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Need 20 (!) PQM for 1k

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Need 20 (!) PQM for 1k

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Old Aug 22, 2018, 5:29 am
  #1  
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Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: ZRH / YUL
Programs: UA, TK, Starwood > Marriott, Hilton, Accor
Posts: 7,295
Need 20 (!) PQM for 1k
Couldn't find an existing thread on this type of question specifically, so here it goes:

After my last flight, I now have 99,980 PQM, with all other criteria for 1K met. My next flight is with UA in a couple of weeks, and I'd love to get the 11x vs. 9x earn multiplier on that ticket.

So - is there a quick and reasonably cheap way to get the missing 20 PQM without getting on a plane?

I am currently based in ZRH and do not have a UA co-brand credit card. Thanks!
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Old Aug 22, 2018, 5:37 am
  #2  
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Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Jersey Shore/YYZ
Programs: UA 1K, Marriott Plat, Hilton Diamond, Hertz PC
Posts: 12,521
Award accelerator. But..as a Platinum I'm guessing the minimum offer is 1000 PQM. Will cost $90 on top of the $25 for the RDM.
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Old Aug 22, 2018, 6:51 am
  #3  
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: MBS/FNT/LAN
Programs: UA 1K, HH Gold, Mariott Gold
Posts: 9,630
Take a quick *A or LH flight?
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Old Aug 22, 2018, 7:26 am
  #4  
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 215
Originally Posted by aacharya
Award accelerator. But..as a Platinum I'm guessing the minimum offer is 1000 PQM. Will cost $90 on top of the $25 for the RDM.
Agree this would likely be the cheapest and quickest way. OP, I doubt however you'd find the cost worth it relative to the value of the incremental redeeming miles multioliolier on a single flight.
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Old Aug 22, 2018, 7:41 am
  #5  
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Join Date: Aug 2000
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Thanks - I was considering the Award Accelerator but the $90 is definitely not worth it, and any quick *A flight ex ZRH would cost me >$90 and some time as well.

I was hoping for some quick conversion trick etc. for this tiny amount of PQM.
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Old Aug 22, 2018, 7:59 am
  #6  
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Join Date: Aug 2015
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If you value award miles at 1.5cpm and your airfare is over 4k PQD, it might be worth buying a $115 accelerator.
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Old Aug 22, 2018, 8:43 am
  #7  
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Join Date: Oct 2001
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Originally Posted by airoli
I was hoping for some quick conversion trick etc. for this tiny amount of PQM.
Your best approach is to call / write UA and ask to be bumped up to 1K based upon your scheduled future flight activity. You never know; they might say yes.

Anything else is going to be prohibitively expensive; they're not going to sell you 20 PQMs.
jsloan is online now  
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Old Aug 22, 2018, 9:00 am
  #8  
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: BWI<MCI< PHL<DEN<SCL<EZE<CHO<PHL<ABE
Programs: UA Silver / FA
Posts: 939
Originally Posted by airoli
Thanks - I was considering the Award Accelerator but the $90 is definitely not worth it, and any quick *A flight ex ZRH would cost me >$90 and some time as well.

I was hoping for some quick conversion trick etc. for this tiny amount of PQM.
Wait, so 20 PQM short of 1K? and a $90 short hop from ZRH isn't worth it? Dang. I think it is? Considering the GPU's etc you'd get.. am I missing something?

ZRH-FRA immediate turn is $300. Not cheap, but I think the return is nice.
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Old Aug 22, 2018, 9:10 am
  #9  
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: UA 1K 1MM, AA, DL
Posts: 7,418
Originally Posted by Tblack15
Considering the GPU's etc you'd get.. am I missing something?
OP will get 1K, just after his/her next flight not before, which is what s/he's hoping for.
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Old Aug 22, 2018, 9:12 am
  #10  
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Programs: UA 1K 1MMer & LT UC (when flying UA); Hyatt Credit Cardist; HHonors Diamond; Marriott Gold via UA 1K
Posts: 6,956
Originally Posted by Tblack15
Wait, so 20 PQM short of 1K? and a $90 short hop from ZRH isn't worth it? Dang. I think it is? Considering the GPU's etc you'd get.. am I missing something?

ZRH-FRA immediate turn is $300. Not cheap, but I think the return is nice.
It sounds like the OP won't fall 20 PQM short for the year: S/he is 20 PQM short now, and would prefer to earn 2 extra RDM's per mile on the next trip.

It's too bad that UA doesn't look at these edge cases and manually bump people up to the next status level when they take the flight which qualifies them.
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Old Aug 22, 2018, 9:27 am
  #11  
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: UA 1K 1MM, AA, DL
Posts: 7,418
Originally Posted by SS255
It's too bad that UA doesn't look at these edge cases and manually bump people up to the next status level when they take the flight which qualifies them.
UA has clear lines. Why muddy them and redraw them. Why is 20 enough to bump but not, say, 499 or 501 short?

I suppose if they wanted to complicate things they could retroactively apply status when you cross the relevant threshold, or do so if the flight provided more than 50% of the remaining miles needed (i.e., you took a 4000 mile flight when all you needed was <2000PQM).
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Old Aug 22, 2018, 9:34 am
  #12  
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: DCA
Programs: UA 1K; *G and *A Top 1000; HHonors Diamond; *$ Gold; Global Entry
Posts: 2,272
Out of ZRH? Book a quick hop up to STR. Take the train back, if you don’t want to fly back.
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Old Aug 22, 2018, 10:44 am
  #13  
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: PHL
Programs: UA 1K 1MM, Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum, Raddison Platinum, Avis Presidents Club
Posts: 5,268
Did you have any reroutes in the past year where you can request ORC?
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Old Aug 22, 2018, 10:54 am
  #14  
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: San Francisco, CA (SFO)
Programs: UA 1K, UA .53 MM, Marriott Gold, Nexus, GE, TSA Pre, Hertz PC
Posts: 581
Originally Posted by jsloan
Your best approach is to call / write UA and ask to be bumped up to 1K based upon your scheduled future flight activity. You never know; they might say yes.

Anything else is going to be prohibitively expensive; they're not going to sell you 20 PQMs.
Not to be a naysayer, but I did not have a good experience with this last year...the difference was that I had actually crossed the threshold and was just waiting for miles to post. United saw that my trips were completed but I ended up flying four more segments at the "old status" waiting for the miles to post. I called three different agents and got the same answer every time.

Good luck!
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Old Aug 22, 2018, 11:28 am
  #15  
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Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: ZRH / YUL
Programs: UA, TK, Starwood > Marriott, Hilton, Accor
Posts: 7,295
Originally Posted by SS255
It sounds like the OP won't fall 20 PQM short for the year: S/he is 20 PQM short now, and would prefer to earn 2 extra RDM's per mile on the next trip.
Correct.

Originally Posted by sannmann
Out of ZRH? Book a quick hop up to STR. Take the train back, if you don’t want to fly back.
I might. I was hoping not to have to take a flight simply because of the time involved.

Originally Posted by eng3
Did you have any reroutes in the past year where you can request ORC?
Yes - but it would not work in my favor
airoli is offline  
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