Originally Posted by
WheelsUpGal
I am not a frequent traveler but have done a few trips in the last year and I am trying to jump through all the hoops to make Silver.
I understand it is a combination of miles, segments and dollars - on top of a 4 flight segment minimum.
Currently I have:
23,967 miles
6.5 segments
$2,506 dollars
Won't make the credit card spend waiver.
QUESTIONS
1. I just bought $2000 worth of tickets to Amsterdam (not including upgrade fees) Will this money paid (not on a UA credit card) eventually show up or do I have to fly the route first? (Bought tickets July 27th)
2. I believe I need 25,000 miles . . . I should get them when I fly to Amsterdam in December. Is there any advantage to me BUYING 1,500 miles now? Will that make me Silver, sooner? And if so, what difference would it make as I have already upgraded my flights?
Thanks! seems like I am close enough to make it happen, if only to say I did it??
I'm sure there's a thread on this somewhere, but I don't see it. In order to qualify for Silver status, you need 25,000 Premier Qualifying Miles (PQM) or 30 Premier Qualifying Segments (PQS). You also need $3,000 Premier Qualifying Dollars (PQD) or the credit card spending waiver, and four segments on United-operated flights (partner flights don't count).
PQMs, PQSes, and PQDs are all credited to the passenger's account, regardless of who purchases the ticket. They won't be credited until after the flight is complete. Note that PQMs are completely independent of the so-called "redeemable miles" (RDMs) which can be spent for flights / upgrades / etc. PQMs, PQSes, and PQDs reset on January 1 every year, and your earned status is good for the remainder of the year you qualify, the entire year following, and until January 31 of the year after that; in other words, if you qualify for Silver this year, you'll be Silver (or higher) through January 31, 2019.
There's a thread to the benefits of each Premier level here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...us-levels.html . As you can see, there are very few benefits to Silver that are any better than you'll get from an upgraded flight on its own -- essentially, just a 40% bonus on redeemable miles. IMO, it's not worth spending money on.
Hope this helps.