kgdenver70

Hi there, first post. I am at the Gold level and I have hit the PQFs required for Platinum. I am about 2,600 PQPs short of 9,000. I have a trip to Italy at Xmas booked (24th to 31st). The United leg is Denver to Frankfurt giving me about 850 PQPs for that portion. The rest of the trip was ticketed through Lufthansa even though I purchased through United. I can upgrade the United leg for $2,400 to Polaris Business and reach my Platinum goal. I expect to be traveling quite a bit in 2022. The question is... is this worth it to do in order to get Platinum status? Thanks in advance for your help.

HNLbasedFlyer

Honestly. In my opinion - not really worth it. If you pay to upgrade - upgrade for the seat not the status.

A Little Cow

There are a few discussion threads about "stretching" for platinum over gold: Is it worth it to stretch for Plat (over Gold)? [2019 Consolidated]

I personally don't value platinum significantly over gold, but everyone's situation is different. For example if you fly to a lot of non-hubs the increased upgrade chance might be appreciable for platinum over gold (hub to hub it is basically zero unless you are 1k with Plus Points, and still small there :P). If most of your flights are international there are very few benefits of note platinum over gold unless you are flying with a big family or need a large luggage allowance consistently.

I think a common opinion is the bump from Silver to Gold is large (*Alliance benefits, eco+ at booking, etc.) and the bump from Platinum to 1k is large.

DELee

Welcome to FlyerTalk kgdenver70 !

Short answer: probably not. One other point - if you're going to be doing much international travel in 2022, you may hit Platinum or higher anyway.

David

kgdenver70

Thank you!

Clemson

I'm usually gold but went gold - > plat and then plat - > 1k this year thanks to promos and more flying than usual. My experience as a platinum vs gold felt pretty much the same. Other than a few plus points and a slight boost to earning miles, there's no real benefit to speak of unless you often travel with more than one companion. If I were you I'd probably save that money for flat out buying business/first class on flights where you want it because it's not like your CPU chances are going to materially improve as a plat.

8MiHi

I have been in this spot once or twice in the last 5 years. The cost of the step-up however was not as much as yours.
I was able to get to Platinum each time with a cost that I still think was reasonable.
With this status I was able to use the upgrade instruments in fairly valuable ways (HNL-EWR for two both times) as well as a couple of CPUs. I almost used the 3 bag allowance once but ended up not needing it. The extra RDMs are nice.
A few hundred PQPs and I would say go for it. A couple of thousand PQPs are a bit more than I value Platinum over Gold.

Davidl81

This is my first year as Plat and for the most part I've only gotten one or two small CPU upgrades that I would not have gotten as gold. The one big benefit was that we are going to Hawaii with my family and MIL/FIL so I was able to use award miles and also get all 6 seats in E+ for free at booking. Gold only gives you two, so there was a legitimate savings of about $900 right there (4 E+ seats @ $120 both ways). If you travel fairly often with family (more than 2) those E+ seats at booking can help offset some of that cost you are looking at spending.

kgdenver70

I really appreciate all the replies - very helpful. Thank you!

4BandE

If you do a lot of domestic travel and have 3 checked bags, then Platinum is worth it. The additional bag would be $150 for Gold..

Markalta

Amen to that says this DEN based Platinum who flies to EWR and SFO several times a year. Wondering if the upgrade waiting list can exceed 100 people

Markalta

Have never checked three bags even when Platinum. It's Group 1, Economy Plus, and Star Alliance lounge access for international travel that make a difference for me and Gold receives those benefits.

rockdoc

I was in a similar situation being about 800 points short of qualifying for Platinum this year. The one trip left that I have this year wouldn't get me across the 10,000 mark. However, I have more than 5,000 flex points with about 1,000 expiring early next year so I went ahead and burned them to get past the 10,000 point mark. I don't expect anything more than being a bit closer to the top of the upgrade list for an upgrade that I most likely won't get, and maybe a bit better award seat availability.

CALMSP

there were 67 on the upgrade list DEN-PHX on Tuesday morning this week.........insane!! I do recall EWR-SFO a few years ago where it was 127 on the list!

DELee

What's the longest first class upgrade standby list / waitlist that you've ever seen?

David