goduke7

Just curious if anyone has any experience with this. Currently Platinum, 12k+ in spend, and have 99,700 PQM. Odds of more travel this year is low. Nothing on the books yet, and doubtful there will be. Any way to generate 300 PQM without actually getting on a plane? For 1k its probably worth 4 hours of my time to fly to EWR and back.

Thoughts?

WineCountryUA

Yes but it will not be cheap
Purchase PQMs now
PQMs can be purchased by Premier Accelerator purchases.
Consolidated Award / Premier Accelerator questions
United Airlines Award/Premier Accelerator Rates [2017]

or wait until January and take the buy-up offer
last year's offers https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/27803300-post36.html



How much above the PQD threshold are you?
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...ng-2017-a.html

mtftw

Cheapest (dollar-wise) would be to take literally any UA operated flight since you'll get the 500 elite minimum.

FreqFlyerCLE

I’m going to be short of Gold status by 3.5 PQS. I’m CLE based and would be open to a low cost PQS mileage run. Suggestions? Looking to 12/28 as fligt day.

joe_miami

Dec. 28 doesn't look great but I'm seeing multiple same-day options on Dec. 24 in the $250 range, including CLE to/from RDU with stops at IAD ($260) and CLE to/from EWR with stops in IAD and RDU ($239).

EDIT: Actually, I take that back re: Dec. 28; here are four same-day segments for $310:

https://www.google.com/flights/#sear...LE0UA6065;a=UA

You already met the PQD requirement?

simonoaks

Hi,

I hit 100k ages ago, but not the 1k spend of 12k ( SUCKY idea by UA). I am now 45 dollars short of the 12k, with the end of year rapidly approaching. Is there any kind of spend that I could do, that does not require a flight ? Thx

mahasamatman

Sorry, but that's it.

getagb

If you have any more flights coming up, you could buy up to a higher fare class, or see if an agent will sell you an E+ seat.

FreqFlyerCLE

thanks...I’ll check out your suggestions. Yes, I already met PQD requirements.

findark

Well, since nobody has decided I need to be committed to the asylum, I seem to be finding myself quite a bit short of 1K this year. Specifically, I need 3,319 PQD and 14,939 PQM, so I'm basically in the market for a "dollar run" (don't I wish I could just run for the miles...). I still have some hope of a work trip this month, but it doesn't really look like it will be in the cards.. therefore, these are my rough constraints:

Time: would like to get back home to SFO by 11pm on Christmas Eve and wrap this up before the holidays.. I'd be willing to do an LAX turn or something to top off, but probably not go gallivanting after Christmas. Otherwise, the week before that and/or weekends are available.
Cost: I would like to try to minimize the cost beyond the actually required airfare. So long stays, expensive activities, and non-016 tickets are basically out.
Routing: Separately I also need to spend a few days in MSP some point either during or separate from this - more of a constraint of additional cost if trying to do this during peak holiday times. I have basically no interest in flying Y for more than 800mi anywhere along the way, and could probably obtain GPUs if they help.

Possible fun things to do:
- try out the new 77W
- go see new sights / a new country
- go see the aurora borealis

Fares on my radar:
- Z1RWB is an unrestricted Z fare (!) published most places in the US to GUM, which allows stopovers anywhere along the routing. A bit pricey though.
- PNC5NS SFO-BUD is a sub-3k a/i business fare to Europe (nice)

Things I'm considering:
- two days in PNI via SFO-NRT/HKG-GUM-PNI (stop) PNI-HNL-LIH-LAX (ca $3,400 but strands me in LAX and I still need to get to MSP, so pricey but fun)
- SFO-NRT-GUM-NRT-EWR-MSP-SFO stopping in either GUM or NRT; less expensive than above but I've been to both GUM and TYO before (but not GUM in daylight).
- SFO-BUD via SFO-FRA at least one direction, and do some stuff in BUD (cold)
- SFO-YVR-YXY-YVR-SFO and hope to spot the aurora (split ticket connection in YVR, but UA will plate me YVR-YXY on 016 stock)
- boring trivial solutions like SFO-BOS-SFO (see friends) or SFO/Hawaii for a weekend


I may waver on this so long that the trivial solutions are all that's left, but I was hoping to get some fun out of this beyond forking over $3.3k to keep my status. Anyone know of any other great fares to jump on or other ideas? I'm very open to suggestions

COSPILOT

The amount spent to make 1K spend this month would go a long way toward paid upgrades next year. I'd save your money for next year.

jsloan

BOS-PEK is about $2100 all-in in P right now for departures this week. Throw in p.s. SFO-BOS each way, you're getting there... 3 day minimum stay; routing is flexible enough that you can stop on the way back in HKG, SEL, TYO, or OSA if you don't have a PRC visa.

BOSNRTSFOICH

Question for doing end of year calculations. When flying on a Star Alliance partner, how do you calculate base PQMs, using United's mileage or the partners'? I.e. flying on Thai Airlines according to their website, the distance from BKK to ICN is 2,286. But based on booking a flight on United.com, it looks like the base mileage between the city pair is a bit higher. Which is used when crediting to MileagePlus, non-016 stock.

Thanks!

WineCountryUA

What the operating airline reports.

findark

I'm definitely on the fence (see the link at the top of my post), but I think I've talked myself into the value of it.. if I can use all 6 GPUs again that's easily $6,000 of value to me right there. And if I can have some fun rather than simply writing UA a $3,000 check, all the better

That's an interesting fare - I'd forgotten about that. $100 stopover along the routing, as I don't have a visa and I'm not super-keen to enter the PRC right now (or other nations that would raise red flags). Unfortunately the real killer there is:



All considered, I'm feeling like Asia ends up being on the expensive side, and if I want to to fly int'l and see the 77W I can spend the weekend of the 16th in Budapest. Currently weighing that versus Hawaii just in terms of how fun it would be. Europe is cold and dark in December

It should use the United distance tables for the city pair.