I had the same concerns as SailorFlyer, and spent 20+ minutes on the phone with the Preferred Desk on Saturday night. She was just as confused as I was with the statement printed above the mileage calculator ("All Premier members earn a minimum of 500 award miles and 500 Premier status miles on United and United Express flights"), and she stuck with the 250 assumption. I've taken the other side of that, and printed out the page, just in case I need to reference it in a conversation if I don't get the 500. Don't worry, I won't fax it in to them, I don't want to ruin this for everyone!

FWIW, I need 1600 miles for Silver, and booked BOS-IAD-PIT-EWR-BOS on 12/17 for $167.60. Yes, I realize 8.3 cpm is high for a MR, but it's only $167.60 and can be done before lunch (5:30a-12:30p), which is helpful this time of year!