DCA writer

Now that I've hit Premier Gold--and I see that the annual Christmas trip to the Bay Area in-laws will push me to 61,000 PQM--I'm seriously thinking that I should cash in another 30,000 RDM on 3,000 Choices PQMs, then buy the rest of my way to Plat via Premier Accelerator.

(There may be one shorter family trip in between now and the holidays, which would mean I'd only need 8,000 PQM to hit 75K. And if Accelerator is anywhere close to the cost of two domestic mileage runs, especially factoring in time away from Mrs. and Mini DCA writer... why not?)

See what this site has done to me? Sick, sick, sick

WineCountryUA

I would count on roughly 2x for Premier Accelerator PQMs versus MR -- it will vary by market and you ability to find a good MR but looking at http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...tor-rates.html, for a Gold level you will be looking at round 12 cpm for PQMs+RDMs. Only you can determine if that makes a MR better for your situation.

cooperhs

Twice, I booked short flights in order to try to get the EQM offer, and I didn't get it either time. Any thoughts on what I'm doing wrong. Is there a minimum flight distance?

aacharya

You have to wait for the flight to ticket.

Gizmoe1164

Hi folks. I ran the numbers with respect to my current PQM balance along with my two upcoming paid itineraries after figuring the amount of PQM's I'll earn on them using the Mileagepluss Mileage calculator (plugged in Class of Service, 1K status etc.). The bottom line is that I'll need another 28450 miles to maintain my 1K for 2014. I work for the Government and have not been traveling much this year due to sequestration. Purchasing a refundable ticket, then purchasing the award accelerator along with the PQM option, then cancelling the ticket, appears to be a viable way to top off my PQM balance without having to actually go through the butt pain of actually traveling on a mileage run.

exerda

Yes, it is--though the price will most likely continue to rise as the year progresses. Right now, folks are seeing the combined RDM + PQM deal run anywhere from 9.1cpm - 12+cpm, and traditionally, UA starts creeping those values up as we enter the fall.

Baze

Can you even use accelerator for 1K? Or am I confusing it with Flex miles?

WineCountryUA

yes you can, or to be more correct, it worked last year.

karatelovr

I'm less than 700 PQM from retaining my status for next year. I was just going to buy the PQM at my last trip (which is this Sunday) - even though 5,000 miles is overkill - but someone told me I could PURCHASE a mileage run ticket but just not GO on the plane. That doesn't sound right to me, is that true?

LaserSailor

You can book a short refundable trip which will offer you PQM purchase closer to your need of ~1000 miles, buy the PQM, then cancel the ticket

EWR-BUF or EWR-BOS suggested

Cost is miles+ cost of money between booking and refund +time spent

Expect to pay about 18 cpm for PQM this time of year.

karatelovr

I've only ever been offered miles in 5K increments...do they have 1K options? When would I get that over the 5K?

PS - thank you for bumping this thread and moving my post, I didn't see this thread.

WineCountryUA

You are correct -- the advice is incorrect.
If not using the Premier Accelerator, then you got to fly to get the PQMs.

Sometimes a sub-500 mile (say SFO-LAX) OW can get a smaller offer.

see http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...us-2015-a.html

exerda

My recent experience has been that the physical kiosk at check-in offers the smallest amount of miles for short flights. I had this happen on IAD-CMH and IAD-TPA recently, where the reservation itself offered around 6k PQM, then at online check-in was similar... but the kiosk at the airport offered 2k PQM and at a good price. You could still cancel at that point if within 24 hours or refundable, but you have the hassle of slogging to the airport.

YMMV, literally.

Babymule

I've been monitoring my EQM and deciding what level I wanted to buy up to through the end of the year. I have a good handle of where I will end up, but I wasn't sure buying up to 1K was going to be worth it. (I was considering it is because I have two international trips next year, although I had no luck using GPU 2 years ago when I was 1K).
Last week, I could buy 15,000 EQM for $1485. Today, the same reservation is $200 more, and a different reservation is $500 more than last week.
Note to self... if you ever plan on buying up your EQM... do so before the middle of October.

IMO, if you are low on status, the only status that is worth buying up to is Platinum. If you can't get to Platinum, it is pointless to be Silver or Gold.
Reason - 1. access to award tickets for less miles that others are not able to see or book.
2. Ability to cancel the award ticket at no cost.
3. Ability to change your flight 24 hours with no cost moving up or back.

I find Platinum less frustrating than being 1K and being in the same situation I am being platinum, (especially if I spent a lot of money to get to 1K).

exerda

FWIW, mine have been relatively steady even to this day. Though the amounts fluctuate on a given itin seemingly daily, I consistently am getting offers at 10, 15, and 20cpm. This is surprising for November.