The 2021 Premier 1K [re]qualification thread
 

I had pretty much abandoned the idea of requalifying as 1K for 2021.
24000 PQP seemed unreachable and 54 segments to reduce PQP to 18000 unrealistic.
Have not flown UA much in the last few minths, after qualifying as 1K for 2020.
Achieved Fortune Wings Club GOLD status on way to PLATINUM, for what THAT'S worth! :rolleyes:

Now, however, through a series of (un)fortunate events, I likely will have almost 5200 PQP by early February, so the idea of 1K for 2021 suddenly hasn't become so outrageous anymore.

(5200 PQP with only $2000 spend on UA, and a CA trip costing $550, IF that actually all sticks)

That doesn't sound like a bad start.

I'm also trying to work a strategy to requalify.

I should re-qualify by April with 24k PQP if travel happens as currently scheduled.

3200 PQP on a $550 ticket? Is it premium cabin? Please share, if the fare is still available (would be welcome on the mileage run forum / premium fare deals subforum too, I'm sure)

i got the impression he had at least three different tickets discussed In that sentence

It’s definitely possible to get really outsized PQP earnings if you lurk the premium fares subforum. For example, there was an AC fare YVR-SIN that allowed backtracking to YYZ in both directions for $2000, earning approx 8500 PQP.

Been and gone.
Premium Fare Deals on Star Alliance carriers will be my only passage to 1K in 2021.

I can make it again for ‘21 by doing PQF runs between PDX and SAN via SFO each month along with my two leisure trips per year. The tricky part is going to be like paying taxes and ensuring I don’t give UA more than is necessary.

I purchased $24,000 of premier accelerator PQP today and have already secured 1K.

Wow! So you just paid $24k outright without flying at all?

Don't you also need the 4 segments on united metal? or did you complete that already in the beginning of the year?

Can't say I recommend this strategy but it's an interesting one for sure.

I'm sure that's a joke; but, I wonder how much that would cost!

1April20 is almost 3 months away...

With PQP = $, why wouldn’t it just cost $24k?

You're right. With a slight discount for Premier members.

Anything below 1K is not worthy on FT.

Although unlikely it could cost less because united actually doesn’t have to spend money flying you.

It might cost more towards the end of the year as United take advantage of those who simply do not have the time to fly.

I just took a look at the awards accelerator offers on my next trip. They're selling RDMs at 2.5 cents each, and PQPs at 96 cents each.

Curious to see just how expensive PQPs get towards the end of the year.

I imagine there are people who would pay $24K now in order to secure 1K benefits for this year and the next.

I wonder if you could just get some last-minute flights in F totalling 24k, not show up for them (i.e., no refund), and get the PQPs. If PQP = $ paid to United, then maybe?

PQPs will not post until the flight is taken, like PQDs..

This is becoming absurd: looks like I'll have banked approximately 10000 PQP by 2nd of February with only $2000 spend with UA, and making an effort to book away from United as much as possible.

How is this helping United?? :confused:


I'm now in full: let's-spend-as-little-as-possible-with-UA-but-still-get-1K-for-2021 mode! :cool:

Narvik, are you willing to give some examples on your itineraries, prices, and airlines you booked on?

I am not so certain as with the removal of the PQD exemption for foreign addresses, the PQP on *A flights is how they get non-US folks to keep choosing UA (or at least I think this is the reasoning). Many UA FTers complained there was no PQD for non-016 tickets and this now solves that problem.

Not saying that UA many not "tweek" with the earnings rate but I do not think they will shut it down.

I am absolutely certain that my brain hurts over all this! :)

Certain partner flights UA would revenue share. With JV agreements, whether you booked UA or partner, all parties get a piece of the pie.

The large majority of folks are not changing how they book tickets - not their money anyway.

One of those partner flights costs US$81 (plus taxes & fees); not sure UA is getting rich off that one!

While I don't think they'll shut it down, they will definitely adjust the earning rates. Probably they'll also favor JV flights in some way so that they are directly receiving revenue, too.

Premium Fare Deals is your friend.

Look for Star Alliance: there's LX/LH (ARN-PEK, ARN-BKK, or ARN-HKG) R/T in business for ~ U$1400 right now.

Not that hard!
 

I have now booked enough tickets to get 24,083 PQPs. Total spend is C$14.7K = US$11.3K and everything is in biz or first class, or is upgradeable. Because I was exempt from PQD requirement, some of these partner flights were booked before the changes were announced, so no change in my buying behavior. This is what I have:

SQ JFK-SIN-JFK D class (with convoluted routing)
TK YUL-BKK-YUL J class
UA YYZ-HNL-YYZ P class (bulk fare)
UA YYZ-SIN-YYZ W class (bulk fare)
LH MXP-PVG-MXP A class
UA YVR-HKG-YVR B/R class (bulk fare)

All these "deals" were posted on FT at one point or another. I admit that it helps that I can go just about anywhere I feel like.

And I'm not done booking. I go to HNL at least twice per year, sometimes up to 4 times. :)

I'm curious: are you not worried that if United slash the conversion rate before you travel, then you might lose a lot? E.g. suppose they say, from 1 March, the PQP conversion rates will be /24 instead of /6 ... So if you book a bunch of travel perhaps several months in the future, specifically for the purpose of accruing more PQP, you might end up worse off than had you booked direct with United and resigned yourself to spending real money. They didn't seem to give much headsup to the whole PQM vs PQP change last fall. I don't suppose it will happen in a week or even a month, but I'd be nervous of arranging trips for the summer.

Great for someone based out of the Nordics. With most UA members in the US (and North America), the cost of positioning flights could easily move the needle above $2K all-in. By then, you could get a similar fare ex-US direct to Asia without additional risks, time, and effort.

EDIT:

I have this fare too I am traveling on later this month. I am crediting to AS, however. No bonuses with D fares for either program, but I can get more value on a TPAC award through AS than UA.

Coincidentally, I flew the SIN-EWR nonstop flight exactly a year ago as the upcoming fare between JFK and SIN.

I find AS miles difficult to use out of YYZ because AS does not allow combining partners. I refuse to book BA awards on over water redemptions due to their ridiculous scam charges. UA miles OTOH are very easy to use. Even with the changes on award tickets, I've been able to get to Europe for 60K miles or Asia for 80-90K miles. Naturally, it requires constant monitoring of flight availability and changing my tickets (for free thanks to 1K status) until I get what I need. So far it's working for me.

I got in on the AMD-SIN-EWR fare last year too. :)

While I applaud your diligence and creativity to reach 24000 PQP by only spending $11000, I am afraid that

1) Vast majority, 99%+ of MP members won't able to do that. It's simply unrealistic.

2) It won't be too long before UA adjusts partner PQP earnings.

Your scheme looks brilliant, but unfortunately only a tiny fraction of people can do.

I have a high level of confidence that UA is well aware of the "loophole". They are fine with it because a) very few people can really take advantage due to location/need for positioning flights, b) they are still generating revenue and not having to actually support us flying on non-UA metal. Ultimately like anything else they will adjust (most likely the factor they divide by) to make it less attractive. In the end, personally I won't seek out these options simply because my flight pattern from a non-hub makes the positioning very time consuming and expensive. Also, flying non-UA metal is counterproductive to my goal of making lifetime 1K.

They already favor JV flights in some manner, as you divide earned RDM by 5 instead of 6. I don’t think there is much whittling down from the current list.

I have to say that it is really ambitious... but how are you going to get to New York, Milan etc. from Canada? Buying separate flight tickets?

YYZ-JFK is only 5000 DL miles.
YYZ-MXP is 60K UA miles or 57.5K AC miles in biz class (or 30K miles in economy), but that ticket isn't until May, so lots of time for promo fares to come along.
YYZ-YUL is cheap on AC when they have a sale (about C$140 each way).
I'm thinking of going to HNL after YVR.

I rarely have a trip that doesn't involve 7-8 tickets pieced together (HNL being the exception). I buy good travel insurance. :)

I have about 11K PQP booked for the year, but I still have no plan to explicitly aim or plan for 1K. If I get there, it will be because I happened to fly enough on the right routes. I'm committed to just choosing what works for me.

With that said, with the job change I'm considering, 2 of my 3 likely options will probably ensure I get there. One will entail pretty regular domestic travel, which will be on UA out of SFO, and another will have a couple of trips a year to India in biz. Either will get me over the line this year at least.

Also important to note that in the last 10-12 years there have been a few times I thought I was no chance of 1K and life just intervened in my favour (in this regard) every single time. So if you're betting on me....