[Consolidated] "I need XXX UA PQD's/PQMs in 2016 for Elite Status in 2017 ..
 

I'm 45 miles shy of elite status. Are flying and Award Accelerator my only options to get those miles? Thanks.

Are you 45 short right now, or will you be 45 short at the end of the year?

I'm 45 miles short now. So I'm basically wondering whether I can get over the threshold in an economically sensible way before I fly again.

Short of having a CC that allows PQM earning (all of which are legacy cards no longer offered), you pretty much listed your options. Award accelerator probably isn't going to be economical - those typically are offered in 1000 mile increments so you'll need to buy more than you need.

Flying is usually the most economical - depending on your location may be able to pick up a cheap, short OW segment to get you over the hump.

Also note that for silver, may not be worth it - most benefits (with the exception of upgrade eligibility and priority IRROPS handling) can be bought on a per trip basis.

Just to be clear, is it only miles you need? Don't forget - you also need 3,000 PQD if US-based (or $25,000 spend on a UA card) plus 4 UA-metal segments.

This is worth a call to the MileagePlus service center. Plead your case and they might oblige you with a courtesy early elite status, especially if you have more travel booked.

-Goat

This is only true for those of us who are already elite.

OP is a general member - and buying something like PHL-IAD or ORD-MKE should do the trick.

Thanks, everyone. I'll give MP a call. I have the Presidential Plus card, so I don't need to worry about PQDs or segments.

That would only make sense if he actually lived in one of those cities.
And some short hops from little served airports can cost a lot more than longer flights from major hubs with competition.

If the OP is near LAX as his handle suggests, there should be some cheap and time-efficient flight options to achieve the status.

Even then, I personally don't see how the math can work...there's nothing I'd get at the Silver level that is worth 3-4 hours of my time to fly to SFO or LAS and back.

If the status jump is to 1K and the very next planned flight (after this mini-mileage-run) is a good GPU candidate, then absolutely this could make total sense.

I don't think you understand Award Accelerator then - as that's what I was responding to.

The OP didn't mention what's up next on his schedule. If it's a TATL it might be worth it to some in order to snag an E+ at T-24. But that doesn't make much sense, either. You can buy up to E+ for $150 each way, which would probably be cheaper than even a short hop RT mileage run, which is overkill for 45 miles.
He could also save that round trip airfare and purchase an E+ subscription that would allow him to snag an E+ seat at booking rather than at T-24.

If his appeal to a UA phone agent doesn't work (and he should not give up after one phone call), I'd suggest he just wait patiently for the next flight to hit Silver Status.

Since the OP apparently lives in LAX, to get 45 miles, how would it make sense for him to fly out of ORD or PHL even with Award Accelerator?

I'm skeptical that a phone agent manning the GM line is going to give a comp Silver bump in early July. I know this is Flyertalk and we all recommend to try, try, and try again, but I suspect this might be a frustrating endeavor with a lot of hold time for nothing.

Even if you managed to reach an onshore call center, escalate to a manager who has some degree of empowerment, and fully explain your case, I can easily see that manager saying "Dude, it's July. If you're 45 miles short on December 29th, call back and we'll talk."

My thought's exactly. If OP has more travel booked on 2016 they will achieve Silver shortly after take off on the next trip. We have ALL been in this situation give or take a few miles.

Buy it or fly it!

Without being snarky, you proved my point. Please read over the Award Accelerator thread.