when i did my match with UA, they made me prem exec right away and gave me 90 days to complete 15 segments, the one nice thing about ua is that each flight counts as a elite segment, regardless of fare, and flights on usairways count as elite also. I received the elite benefits right away, which at ohare means you can access the elite security line.

I met the challlenge in less than two months and will be 1k next year due to the segments.

hope this helps