UA Insider

Good news: we are making changes to our MileagePlus Premier program that will make it easier to earn Premier® status through 2022. And remember — the MileagePlus® Premier program, unlike some other loyalty programs, has no distance requirement to reach status. You might not know how far you’ll fly in 2021, so rest easy knowing you can qualify for Premier status with just Premier qualifying points (PQP), or a combination of Premier qualifying flights (PQF) and PQP. And your eligible United MileagePlus credit card can help get you there.

Here are some of the key changes we’re making for 2021:

• We’re lowering our standard requirements for every premier level so it’s easier to qualify for status through 2022.
• We’re automatically depositing Premier Qualifying Points (PQP) based on the 2021 Premier status you hold at the end of 2020, giving Premiers a head start toward hitting the PQP requirement for their status level.
• We are offering our most rewarding Premier qualification bonus offer, allowing members to earn even more PQP for each of the first three trips they take with United® between January 1 and March 31, 2021.
• PQP earned from your eligible MileagePlus credit card – including the United MileagePlus Explorer Card – will now count toward Premier 1K® status when the PQF requirement is met.
• We’re extending PlusPoints expiring on or after January 1, 2021, which includes all PlusPoints earned from 2019 and 2020 activity, by an additional six months and making it easier to earn extra PlusPoints after reaching Premier 1K status.

For more information on these changes, and to learn more about our MileagePlus program, visit https://mileageplusupdates.com/.

rankourabu

So, essentially a head start not a complete rollover

The amount of PQP that you’ll receive will be based on the 2021 Premier status you hold at the end of 2020. The amount of PQP that we deposit will be equal to 25% of the PQP-only requirement for your status level, making it easier to maintain status through January 31, 2023. Here are the PQP amounts we’ll be depositing by Premier status level:

• Silver: 875 PQP
• Gold: 1,750 PQP
• Platinum: 2,500 PQP
• 1K/Global Services: 3,750 PQP

PsiFighter37

Not low enough...just look at case numbers skyrocketing in the U.S. Who is going to go traveling in Q1 of next year given the current situation? And especially for folks who are NYC-based and subject to far more stringent quarantine and testing rules now.

Color me unimpressed - and fully expecting these requirements to drop even further sometime next year.

JimInOhio

If I put that all together, it basically means UA is covering people for Q1 2021 with regard to PQP. Sound right?

rankourabu

I read it as - UA is counting on OPM flying picking up in Q2, which may be wishful thinking.

It would have been nice to have a complete rollover of 2020 PQP - like #3 said - I am also unimpressed.

Buried in the news is also a further 6 month extension to any PlusPoints that were to expire in 2021, thats a positive

J.Edward

Thanks UA Insider for the update.

Do you know if there are any planned extensions of subscriptions (United Club, WiFi, etc.)?

UA Insider

2021 is an unpredictable year and determining what the ‘right’ Premier status requirements are is quite a challenge as a result. If Premier members aren’t traveling in Q1, they still get 25% of the PQP towards requalifying for their Premier status level. For members that do happen to be flying, they’ll benefit from our richest Premier bonus offer ever, which provides enough bonus PQP to meet Silver spend requirements. We also enhanced the ways our cards earn towards Premier status so members can get Premier credit that counts all the way up to 1K even when they’re not in the air. If we find the year is progressing without members being able to requalify for status or meet these requirements, we will take similar actions because we want to help members achieve Premier status. As an example, when COVID-19 impacted travel, we were the first U.S. airline to reduce our Premier requirements by 50% in April of 2020. Most members don’t know the distance they’re going to travel in 2021 due to the changing travel environment and lull in business travel, so we feel confident our program is best positioned among US airlines to help members achieve Premier status.

gcashin

Nice to have some clarity on the goalposts for next year, but the requirements are definitely going to be a challenge for many UA Premier members outside the US. International travel isn't as feasible in the short term and into Q1 with the ongoing border closures and quarantine requirements, so Intl members are not likely to be able to take advantage of the Q1 promo to a great extent. Plus, the ability to earn points towards the credit card spend isn't available in most of UA's major markets outside the US, so another aspect that won't help members outside the US.

May be reasonable for a US domestic traveler to pick up some points in Q1 or via cc spend, but many of the promos don't really help UA's significant international customer base.

Nice to see the extension on the PlusPoints at least, and the head start will be a help to some extent.

fumje

For reference, the 2022 targets listed:

Premier Silver: 8 PQF and 3,000 PQP // 3,500 PQP
Premier Gold: 16 PQF and 6,000 PQP // 7,000 PQP
Premier Platinum: 24 PQF and 9,000 PQP // 10,000 PQP
Premier 1K®: 36 PQF and 13,500 PQP // 15,000 PQP

(edit add: it appears that, with the bonus offers, if you start as 1K in 2021 and spend 5250 on 3 trips during January through March, you will hit the requalification. I can't tell what counts as a 'trip', however.)

EWR764

Totally reasonable, IMO. There is growing consensus in airline boardrooms on projections that Summer 2021 traffic will be >85% of 2019, and that's coming from even the most conservative voices in the industry. It's optimistic, no doubt, but even amidst increasing cases suggests light could be coming at the end of the tunnel. Accordingly, I understand why airlines would be interested in hedging a bit with status-earning for the 2022 elite year... I suspect the offer can be improved if things really get worse.

ChinaShrek

So, if I have no elite status in 2020, how many PQP do I have to earn in 2021 to earn elite status?

fumje

See the targets I posted above (copied from the MP updates site).

They are stated in terms of absolutes. Those with elite status will get various amounts of head starts / bonuses along the way, but they will have the same targets.

ChinaShrek

Thank you! That's what I want to know.

stopdiabetes

If I'm reading this right, earning double PQPS in Q1, with a head start on PQPs depending on status, and for some (like me) with the Presidential Plus Chase card, using flex/earned PQPs all the way up to 1K without the minimum PQF requirement adds up to a real sweetening of the pot. Am I missing something here? A planned trip to CPT in P class in January yields 8k PQPs, which can be added to the 2,500 head start for platinums, which can be added to flex/earned PQPs to then yield 1K pretty quickly, IMHO. Maybe I'm missing something, but for those with the Presidential Plus card, it's a major incentive.:
"Cardmembers with UnitedSM Presidential PlusSM Card and UnitedSM Presidential PlusSM Business Card will continue to be able to apply the card-earned PQP to 1K status without having to meet the PQF requirement for 1K.

DCA writer

3,000 and eight segments for Silver status—or, to break this down into terms of time spent, two $1,500 mileage-run days, each of which involves a one-stop flight to a destination before coming home via another one-stop. The spend requirement is probably the tougher hurdle, looking at how cheap fares are even up front.

(But since F is degraded and paying for that would get you most elite benefits otherwise, there’s little reason to take those mileage runs anytime soon.)