90 days:
Premier Silver: 7,000 PQMs or 8 PQSs
Premier Gold: 12,500 PQMs or 15 PQSs
Premier Platinum: 18,000 PQMs or 22 PQSs
Your status may take 7-14 business days to be updated, but if you meet the requirements of the challenge, your status will be good through January 31, 2018.
Credit Card Spending
Unfortunately, the only United credit card that allows you to earn PQMs is the MileagePlus Presidential Plus Card, but it’s no longer available to new applicants. If you’re an existing cardholder, though, you can earn 1,000 Flexible Preferred Qualifying Miles (Flex PQMs) for every $5,000 you spend. That’s an earning rate of 1 PQM per $5 spent, so not great, but still something to consider.
Those Flex PQMs can be converted to regular PQMs to help you qualify for status up to and including Premier Platinum, but not higher (1K or Global Services). You must make this conversion online or by calling the MileagePlus Service Center. However, as an added plus, these Flex PQMs are valid for conversion for the entire calendar year in which they are earned and the three subsequent calendar years. So if you’re already set with PQMs for this year, you can hold them in reserve for next year. Or the one after. Or the one after.
Mileage Run Scenarios
Of course, the most cost-effective, though time-intensive, way to earn PQMs is still probably to fly, so if you’re far short of your goal (or even just a few thousand miles), you might want to set aside a couple of days for travel in the last few weeks of the year.
While airfares do tend to rise during the busy holiday travel time, your best bet is traveling mid-month or right over Christmas.
If this is of interest to you, don’t forget to check The Flight Deal and the Mileage Run Forum on FlyerTalk for cheap fare news and ideas. In the meantime, here are a couple options I recently found that should give you an idea of what to look for.
Note that I’m finding options where you can complete the mileage in one trip, since time is of the essence at this point, but you can usually find more options if you’re willing to travel on multiple dates.
1,000 miles short: You’d be surprised by how many people miss out on elite status by as few as a thousand (or even a few hundred) miles. It’s the result of simple miscalculations, routing changes or a number of other factors that can throw you off. So be sure to audit your account, be sure how many miles you have, and if you do need a few extra ones, check out some short routes that might get you there.
The good news is that if you already have elite status, United guarantees you a 500-mile minimum per flight, so even if you’re not going too far, a quick round-trip could net you the 1,000 miles you need.
For example, if you’re based in San Francisco or Los Angeles, hop a short commuter flight to the other and back for just $111 and you’ll hit your 1,000 PQMs.
If you’re not an elite, Washington Dulles to Atlanta is running $111 and will net you 1,026 PQMs.
5,000 miles short: It might not necessarily be the cheapest, but the quickest way to rack up 5,000 PQMs quickly might just be to fly across the country and back in a single day on one of United’s transcontinental flights.
This one from Newark to Los Angeles and back all in the same day clocks in at $311 and 4,908 PQMs.
But look beyond the nonstop transcons and there are some interesting possibilities as well. If you’re a Washington-based United flyer, I found this interesting same-day turnaround from Baltimore BWI to Portland via San Francisco on the outbound and Chicago on the return.
Total cost: $278, and you earn 5,367 PQMs.
Or get a little creative with routing and take this flight from Newark to Las Vegas via Los Angeles and then nonstop on the way back for $229 and 5,181 PQMs.
The key is looking for flights that might not have nonstop options but will route you through a nearby hub instead for that extra little mileage bump.
10,000 miles short: You could break this up into a few shorter trips, but if you’re strapped for time and just want to do one and done, you could take two or three days and rack these all up at once.
If you have a China visa, there are phenomenal fares like this one from San Francisco to Beijing.
Just $483 will earn you 11,826 PQMs.
Or this one from Houston to Beijing via Washington.
For $834, you earn 16,222 PQMs.
There don’t seem to be quite as many Europe options at time of publication, but keep your eye out for fares to Brussels and through United’s partners’ hubs in Germany, Switzerland and Austria in the coming weeks. If you find an itinerary that works for you, I’d suggest booking immediately.
Segments
Just a quick section on flight segments in case that’s your preferred method of qualification. I find that the Mileage Run Forum on FlyerTalk is the best place to get ideas, even if the entries are a bit of a jumble.
From there, I go to Google Flights to the Multi City booking link and manually enter a few cities and dates and see how the itinerary comes together. Google Flights dynamically prices things out, so you’ll often see the airfare rise or fall slightly.
Though I look to FlyerTalk for guidance on where there might be good flight runs available, I also just like to play around with Google Flights. For example, for you DC-based flyers out there, I concocted this example itinerary out of Washington National DCA (instead of Dulles):
Washington National DCA – Detroit via Chicago
Detroit – Kansas City via Chicago
Kansas City – Los Angeles via Denver
Los Angeles – Washington National DCA via Houston
The itinerary is fairly grueling since it takes place over the course of one day and includes a red-eye from Los Angeles to Houston (but hey, you’re saving on a hotel room!).
The total came to $575 and would rack up 8 PQSs, an average rate of $72 per segment. You’d also rack up 5,982 PQMs as an elite or 5,297 as a non-elite. While not a truly amazing value, it’s not bad, and there are probably even better deals out there.
Any other tips or strategies to share? Leave a comment below!
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
APPLY NOW
Earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $625 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
Named Best Credit Card for Flexible Travel Redemption - Kiplinger's Personal Finance, July 2016
2X points on travel and dining at restaurants worldwide & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
Earn 5,000 bonus points after you add the first authorized user and make a purchase in the first 3 months from account opening
No foreign transaction fees
1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards. For example, 50,000 points are worth $625 toward travel
No blackout dates or travel restrictions - as long as there's a seat on the flight, you can book it through Chase Ultimate Rewards
Intro APR
Regular APR
Annual Fee
Foreign Transaction Fee
Credit Rating
N/A
16.24%-23.24% Variable
Introductory Annual Fee of $0 the first year, then $95
0%
Excellent Credit